Farmhouses by the Wei River
English translation and interpretation are being reviewed.
穷巷牛羊归。
野老念牧童，
倚杖候荆扉。
雉雊麦苗秀，
蚕眠桑叶稀。
田夫荷锄至，
相见语依依。
即此羡闲逸，
怅然吟式微。
English translation
The slanting sun lights the village, down the deep lane the cattle and sheep come home.
The old countryman, thinking of the herdboy, leans on his staff and waits by the bramble gate.
Pheasants call, the wheat is in ear, the silkworms sleep, the mulberry leaves grown thin.
Farmers come, shouldering their hoes, and, meeting, they talk on and on.
At this I envy their ease and quiet, and wistfully I chant the Shiwei.
Meaning
The slanting light of sunset falls upon the village; cattle and sheep come down the deep lane, returning one by one.
An old man of the village thinks of his grandson at the pasture and leans upon his staff, waiting by the brushwood gate.
The pheasant calls, the wheat puts forth ears; the silkworms sleep as it were, and the mulberry leaves have grown thin.
Farmers come home in twos and threes with hoes upon their shoulders; meeting by chance upon the field path they talk fondly together, too content to part.
At such an hour, how should such ease and quiet not make me envious? I cannot but chant the Shiwei with a heavy heart.
Background
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This poem was written in the later part of the Kaiyuan era (reign title of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, 713–741) and depicts rural life along the banks of the Wei River.