徐渭《土豆》“Potatoes” by Xu Wei (1521-1593)

榛實軟不及，

菰根旨定雌。

吳沙花落子，

蜀國葉蹲鴟。

配茗人猶未，

隨羞筯似知。

嬌顰非不賞，

憔悴浣紗時。

Hazelnuts are not as soft [as them];

Wild rice roots fall short in sweetness.

[They are like] children-of-fallen-flowers in the sand of Wu;[1]

[Or] leafy crouching-owls of the state of Shu.[2]

No one has ever had them with tea,

[Yet] chopsticks seem to know them as a side dish.

A sentimental fair maid would appreciate them,

If they did not wilt by the time she rinsed her gauze.[3]

* From Xu Wei 徐渭 (1521-1593), Xu Wei ji 徐渭集 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1984), 190.

[1] The "children-of-fallen-flowers" refers to peanuts that grow well in the sandy soil of the Wu region at the mouth of the Yangtze River.

[2] The "crouching-owls" refers to taros that are common in the Sichuan basin.

[3] The word choices suggest that the last two lines allude to the story of Xi Shi 西施, a native of the Wu region who is synonymous with beauty. She meets her lover Fan Li 范蠡 when rinsing her gauze by a brook in spring; see, for example, a popular qunqu 崑曲 play based on this story: Liang Chenyu 梁辰魚 (1520-1592), Huanxiji 浣溪記, Guben xiqu congkan chuji 古本戲曲叢刊初集 edition (Shanghai: Shangwu yinshuguan, 1954), 2.3a-3b. In the Wu region, potatoes may be planted for a spring harvest, so the qiaocui 憔悴 (wilt, be wearied) probably hints at the fact that the overground part of the plant withers in spring, which is a sign that the potatoes are ready to be harvested.

Recent harvest in my vegetable garden