Black rice, black rice
Dark grain once forbidden to the masses
A delicacy reserved for emperors
To ensure their dynasty’s longevity
Black rice, forbidden rice
Dark grain once unwashed by the masses
A delicacy reserved for emperors
To ensure their dynasty’s longevity
Anthocyanin supremacy
With abundance in protein and iron
An ingenuity in gene mutation
The emperor’s sacred rice
Was cultivated to enrich the richest
No quarter given to the poor, the sick
Long live the empire
Now cross-bred with other rice species
Only artifacts of the black grain exist today
In the service of public consumption
A black artifact of history
Anthocyanin supremacy
With abundance in protein and iron
An ingenuity in gene mutation