Pity the Farmer (悯农)
Li Shen's Tang-dynasty poem — the toil behind every grain of rice, recited at dinner tables ever since.
Tap any word for its meaning
锄禾日当午，Hoeing grain under the noonday sun,汗滴禾下土。sweat drips onto the soil below.
谁知盘中餐，Who realizes that the food on our plates —粒粒皆辛苦。every single grain — is hard-won toil?
Want to read along with audio? Every story in the Literate Chinese app is narrated by a native speaker — in Mainland or Taiwan Mandarin — so you can listen while you read, and tap any word to save it as a flashcard. See what's in the app.
