Tilling Illustration 2: Plowing

The rich earth begins to stir under the first clear skies of spring;
an elder leans on his bamboo staff, supervising the early plowing.
The farming family knows only the hardship of their husbandry;
from the ridges of the fields, one constantly hears the shouts directed at the oxen.
This poem was written by Lou Shu (1090–1162), the Song Dynasty official who originally created the Gengzhi Tu to show the emperor the hardships of the peasantry.

The light over the plains and marshes is lovely,
and warmth spreads through the thatched cottages.
The green pigeon original: qingjiu, a bird whose call was traditionally believed to summon the rain calls urgently for rain
as the young yellow calf pulls the plow for the first time.
In the fields, no one dares to be idle;
who would venture to neglect the work of tilling and weeding?
Diligently overseeing the agricultural labor,
I lean on my staff and travel through the village ruins and lanes.
Written by Prince Yin Zhen, who would later become the Yongzheng Emperor. His poems often emphasize the ruler’s personal oversight of farming.

The overnight rain has just passed, and the morning sun is clear;
the black bull is powerful, strong enough for the spring plowing.
The farming family works so hard they do not even know fatigue;
they listen only to the sound of the cuckoo from the treetops.
Written by the Kangxi Emperor. The "cuckoo" (original: bugu) is a pun in Chinese, as its name sounds like "sow the grain."

Plowing

original: yili yu, a poetic measure of rain sufficient to moisten the soil to the depth of a plowshare