悯农 · Pity the Farmers — 李绅 (Tang Dynasty)

锄禾日当午

chú hé rì dāng wǔ

汗滴禾下土

hàn dī hé xià tǔ

谁知盘中餐

shuí zhī pán zhōng cān

粒粒皆辛苦

lì lì jiē xīn kǔ

English translation

Hoeing rice under the noonday sun, / sweat dripping onto the soil. / Who knows that the food on the plate — / every grain is bitter toil?

Quoted at dinner tables across China to teach kids not to waste rice — every grain is a farmer's sweat.

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