1. The hard work of collecting water chestnuts wastes the plough, and the bloody fingers bleed with elixirs. ——Song Dynasty Fan Chengda's "Four Seasons Pastoral Excitement·Summer"

Vernacular translation: Due to heavy taxes, farmers lost their land and had to "waste plows and hoes" and work hard on the lake. Planting and harvesting water chestnuts, the hard water chestnuts prick people's fingers to bleed, and the heavy labor makes people as skinny as ghosts and loses their human shape.

2. It’s noon on the day of hoeing, and the sweat is dripping from the soil. Who knew that every meal on the plate is hard work? ——Tang Dynasty·Li Shen's "Two Poems of Compassion for Farmers·Part 2"

Vernacular translation: Farmers are hoeing under the scorching sun at noon, and sweat drips from their bodies on the land where the seedlings grow. Who knows that every grain of food on the plate was earned by farmers through hard work?

3. Although it is hard work to search for thousands of pounds, you will only get gold after blowing all the sand. ——Tang Dynasty·Liu Yuxi's "Lang Tao Sha·Mo Dao's slander is as deep as the waves"

Vernacular translation: After thousands of filtrations and countless hardships, only in the end can all the silt be washed out and obtained. Sparkling gold.

4. After harvesting the honey from hundreds of flowers, it will be sweet to whomever you work hard for. —— Luo Yin of the Tang Dynasty, "Bee"

Vernacular translation: After collecting flowers and turning them into honey, I don’t know who worked hard for whom and sweetened it for whom?

5. There are several plum trees in the corner, and Ling Han blooms alone. ——Wang Anshi's "Plum Blossoms" in the Northern Song Dynasty

Vernacular translation: The few plum blossoms in the corner bloomed alone in the severe cold.

Baidu Encyclopedia - Summer Pastoral Miscellany

Baidu Encyclopedia - Two Songs of Compassion for Farmers

Baidu Encyclopedia - Nine Songs of Langtaosha

Baidu Encyclopedia - Bee (Poetry by Luo Yin)

Baidu Encyclopedia - Plum Blossom