by Lu Yu (1125 - 1209)
Translation by Arthur Waley (1889 - 1969)

Language: English  after the Chinese (中文) 
In the southern village the boy who minds the ox
With his naked feet stands on the ox’s back.
Through the hole in his coat the river wind blows;
Through his broken hat the mountain rain pours.
On the long dyke he seemed to be far away;
In the narrow lane suddenly we were face to face.
The boy is home and the ox is back in its stall;
And a dark smoke oozes through the thatched roof.

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Composition:

Text Authorship:

  • by Arthur Waley (1889 - 1969), "The herd-boy", first published 1946

Based on:

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Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2014-11-04
Line count: 8
Word count: 78