144

Lei Chen (lei means “thunder” and chen means “shake”) lived during the Sung dynasty, but nothing else is known about him—which is surprising, as commentators marvel at the combination of effortlessness and craftsmanship in this poem. Perhaps he was a friend of the compiler and preferred anonymity. Among the duties assigned children in farming communities was the tending of oxen (in North China) or water buffaloes (in the South). The back of the water buffalo, though, is much broader and provides a better seat. The transverse flute arrived in China in prehistoric times and apparently originated with one of the nomadic groups along the country’s northwest border, where eagle bones were used before the Chinese replaced them with bamboo.

Village Dusk

LEI CHEN

Grass lines the pond and water lines the bank

the sun sinks in the mountains and in the icy ripples

a herdboy returns on the back of his ox

aimlessly blowing a flute to no tune