Su Dongpo: Tang Village

Tang Village

汤 村 开 远 盐 河 雨 中 督 役

居 官 不 任 事
萧 散 羡 长 卿。
胡 不 归 去 来
滞 留 愧 渊 明。

盐 事 星 火 急
谁 能 恤 农 耕。
薨 薨 晓 鼓 动
万 指 罗 沟 坑。

天 雨 助 官 政
泫 然 淋 衣 缨。
人 如 鸭 与 猪
投 泥 相 溅 惊。

下 马 荒 堤 上
四 顾 但 湖 泓。
线 路 不 容 足
又 与 牛 羊 争。

归 田 虽 贱 辱
岂 识 泥 中 行。
寄 语 故 山 友
慎 毋 厌 藜 羹。

Tang Cun Kai Yun Yan He Yu Zhong Du Yi

Ju guan bu ren shi
Xiao san xian chang qing.
Hu bu gui qu lai
Zhi liu kui yuan ming.

Yan shi xing huo ji
Shei neng xu nong geng.
Hong hong xiao gu dong
Wan zhi luo gou keng.

Tian yu zhu guan zheng
Xuan ran lin yi ying.
Ren ru ya yu zhu
Tou ni xiang jian jing.

Xia ma huang di shang
Si gu dan hu hong.
Xian lu bu rong zu
You yu niu yang zheng.

Gui tian sui jian ru
Qi shi ni zhong xing.
Ji yu gu shan you
Shen wu yan li geng.

Tang Village, Digging the Canal to Transport Salt In Spite of Heavy Rain, My Job is to Supervise

Have a government position with no official duties
Admire the idleness of Chang Qing.
Who spent many years in rural seclusion
I regret not having the clarity of Tao Yuanming.

These salt affairs make me anxious and impatient
Who can sympathize with farmers who need the time to cultivate
during this rain.
At dawn the work drums begin to sound
The thousand fingers work the pits and drains.

Rainy skies help to justify government policies
Workers drenched, drops falling off hats and clothes.
People like ducks and pigs
Mud flung and splattered on each other.

Dismount my horse, above the levees and raw land
In all four directions one sees deep lake water.
This place has nowhere to stand up
My horse has to walk with the oxen and goats.

If I returned home to plant, at least I would not be working in the
mud like now
If I share this with hometown friends.
Tell them not to detest having to eat simple food
Such as lamb quarters soup.

Notes:

Tao Yuanming: (365-427) Famous poet from the Eastern Jin Dynasty. You may also refer to his work and biography on this website.

Salt affairs: The imperial government during the Tang Dynasty relied heavily upon the salt trade, both in the manufacture and distribution, for tax revenues.  They also relied heavily upon the conscripted labor of the peasants to maintain their salt monopoly.  Some things don’t change.