Bai Juyi: Old Man Selling Charcoal

Old Man Selling Charcoal

卖 炭 翁

卖 炭 翁 伐 薪
烧 炭 南 山 中。
满 面 尘 灰 烟 火色
两 鬓 苍 苍 十 指 黑。

卖 炭 得 钱 何 所 营？
身 上 衣 裳 口 中 食。
可 怜 身 上 衣 正 单
心 忧 炭 贱 愿 天 寒。

夜 来 城 处 一 尺 雪
晓 驾 炭 车 辗 冰 辙。
牛 困 人 饥 日 已 高
市 南 门 处 泥 中 歇。

翩 翩 两 骑 来 是 谁？
黄 衣 使 者 白 衫 几。
手 把 文 书 口 称 敕
回 车 叱 牛 牵 向 北。

一 车 炭 千 金 斤
官 使 驱 将 惜 不 得。
半 匹 红 纱 一 丈 绫
系 向 牛 头 充 炭 直。

Mai Tan Weng

Mai tan weng fa xin
Shao tan nan shan zhong.
Man mian chen hui yan huo se
Liang bin cang cang shi zhi he.

Mai tan de qian he suo ying?
Shen shang yi shang kou zhong shi
Ke lian shen shang yi zheng dan
Xin you tan jian yuan tian han.

Ye lai cheng chu yi chi xue
Xiao jia tan che zhan bing zhe
Niu kun ren ji ri yi gao
Shi nan men wai ni zhong xie.

Pian pian liang qi lai shi shei?
Huang yi shi zhe bai shan er
Shou ba wen shu kou chen chi
Hui che chi niu qian xiang bei.

Yi che tan qian jin jin
Guan shi qu jiang xi bu dei.
Ban pi hong sha yi zhang ling
Ji xiang niu tou chong tan zhi.

Old Man Selling Charcoal

Old man cuts down firewood to sell charcoal
Makes the charcoal in the middle of the Southern Mountains.
His whole face covered with dust and ashes, colored with smoke and fire
Both temples have ashen white hair, all ten fingers have blackened.

What does he need with the money he makes from selling charcoal?
He buys clothes for his body, and food for his mouth.
Sympathize with his thin material clothes
Sad heart, the weather too cold for people to come out and buy his charcoal.

Evening arrived, he took cover in a foot of snow outside the city walls
At dawn his charcoal cart tossed and turned, making icy tracks.
His ox fatigued, the old man hungry by high noon
Outside the southern gate marketplace he rested in the middle of the mud.

What two riders arrive with such elegance?
Yellow clothed palace eunuchs, and their white collared attendants.
Perhaps holding an imperial edict, one of them reads the proclamation
Pulled his cart around and shouted at the ox, they head towards the north.

This one cart of charcoal with one thousand pounds is worth some gold
These government officials drove away without paying for it.
Then one half of a bolt of red damask silk has been sent back
This remnant tied around the ox’s head as a payment.

Notes:

Southern Mountains: Located near the capital city of Chang’an

Palace eunuchs: They held a lot of political power inside the palace.

Bolts of silk: They were used as money in ancient China. Bai Juyi makes the point that the old man was given pennies on the dollar for his charcoal, plus he needs food and warm clothes, not silk.

Commentary:

Bai Juyi wrote several poems like this one.  He was not afraid to reveal the injustices of his day, along with his feelings of compassion for those struggling to survive.