Yunyang sends conscript labor to the Yangtse,
Both river banks are alive with men and trade:
When the buffaloes of Wu pant beneath the moon,
Its weary work hauling boats!
The river water’s too muddy to drink.
Thick silt fills half the pot:
When workmen chant the Inspector’s Song,
Hearts break, tears fall like the rain.
Ten thousand slave in the quarries.
But who will haul the stone to the river bank?
Look yonder at rocky Mang and Dang—
What tears have fallen here since ancient times!

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