【Famous Works by Celebrities】Tang Dynasty, Du Xunhe’s “The Silk Worm Weaver”
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Du Xunhe, “The Silk Weaver’s Wife”: No trace of pink remains; hunger is all that’s left. How could she know that there is glory in this world? Year after year they say my silkworms work hard, for their whole bodies are covered in ramie.
Compared to his poem, we know more about another poem on the same theme written by Zhang Yu from the Song Dynasty: \"Yesterday I entered the city; upon returning, my clothes were soaked with tears. Those dressed in fine silk and clothes are not silkworm farmers.\" This five-character poem is excellent and more well-known; it can be regarded as a counterpart to Du Xunhe’s poems. But when we look back at Du Xunhe’s poem, we come to understand the true brilliance hidden within it. This poem depicts the image of a silkworm farmer and also presents her questions. Silkworm farmers are among the lowest-ranking workers in society; they toil year after year only to end up in a state of hunger with no trace of color on their bodies. Thus, the poet asks: if I work so hard, why then am I still covered in ramie cloth? It expresses the poet’s sympathy for the silk-weavers, as well as his condemnation of the irrationalities in feudal society.
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Without soiling one’s fingers in mud, living in a grand building
Society has always been like this; the workers of today are no exception – they endure pollution at the production sites, do the hardest and most exhausting work, and earn meager wages to make ends meet, while company executives sit in offices, giving orders all day long, earning millions in annual salaries.
“\"Without soiling one’s fingers in mud, one lives in a splendid house,\" are the third and fourth lines of the ancient poem \"The Potter\" by the Song dynasty poet Mei Yaochen. The full text of the poem is as follows: \"He has used up all the soil in front of his door; there isn’t a single tile on his roof.\" Without soiling one’s fingers in mud, one lives in lofty buildings.
It turns out he works in the brick and tile industry. Before working with bricks and tiles, he used to spend a lot of effort mixing clay to create clay molds; the key part is actually firing the bricks and tiles, as controlling the temperature is crucial