xiè gōng zuì xiǎo piān lián nǚ,
zì jià qián lóu bǎi shì guāi。
gù wǒ wú yī sōu jìn qiè,
ní tā gū jiǔ bá jīn chāi。
yě shū chōng shàn gān cháng huò,
luò yè tiān xīn yǎng gǔ huái。
jīn rì fèng qián guò shí wàn,
yǔ jūn yíng diàn fù yíng zhāi。
O youngest, best-loved daughter of Xie,
Who unluckily married this penniless scholar,
You patched my clothes from your own wicker basket,
And I coaxed off your hairpins of gold, to buy wine with;
For dinner we had to pick wild herbs –
And to use dry locust-leaves for our kindling.
...Today they are paying me a hundred thousand –
And all that I can bring to you is a temple sacrifice.