In their cultural notes in
Sing Chinese, Cindy Mao and Ma Baolin tell us that "Song of the shepherd" is a Kazak folk song. The song is of a happy shepherd on his horse near Tianshan Mountain, the most famous mountain in Xinjiang. The Xinjiang Autonomous Region is located in north-western China. It is mostly inhabited by national minorities such as Uygur and Kazak. It is also one of the areas in China that is famous for its folk songs. Most Xinjiang folk songs have joyful melodies.
For this is a yet another melody which goes well with concertina and recorder.