Learn Chinese Poem: Min Nong (Part 2) by Li Shen

In the previous post, we learnt the first part of the two Min Nong poems (悯农二首) written by Tang Dynasty poet Li Shen (李绅).

In this post, let’s learn the second part of the Min Nong poems with pinyin and English translation.

Check out the books to learn more Chinese Poems

• Ancient Chinese Poems
• Li Bai’s Selected Poems

Min Nong 2 – in Chinese (悯农.其二)

锄禾日当午，

汗滴禾下土。

谁知盘中餐，

粒粒皆辛苦?

Pinyin – Min Nong – Part 2 (拼音)

Chú hé rì dāng wǔ，

Hàndī hé xià tǔ。

Shuí zhī pán zhōng cān，

Lì lì jiē xīn kǔ？

Translation (翻译) – Min Nong – Part 2

Farmers hoe under the hot sun at the midday,

Their sweat drips on the land where the seedlings (are expected to) grow.

Who knows that every grain of food in the plate,

Is the result of the farmers hard work?

Appreciation (赏析) – Min Nong – Part 2

In the first part of the poem, the poet explains that farmers die despite working hard in the field.

The second poem further elaborates the situation of the farmers in the imperial China.

In this poem, the poet begins with a description of the farmers still working in the fields at noon under the scorching sun. Due to the hot sun, the drops of sweat get sprinkled on the hot land. This clarifies that the harvest of “ten thousand seeds” (万颗子) from “a grain of millet” (一粒粟) in “huge area spreading over the four seas” (四海无闲田) is because the thousands of farmers irrigated the land with blood and sweat.

Since the farmers work all year round without avoiding the cold, heat, rain, snow, wind and frost, the poet laments and shows sincere sympathy. The poet sympathizes with the farmers and expects others to respect them and appreciate their contribution by saying that “every grain is product of the hard work” (粒粒皆辛苦).