1. "Shepherd Boy" by Lu Yan (Tang Dynasty)
The grass spreads across the field for six or seven miles, and the flute makes three or four sounds in the evening breeze.
After returning home and having a good meal, after dusk, I lie down under the moonlight without taking off my coir raincoat.
Translation: The grass seems to have been spread out on the ground by someone. There is grassland in a radius of six or seven miles. In the evening breeze, the intermittent and melodious flute sound of the shepherd boy could be faintly heard. The shepherd boy came back and had a full meal. It was already after dusk. He didn't even take off his raincoat, so he lay on the grass and looked at the full moon in the sky.
2. "Poem of the Shepherd Boy" Huang Tingjian (Song Dynasty)
Riding an ox far past the front village, he played the flute and heard it across the long distance.
How many famous and wealthy people in Chang'an are not as good as you if they run out of agencies.
Translation: The shepherd boy passed the mountain village far away on his cow. He played the piccolo horizontally, and I could hear it across the field. Those people in Chang'an City who are chasing fame and wealth, even if they try their best, they can't be as leisurely as you.
3. "What I Saw" Yuan Mei [Qing Dynasty]
A shepherd boy riding an ox, his singing shook the forest.
I wanted to catch the chirping cicada, but suddenly I stood up with my mouth shut.
Translation: The shepherd boy rides on the back of the ox, and his loud singing echoes in the woods. Suddenly I wanted to catch the cicada singing in the tree, so I immediately stopped singing and stood quietly next to the tree.
4. "Village Evening" Lei Zhen [Song Dynasty]
The pond is full of grass and water, and the setting sun on the mountain is soaked in cold ripples.
The shepherd boy returns and crosses the cow's back, playing the piccolo without any tune.
Translation: In a pond covered with water plants, the pond is full of water, and the mountains catch the setting sun and submerge the water waves. The boy herding the cows sat on the backs of the cows, casually playing tuneless music on the piccolo.
5. "Qingming" by Du Mu (Tang Dynasty)
It rains heavily during the Qingming Festival, and pedestrians on the road want to die.
May I ask where the restaurant is? The shepherd boy points to Xinghua Village in the distance.
Translation: The drizzle falls one after another during the Qingming Festival in the south of the Yangtze River, and all the travelers on the road are in despair. Ask the locals where to buy a drink to drown your sorrows? The shepherd boy smiled without answering and pointed to the village deep in the apricot blossoms.
6. "Painting" by Yuan Mei [Qing Dynasty]
It is a sunny evening in the village, and the peach blossoms reflect the fresh water.
Where did the shepherd boy go? A gull slept on the back of the cow.
Translation: The sky is clear after the rain in the evening in the countryside, and the peach blossoms are reflected in the water, making them even brighter. The shepherd boy who was herding the cows didn't know where he was going. He only saw a gull on the back of the cow in the distance, sleeping soundly.