時世行 杜荀鶴

時世行      杜荀鶴 (846-904)

夫因兵亂守蓬茅，麻苧裙衫鬢髮焦。

桑柘廢來猶納稅，田園荒盡尚征苗。
時挑野菜和根煮，旋砍生柴帶葉燒。
任是深山最深處，也應無計避征徭。

Turbulent Difficult Times        Du Xunhe (846-904)

For the military unrests men shut themselves up in their hovels,

Women toil away everywhere to make ends meet in hempen dresses with their hair shriveled,
Mulberry growing and silk-worm farming are left to dwindle, but government duties are unshirkable,
No harvest from unploughed fields means no money for government levy to settle,
At times they have to feed on wild herbs with roots as staple,
They just burn any wild wood casually cut with leaves as cooking fuel,
However deep in the mountain one withholds,
One can never avoid the levy government corrals,