A monk-poet born in the JiangXi province of China in the mid-9th century, Wing Lei was a contemporary of the Chinese poetry masters Li Po, Tu Fu, and Wang Wei. His early life was spent in relative anonymity as a mid-level government official in the province, though it is known that he wrote poetry during this time. When his beloved wife Nagini was drowned in a flood during the spring of her thirty-fifth year, Wing Lei gave up his government position and took vows at a nearby monastery. He spent seven years there before embarking on his travels, writing poetry and living on the charity of those he met in the Chinese Countryside. He is believed to have died in his sixty-first year. These poems are the story of his life and travels.