The Charcoal Seller
An old charcoal seller,
Cutting wood and burning charcoal in the Southern Mountains.
His face is gray with dust and smoke;
His temples are white, and all ten fingers black.
What does he earn the money for?
Clothes for his body and food for his mouth.
Sadly, his clothing is thin,
Yet fearing cheap charcoal, he wishes for colder weather.
Overnight a foot of snow falls outside the city;
At dawn he drives the charcoal cart over icy ruts.
The ox is weary, the man hungry, the sun already high;
They rest in the mud outside the southern market gate.
Who are the two riders arriving so briskly?
A palace envoy in yellow and an attendant in white.
Holding a document, they announce an imperial order;
They turn the cart, shout at the ox and lead it north.
A cart of charcoal,
More than a thousand jin in weight—
The palace envoys take it away; he cannot refuse.
Half a bolt of red gauze and a length of silk,
Tied to the ox’s head as payment for the charcoal.
Notes
Wēng means an elderly man; fáxīn means cutting firewood. The Southern Mountains lie south of Chang’an. His thin clothing contrasts with his wish for cold weather, when charcoal may sell for more. Jì means mounted riders; chì is an imperial order. Xiāo and líng are silk fabrics; zhí here means the price paid.
Meaning
An elderly man cuts wood and makes charcoal to earn money for food and clothing. Though thinly dressed, he wishes for cold weather so charcoal will sell. After a difficult snowy journey, palace envoys take his cartload and tie a small amount of silk to the ox as payment.
Appreciation
This narrative poem follows an elderly charcoal seller through hard work and an unfair seizure by palace envoys.
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His soot-marked face and hands introduce the labor, while a question and answer explain that he needs the proceeds for basic food and clothing.
His thin clothing makes his wish for colder weather painful: cold may increase the price of charcoal, but he must endure the cold himself.
The envoys arrive with a document and take the cart. The small payment at the end leaves the reader to judge the inequality of the exchange.
Retell the story in stages: making charcoal, traveling through snow, and meeting the palace envoys.
About the poet
Bai Juyi (772–846), courtesy name Letian, was a Tang poet and official born near present-day Xinzheng, Henan.
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His works include Song of the Pipa Player, Song of Everlasting Sorrow and many poems about daily life.