Song for the Herd

Song for the Herd

The Chinese title of this painting is "Mu Ge".

To break it down:

Mu = Herd (sometimes the act of herding and tending)
Ge = Songs / Music

Surely this young boy that is tending to his animals is playing a traditional song for them. He is holding and blowing a little reed instrument that is made from a gourd and some bamboo.

This painting is by Zhang Qing-Yi from a small town called Qindu in Huxian County in the Shaanxi Province of China.

These folk art paintings show scenes that are typical of village life in the middle of China.

Materials used in this work are "shui fen" (paint powder and water - similar to gouache), on thick paper