Ballad on the Investigation of a Disaster
Yao Chen (1448–1478)
Having heard that an official was coming to investigate the disaster,
The starving people stood near the head of his horse.
“Are you starving?” asked the official.
“This is a rich village,” replied his clerk.
“Our food is already exhausted,” said the people.
“There is some extra grain,” said the lictor.
Hearing the words of his assistants,
He turned away, unwilling to enter the village.
Starvation and repletion depend upon clerks and lictors;
The official merely holds on to the register in his hand.
Before the investigation, in some cases the people had enough to eat,
Having stored up extra rice during the twelfth month of the previous year;
After the investigation, all the people were starving.
When an official passes by, tax money must be handed over completely;
When he leaves, he will report on his diligent labors—
While the starving people will be weeping together in the night.
Translated by Victor H. Mair