The hanmun and Korean explications of the poem give rather different readings. The last three characters in each line have two meanings. Governor Cho is a sitting bird; Chinsa Sŭng is a dead fly; Ch’ŏmji Mun is a mosquito in the eaves, and Magistrate O is a crow flying to the roost. Chinsa was the baccalaureate title in Chosŏn; Ch’ŏmji once denoted high rank but in time came to mean a commoner ajŏsshi; note the pretence to rank.
The hanmun reading of the poem is as follows:
When summer skies burn, sleepy birds perch;
when autumn breezes blow chill, the flies all die.
When the moon rises on East Ridge,
mosquitoes gather under the eaves.
When the sun sets on West Mountain,
the crows go home to roost.
But when the hanmun and the Korean are combined, the reading is quite different:
When summer skies burn, Governor Cho perches like a sleepy bird.
When autumn breezes blow chill, Chinsa Sŭng is a dead fly.
When the moon rises on East Ridge,
Ch’ŏmji Mun is a mosquito under the eaves.
When the sun sets on West Mountain,
Magistrate O is a crow going to roost.