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心中为念农桑苦

心中為念農桑苦
xīnzhōngwèiniànnóngsāngkǔ
phrase

Meanings

  1. 1 in my heart I think of the hardship of farming and silkworm-raising
  2. 2 (fig.) an official's conscience keeping the common people's labor in mind
  3. 3 (lit.) heart — in — because — ponder — farming — mulberry / silkworm — hardship

Examples

诗人自勉心中为念农桑苦，不敢坐享其成。
Shīrén zìmiǎn xīn zhōng wèi niàn nóngsāng kǔ, bù gǎn zuòxiǎngqíchéng.
The poet reminded himself: 'in my heart I think of the hardship of farming'; he would not take its fruits for granted.
父母官应当心中为念农桑苦。
Fùmǔguān yīngdāng xīn zhōng wèi niàn nóngsāng kǔ.
A magistrate should 'keep in his heart the hardship of the farmers and silk workers.'

Tips

history
From 白居易《观刈麦》 (Bai Juyi, Tang, 806 CE), reflecting on his comfortable official's salary while watching peasants harvest in the heat: 今我何功德，曾不事农桑。吏禄三百石，岁晏有余粮。念此私自愧，尽日不能忘 (What merit have I? I have never done farm work. My official salary is three hundred shi; at year's end there's still grain to spare. Thinking on this I am privately ashamed, unable all day to forget). Bai Juyi is the Tang poet most celebrated for social conscience and plain-language 讽喻诗 (allegorical remonstrance verse).
usage
为 here reads wèi = 'because of / for the sake of' (4th tone, not wéi). 农桑 = farming (nóng) + silkworm / mulberry (sāng), together meaning 'peasant labor.' A line used in contexts of official accountability and remembering the common people.

Stroke Order

心 xīn
中 zhōng
为 wèi
念 niàn
农 nóng
桑 sāng
苦 kǔ