the China Lightroom blog

Theme Song performed by 王菲 (Wang Fei, aka Wong Faye)

Chinese culture is rich and amazing. Did you know that the main melody at the 2008 Beijing Olympics medal ceremonies were composed using only musical instruments that were made 2,450 years ago? That melody was a version of “茉莉花” or “Jasmine Flower.”  It was adapted by famous Chinese composer Tan Dun and Wang Hesheng (of the Chinese Army orchestra) using the ancient instruments for the 2008 Olympics medal ceremonies. According to this China Daily article, “Classical piece will ring in ears of winners” on China Daily:

“The main melody, which Tan described as “glorious, heartwarming and full of respect”, was recorded using the digital recording of a 2,450-year-old bell set excavated from a site in Hubei.”

The original was a Chinese folk song created during the Qianlong Emperor period of the Qing Dynasty (1711-1799).  ”茉莉花” became known in the West first due to its inclusion by Giacomo Puccini in his opera Turandot in Italy.  

Below are lyrics to this song and various renditions:

Simplified Chinese

好一朵美丽的茉莉花
好一朵美丽的茉莉花
芬芳美丽满枝桠
又香又白人人夸
让我来将你摘下
送给别人家
茉莉花呀茉莉花

Literal Translation

What a beautiful jasmine flower
What a beautiful jasmine flower
Sweet-smelling, beautiful, stems full of buds
Fragrant and white, everyone praises
Let me pluck you down
Give to someone
Jasmine flower, oh jasmine flower

“茉莉花” has been performed all around the world. Below are various incarnations.

CCTV-7 Commercial: “Let the world hear our sounds” based on “茉莉花” (Jasmine Flower)

By a Trio using Western instruments at the 2009 Cultural Spring Festival Show

By Kenny G

By the Vienna Boys Choir in Korea in 2002

By 宋祖英 (Song Zuying) at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in 2006 accompanied by an American Orchestra

By a Japanese choir

According to the China Daily article, “from Puccini to the Beijing Olympics, this melody is a gift from the Chinese people to the world’s athletes,” Tan said.

This is a performance during the 2009 CCTV Spring Festival show by four Chinese music icons:
李宗盛 (Li ZhongSheng)
周华健 (Zhou HuaJian)
罗大右 (Luo DaYou)
张震岳 (Zhang ZhengYue)

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泥娃娃
泥娃娃
一个泥娃娃
她有那鼻子 也有那眉毛
眼睛不会眨

泥娃娃
泥娃娃
一个泥娃娃
她有那鼻子 也有那眉毛
嘴巴不说话

她是个假娃娃
不是个真娃娃
她没有亲爱的爸爸
也没有妈妈

泥娃娃
泥娃娃
一个泥娃娃
我做她爸爸
也做她妈妈
永远爱着她

Lyrics/Translation courtesy of chinesecivilization.

高悬瀑布，远叠山，动听雀吟，静听蝉。
Waterfall hanging high above, mountains stack far one after another, I can hear birds singing when I walk around, I can hear crickets when it’s quiet;
不知松竹，谁先绿，难辩水天，哪最蓝。
Don’t know whether it’s the pine or the bamboo that first show the sign of green, can tell whether it’s the water or the sky that is more blue;
忽风桃花岸，白云裹红团，牧笛惊花雨，花边溪柳泉。
A sudden gust of wind blowing on the shore of peach blossom, redness embedded within white clouds, sound of flute disturbs the rain of peddles, spring gushing from underneath the flowers;
忽风桃花岸，白云裹红团，桃花源头随梦源，忽在天际,忽眼前。
A sudden gust of wind blowing on the shore of peach blossom, redness embedded within white clouds, the paradise in my dream appear and disappear in front of my eyes;
桃花源,桃花源,梦入桃花源,红树青山,斜阳孤岛,梦入桃花源。
Paradise, paradise, red trees and turquoise mountains, lonely island reflected under the setting sun, I enter the paradise in my dream;
桃花源,桃花源,梦入桃花源,桃花流水,福地洞天,梦入桃花源。
Paradise, paradise, red trees and turquoise mountains, lonely island reflected under the setting sun, I enter the paradise in my dream;

日照小村,月照田,午伴茶神,舞醉仙。
The sun casting shadows on a small village, the moon shining on the surrounding fields, I stay with the tea goddess at noon and dance with the drunken god;
不说桃花几时去,只见小姑又红颜。
Don’t tell me when the peach blossom will fade, I see it on the cheeks of your little sister;

眼含星点点,腮挂霞片片,风吹红裙动,深秋花依然。
Eyes sparkling like stars, cheeks blushing like rosy clouds, Red skirt flowing with wind, flowers still blossom in deep autumn;
眼含星点点,腮挂霞片片,桃花源头随梦源,疑是天上却人间。
Eyes sparkling like stars, cheeks blushing like rosy clouds, In the paradise I search for the source of dreams, can’t tell whether it’s heaven or earth;
桃花源,桃花源,梦入桃花源,红树青山,斜阳孤岛,梦入桃花源。
Paradise, paradise, red trees and turquoise mountains, lonely island reflected under the setting sun, I enter the paradise in my dream;

(repeat till end)

但愿人长久
Lyrics by poet: Song Dynasty 蘇軾 (Su Shi) aka 蘇东坡(Su DongPo)
Singer: 王菲 (Wang Fei or Faye Wong)
Music score: 梁弘志 (Liang HongZhi)

明月幾時有 把酒問青天
不知天上宮闕 今夕是何年

我欲乘風歸去 唯恐瓊樓玉宇
高處不勝寒 起舞弄清影 何似在人間

轉朱閣低綺戶照無眠
不應有恨何事長向別時圓
人有悲歡離合 月有陰晴圓缺
此事古難全 但願人長久
千里共嬋娟

我欲乘風歸去 唯恐瓊樓玉宇
高處不勝寒 起舞弄清影
何似在人間

轉朱閣低綺戶照無眠
不應有恨何事長向別時圓
人有悲歡離合 月有陰晴圓缺
此事古難全 但願人長久
千里共嬋娟

Translation courtesy of China the Beautiful:

Will a moon so bright ever arise again?
Drink a cupful of wine and ask of the sky.
I don’t know where the palace gate of heaven is,
Or even the year in which tonight slips by.
I want to return riding the whirl-wind! But I
Feel afraid that this heaven of jasper and jade
Lets in the cold, its palaces rear so high.
I shall get up and dance with my own shadow.
From life endured among men how far a cry!

Round the red pavilion
Slanting through the lattices
Onto every wakeful eye,
Moon, why should you bear a grudge, O why
Insist in time of separation so th fill the sky?
Men know joy and sorow, parting and reunion;
The moon lacks lustre, brightly shines; is al, is less.
Perfection was never easily come by.
Though miles apart, could men but live for ever
Dreaming they shared this moonlight endlessly!

Another translation courtesy of Xah Lee Web.

When do good times come? i raise my drink to the moon
what year is today? what’s up with the gods?
i would hitch the wind to return
though high places are cold
i play with my shadow, a pleasure it is
the door, the window sill, reflected my sleeplessenss
the resentments, the separation, the bearings
for joy and for gloom, even the moon faces change
this is with us; may people prosper, as ducks in pairs

李白 (Li Bai, 701-762AD) is one of the most beloved Tang Dynasty (618-907AD) poets in Chinese history. This is a rendition of his poem, 静夜思 (“Thoughts on a Still Night”) where he reminisces his home. Below are couple of videos presenting this poem in various ways. Many Chinese children, some, perhaps shortly after they start talking, will be taught this poem (see second video below).

In Beijing Opera Style:

床前明月光，
疑是地上霜。
举头望明月，
低头思故乡。

Below is a translation by the Chinese Poems web site:

http://www.chinese-poems.com/lb4.html

Before my bed, the moon is shining bright,
I think that it is frost upon the ground.
I raise my head and look at the bright moon,
I lower my head and think of home.

Here is another rendition (actually two) by a Chinese scholar and a very cute Chinese girl:

girls

boys

For the last two centuries, the Chinese psyche has been defined in large part by the humiliations and sufferings brought about by foreigners (see the Opium War, the Second Opium War, and the Nanjing Massacre). After the founding of the current Peoples Republic of China, it was the disastrous policies of the Cultural Revolution and the Great Leap Forward which furthered that wound. The latter were the Chinese inflicting pain onto themselves.

In a T.V. series released in 1991, called 渴望 (“Yearning”), 毛阿敏 (Mao AMin) touched the hearts of every Chinese with her rendition of the theme song under the same name. The T.V. series itself was an epic, depicting the social upheaval that characterized the Cultural Revolution. The impact of the Cultural Revolution was pervasive. It gripped the whole nation.

Through 渴望, 毛阿敏 brought out the sadness and the strong yearning inside every Chinese to want to shed the past and to seek a future free of those sufferings. Every Chinese have lamented how things have gone so wrong for the bulk of the last two centuries. If anyone who wishes to understand why the Chinese want peace and stability nowadays, he or she should start by understanding this song and what it conveys.

The following are lyrics to the song:

渴望 —- 都曾经有过 这样执著 究竟為什么 漫漫人生路 上下求索 心中渴望 真诚的生活 谁能告诉我 是对还是错 问询南来 北往的客 悠悠岁月 欲说当年好困惑 亦真亦幻难取舍 悲欢离合 都曾经有过 这样执著 究竟為什么 漫漫人生路 上下求索 心中渴望 真诚的生活 谁能告诉我 是对还是错 问询南来 北往的客 恩怨忘却 留下真情从头说 相伴人间 万家灯火 故事不多 宛如平常一段歌 过去未来共斟酌 过去未来共斟酌

(A 10-minute cursory translation by berlinf – so you can get a rough gist of the lyric. berlinf is a professional Chinese literary works translator. We are not giving justice to the Chinese lyrics. Just imagine the result from translating a poem by a Western poet like Thoreau into Chinese in 10 minutes!) We’ve all been through Such persistence Really, why Ah this long journey of life Of endless inquiry Deep inside I yearn For a truthful life Who can tell me Is this right or wrong Thus I ask Passengers heading south Heading north Those days of a life Those confusions of the past What is a reality What is an illusion These are hard to tell Those joys and sorrows Those farewells and reunions I have them all Such persistence Really, why Ah this long journey of life Of endless inquiry Deep inside I yearn For a truthful life Who can tell me Is this right or wrong Thus I asked Passengers heading south Heading north Those graces I was given Those wrongs I suffered from I shall forget or forgive Till there is none left Except the barest of feelings Which I shall tell From the very start To let these stories pass In the lamp light of thousands of homes Yet these are ordinary stories That they are like a song Mused over in the past Mused over in the days to come

Everyone knows China is going through an industrial revolution right now. In developed countries such as the U.S., this took place in the late 19th century. The ratio between the number of rural and urban residents basically swapped because industrialization freed the bulk of the population from having to work in the fields to produce food for all. This phenomenon is occurring in China right now with her massive GDP growth in the last three decades. Despite the hundreds of millions of people having moved to urban areas, the number of Chinese citizens residing in the rural areas is still staggering – 750 million. If the final ratio is similar to other developed countries (which is likely), the scale of this population movement in the coming decades is mind-numbing. Imagine one billion people on the move in only a few decades!

A lot of Chinese people are going to be missing their prairies, farms, and villages. This song, titled, “父亲的草原母亲的河” (“Father’s Prairie, Mother’s River”), performed by 布仁巴雅尔 (Buren Bayaer), a Mongolian Chinese singer, readily resonates with the hundreds of millions of Chinese who have moved in the last three decades. It will continue to resonate for decades to come.

Equally, many “mother tongues” are going to be lost too, as the song laments. This phenomenon is easy to explain. In the U.S., many Americans who are descendants of immigrants usually loose the ability to speak their ancestors languages within one or two generations in favor of the official language, English. China has hundreds of dialects and thousands of accents. As they all converge in urban areas, they will predominantly speak the official dialect.

Many Chinese citizens visiting their parents at their old homes during the Chinese New Year will have this feeling.

The uploaded video, translation, and further info are courtesy of YallMeanMVP over at Youtube.com. According to YallMeanMVP, “the lyrics are adopted from a beautiful poem “Father’s Prairie, Mother’s River”(父亲的草原母亲的河), written by the renowned contemporary Mongolian Chinese writer/poetess 席慕容(Xi Murong).” (YallMeanMVP’s channel has a nice collection of Chinese videos and I recommend heading over for a look.)

YallMeanMVP: much thanks to yuluns for providing the translation:

Song/Poem Title:
父亲的草原母亲的河
Father’s Prairie, Mother’s River

词:席慕容 曲:乌兰托嘎
Lyrics/Poem: Xi Murong
Composer: ????

父亲曾经形容草原的清香
Father used to describe the fragrance of the prairie

让他在天涯海角也从不能相忘
A scent that followed him to the edges of the world

母亲总爱描摹那大河浩荡
Mother always spoke of the turbulence of the river

奔流在蒙古高原我遥远的家乡
Raging through the Mongolian steppes, my distant home

如今终于见到这辽阔大地
Now that I finally come to see this great land

站在芬芳的草原上我泪落如雨
Tears rain down my face as I stand on these fragrant prairies

河水在传唱着祖先的祝福
The river sings of the prayers of the forefathers

保佑漂泊的孩子,找到回家的路
Blessing the prodigal son to find his way home

啊!父亲的草原
Ah, father’s prairie

啊!母亲的河
Ah, mother’s river

虽然己经不能用母语来诉说
Though I can no longer express them in my mother tongue

请接纳我的悲伤我的欢乐
Please accept my feelings of sorrow and joy

我也是高原的孩子啊
I, too, am a son of the steppes

心里有一首歌
There is a song in my heart

歌中有我父亲的草原母亲的河
It sings of my father’s prairie and my mother’s river

阿佳 Ajia is an upcoming group in China. (http://you.video.sina.com.cn/ajia) The cinematography in this video is pretty amazing given the modest locale and likely low budget video equipment used. In Tibetan, this song sounds really good.

CCTV-9′s Center Stage program carried a performance by Tibetan Chinese singer, 索朗旺姆 (Soinam Wangmo): “天路” (“Heavenly Road”). The song itself is about the 青藏铁路 (Qingzang railway) linking the high altitude Tibetan plateu with the rest of China. Soinam Wangmo was the 10th CCTV Youth Singing Contest gold medal winner in 2008. She sang the song “Father” during the contest which captivated her audience. Soinam Wangmo is from a small village 700 km away from Lhasa according to this backgrounder by Yu Jing. She lost her father when she was 14 years old.
It is nice to see someone like her succeed on such a grand scale given the presumably hard lifestyle in a remote village where manual labor means everything.

[Edit 12/30/2009: See Music Student comments for corrections.]