Tilling Illustration 8: Dressing with Mud and Ash original: Yu yin. This refers to the traditional agricultural practice of applying a nutrient-rich mixture of river mud, burned plant ash, and organic compost to the base of young rice plants.

Soil fertility has always relied on the farmer's diligence;
Abundance or scarcity is determined by the effort one puts in.
Spreading ash over mixed grasses nourishes the earth's bounty;
The heart’s desire is for a thousand acres of crops as vast as clouds.

The birds sing while the village paths are silent;
The spring waters rise as the wild bridge sits low.
Already loving how fine the new seedlings appear,
Soon one sees the double ridges original: fu long, the raised banks between paddies used for water management and access aligned and ready.
Everyone competes to start early during the dressing season;
When the day's lesson original: ke, referring to the daily quota of agricultural labor is done, how could one rest in ease?
With bodies drenched and feet covered in mud,
Busy, busy, as the sun once again sinks to the west.

With short ladles original: duan shao, a specific long-handled tool with a shallow cup used to precisely distribute liquid fertilizer or ash filled with ash, they dress the acres diligently;
High plateaus and low wetlands alike see the work divided.
The cooing doves original: ming jiu, the Oriental turtle dove; in Chinese folklore, their calling was believed to "summon" the necessary spring rains call for rain, every sound so sweet;
Beyond the mountain ridges, one soon sees the white clouds rising.