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背灼炎天光

bèizhuóyántiānguāng
phrase

Meanings

  1. 1 their backs scorched by the blazing sun
  2. 2 (fig.) depiction of peasants' brutal toil in the midsummer harvest
  3. 3 (lit.) back seared (by) flaming-sky light

Examples

盛夏收麦，农民足蒸暑土气，背灼炎天光。
Shèngxià shōu mài, nóngmín zú zhēng shǔ tǔ qì, bèi zhuó yán tiān guāng.
Harvesting wheat in high summer, farmers have 'feet steaming from the hot earth, backs scorched by the burning sun.'
建筑工人在烈日下干活，真是背灼炎天光。
Jiànzhù gōngrén zài lièrì xià gànhuó, zhēn shì bèi zhuó yán tiān guāng.
Construction workers toiling under a fierce sun are truly 'having their backs seared by the blazing sun.'

Tips

history
From 白居易《观刈麦》(Bai Juyi, 'Watching the Wheat Harvest,' middle Tang, c. 806 CE): 足蒸暑土气，背灼炎天光。力尽不知热，但惜夏日长 (Feet steaming from hot earth, backs scorched by the blazing sun. Strength spent, they do not feel the heat — they only cherish the long summer day's light). Bai wrote it as a young magistrate in Zhouzhi, appalled at peasants' suffering; the poem ends with his own guilt at eating well while they starve.
usage
Reading: 灼 = zhuó ('to burn / scorch'), 2nd tone. Always quoted with 足蒸暑土气. Used today for any scene of brutal outdoor labor under the sun.

Stroke Order

背 bēi
灼 zhuó
炎 yán
天 tiān
光 guāng