Farmers worked hard on the big rice seedling field. (Photographer: Sheng-Zhang Li. Date and place photos were taken: 2006; Hualien County.)

The farmer offered sacrifice to God for bestowing everything and to pray for favorable weather and harvest. (Photographer: Sheng-Zhang Li. Date and place photos were taken: 2006; Hualien County.)

Manually transplanting rice seedlings is heavy physical labor and has become rare nowadays. (Photographer: Sheng-Zhang Li. Date and place photos were taken: 2006; Hualien County.)

Harvesting by hand and not machine is almost unheard of these days. (Photographer: Sheng-Zhang Li. Date and place photos were taken: 2006; Hualien County.)

The farmers have to flip the grains over every hour to sun-dry them. Caught between the fervent sun and burning ground, the farmers feel like being baked in an oven. (Photographer: Sheng-Zhang Li. Date and place photos were taken: 2006; Hualien County.)

How many people, when enjoying the aroma of cooked rice, will think that each grain is a fruit of arduous labor? (Photographer: Sheng-Zhang Li. Date and place photos were taken: 2006; Hualien County.)