This famous herdsman’s folksong is one of my favorite Chinese poems ever. It originates in the Northern Dynasties, nearly 2000 years ago – but modern artists still use this verse to inspire their work today. The poem is short, but very vivid, with language that evokes the vast plains and wild steppes of western China. Modern Chinese hippie band Wild Children (野孩子) turned this poem into a song, which you can listen to on Spotify.
If this is your first attempt at reading Chinese poetry, (and this is a very good one to start with if so) I recommend you take it line by line, first understand the meaning of each character, and then try to imagine their meanings all together, and see if you can get a mental image of the scene.
《敕勒歌》
敕勒川，
阴山下。
天似穹庐，
笼盖四野。
天苍苍，野茫茫，
风吹草低见牛羊。
On the Chile Plains
beneath the shady mountain.
beneath the shady mountain.
The sky is like the dome of a yurt,
encasing the wilds in all four directions.
The sky is boundless, the wilderness is vast.
The wind blows the grass down revealing the oxen and sheep.
