賣炭翁 白居易

賣炭翁     苦宮市也    白居易 (772-846)

賣炭翁，伐薪燒炭南山中，

滿面塵灰煙火色，兩鬢蒼蒼十指黑。
賣炭得錢何所營，身上衣裳口中食，
可憐身上衣正單，心憂炭價願天寒。
夜來城外一尺雪，曉駕炭車輾冰轍，
牛困人飢日已高，市南門外泥中歇。
翩翩兩騎來是誰，黃衣使者白衫兒，
手把文書口稱勅，迴車叱牛牽向北。
一車炭重千餘斤，宮使驅將惜不得，
半疋紅紗一丈綾，繫向牛頭充炭直。

The Old Coal Huckster   His coal ransacked by eunuchs from the Palace

Bai Juyi (772-846)

There is an old man who sells coal,

He makes coal out of wood he cuts in the south holts,
His face is full of dust and smoke coated,
His temple hoar and his fingers all darkly soiled,
On what does he spend his income gross?
Clothing himself and his victuals,
But clothes on him are thin and old,
What worries him is the weather gets too warm and price of coal too low,
In the night city suburbs were laid a foot of snow,
At daybreak his coal cart on the frozen road he drove,
At noon both his ox and himself were worn out with toil and moil,
Out of the south gate amid the muddy road he lulled,
Arrogantly two riders approached,
One clad in white and the other yellow,
Declaring an edict to pull,
Wheeling the coal cart to the north and forward they yowled,
More than a thousand catties weighs the cart of coal,
But what the eunuchs dictated one could not say no,
A zhang of silk and red gauze half a roll,
They thrusted these onto the ox head to settle for the coal.