A Poem about Farmers

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

Pity the Farmer by Li Shen written in the Tang Dynasty – 《悯农》唐, 李绅

鋤禾日当午,

At noon on the day of hoeing,

汗滴禾下土,

Sweat drips into the soil,

誰知盘中䬸,

Who knows that their plate’s meal,

粒粒皆辛苦。

Is made up of grains of hard work.

I remember as a child, my grandfather would emphasise the importance of finishing every last bit of food on my plate even down to the last grain of rice. Why? That is because every bit of food down to the grain represents the sheer hard work that has been put in to reap it particularly by the farmers. Food production is generally less labour-intensive these days with the growth of modern technology however the message still remains that we should not take our food for granted.