Yuan Dynasty
山坡羊（一）
Shān pō yáng · Qí yī
Fú dī fú ruò, zhuāng dāi zhuāng luò, shì fēi yóu zì lái zháo mò.
Rèn cóng tā, dài rú hé? Tiān gōng shàng yǒu fáng nóng guò, cán pà yǔ hán miáo pà huǒ.
Yīn, yě shì cuò; qíng, yě shì cuò.
Translation
Bow low, appear weak, pretend to be dull and harmless—yet trouble and gossip still come of themselves. Let them come; what can one do? Even Heaven can fail the farmers: silkworms fear cold rain, while seedlings fear scorching sun. Cloudy weather is wrong; clear weather is wrong as well.
Analysis
The poem exposes a social trap: even humility, silence, and harmlessness cannot protect one from blame. The agricultural analogy is sharp. Weather that benefits silkworms may harm seedlings, and weather that saves seedlings may harm silkworms. Thus “cloudy is wrong; clear is wrong” becomes more than a comment on weather—it is a satire on a world where judgment is arbitrary and blame is unavoidable.
About the Author
Chen Cao’an was a Yuan-dynasty sanqu writer, often identified as Chen Ying, courtesy name Yanqing. His surviving works are known for social satire, plain forceful diction, and a skeptical view of fame, office, and worldly judgment.