A Poem titled ‘Silkworm’

From a Selection of Ancient Chinese Poems by my Grandfather, Tien Chen

Silkworm by Zhang Yu written in the Song Dynasty — 《蚕妇》宋, 张俞

昨日入城市,

Entered the city yesterday,

归来泪满巾,

Returning with tear-filled towels,

遍身罗绮者,

Covered all over with silk,

不是养蚕人,

Are not the silkworm breeders.

This poem describes a woman who lives in the countryside who raises silkworms and sells silk in the city for a living. Silkworms are insects which spits out silk. She returns in tears, where her tears have soaked through her towels. She cries because she sees that people wearing the beautiful silk are not the hard-working silkworm breeders like herself.

This is a very powerful and emotive poem highlighting the social division between those who live in poverty and those who do not. Through reading this poem, one can only empathise with the silkworm breeders and wonder why life can be so unfair for those who work tirelessly.