Pity the farmer
悯农
by Li Shen (772-846)
——李绅(772 - 846)
The farmer hoes grain in the noonday sun,
锄禾日当午,
With sweat dripping onto the field.
汗滴禾下土。
Who realizes that the food on their plate-
谁知盘中餐,
Every grain-comes from bitter suffering?
粒粒皆辛苦。
The rice farmer
米农
by Saoirse McCann
——西尔斯·麦凯恩
The sun is setting low, the red sky a welcoming sight;
太阳已徐徐落下,天空染起红妆;
The farmer stands silently in the fading light.
渐失渐柔的光线中,农民矗立眺望。
The fields are watered and planted, the buffaloes are fed;
田已灌溉和播种,老牛也已喂养;
The only thing he thinks of now is finding home and bed.
现在唯一想要的,就是家里那张床。
A gentle wind is whispering of hope and dreams of life;
风儿低吟浅唱着,送来希望与梦想;
Every grain of rice requires such effort and such strife.
不努力就没收获,每粒米都是这样。
Remember, when you sit and eat with family of friends,
亲朋好友吃饭时,请您勿要忘;
All the many hours he works, as his fields he tends.
种米的人还在忙碌着,在那片土地上。