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 Listen to Shirley Singing the Lyric in English June 27, 2010
Listen to Shirley Singing the Lyric in Chinese June 27, 2010
Listen to Shirley Explaining the Lyric June 28, 2010 & Follow Me to Read It
Listen to Shirley Reading the Lyric and New Words June 28, 2010 & Follow Me to Read Them
Read Something About This Lyric & Shirley's Comments on It June 28, 2010
See Shirley Created Calligraphy & Paintings for the Lyric June 26, 2010 See Mr. Mao Zedong Created Calligraphy for the Lyric Dec, 1961
 Plum blossom is one of the important parts in Chinese culture. It is the subject that has been expressing by the ancient and contemporary Chinese literature and art works for a few thousand years. One of the most famous poems / lyrics to appreciate plum blossom is the Bu Suan Zi ? Yong Mei by Lu You (1125 - 1210) in Song Dynasty (960-1279):
薊紊罅莨 ? Beside the broken bridge and outside of the post-hall 鐚
絲絲綣筝 ? A flower is blossoming forlorn
綏藥 ? Saddened by her solitude at nightfall鐚
頑蕋 ? by wind and rain she is further torn
篋 ? To spring she lays no claim鐚
筝篁臂絋 ? let other flowers their envy pour
羈ョ⊂篏絨 ? Fallen in mud and ground to dust, she seems no more鐚
薤絋 ? but her fragrance is still the same.
In Lu Yous poem /lyric, the plum blossom is alone, pure and envied by the other flowers. But even though she has changed to be mud and ground to dust, she still keeps her fragrance. The other ancient poems relate to plum blossom also similar with this kind of meaning.
In December, 1961, during China's economy was in the quite difficult time. Chairman Mao Zedong (1893 - 1976) read the lyric by Lu You (1125 - 1210). With the same name of the tune, he wrote/filled a new lyric with totally different meaning.
In my opinions, this is the most positive and the best poem on plum blossom.
This poem/lyric has written out two kinds of characteristics of the plum blossom:
1. She is much stronger and braver than any the other flowers so that she can be able to blossom her beautiful flowers in the coldest season when the cliff is covered by the ice.
2.She is beautiful and blossoms earliest, but, she does not want to compete her beautiful with the spring and the other flowers at all. What she wants to do is just to be the herald of the spring. When all of the flowers have blossomed already, she will return among the flowers with a big smile...
I do think that via writing the beautiful quality of the plum blossom surface and inside, Chairman Mao has written out of his own dreams ? to keep the excellent personality of a person ? to work and live with a beautiful, positive and optimistic life attitude, to overcome the difficulties in the hard time...
During I itself is suffering the pain of the sickness, re-reading this lyric, it has really helped me so much. So, I have created 4 paintings and a piece of music to match this lyric; also, I have played, sung it and expressed it in Chinese and in English. I do hope that my effort will encourage both of you and me to live and to work on our positions, to help you to learn Chinese culture and language, while to improve my own physiological and psychology health.
 MAIN MEANING OF THIS LYRIC
Bu Suan Zi •Ode to the Plum Blossoms
By Mao Zedong (1893- 1976)
(Reading Lu You's Lyrics -- Bu Suan Zi • Ode to the Plum Blossom, write with the same tune, but the opposite meaning.)
The Spring departed in the wind and rain,
the flying snow welcomes her return.
When the cliff is covered by the ice,
There is still flower pretty.
Never vie with spring for her beautiful,
Just being the herald of spring.
When the mountain flowers are in full bloom,
She is smiling in the flowers.
The Other Translation by Foreign Languages Press, March, 1999
OLD TO THE PLUM BLOSSOM
to the tune of Bu Suan Zi
December 1961
On reading Lu Yous Old to the Plum Blossom, I countered it with
the following lines.
Wind and rain escorted Springs departure,
Flying snow welcomes Springs return.
On the ice-clad rock rising high and sheer
A flower blooms sweet and fair.
Sweet and fair, she craves not Spring for herself alone.
To be the harbinger of Spring she is content.
When the mountain flowers are in full bloom
She will smile mingling in their midst.
NEW WORDS:
Note: Please hit any Chinese character that you need helped, to see its Chinese pinyin, pronunciation, meaning and follow me to read it.
CHINESE CHARACTERS :
膊絖•閄
罸羈筝
莚 羝 罌 莚鐚箙
蕋 綵- Fny s嘆ng c笛n gu朝,
蕋 菴 - fi yu y鱈ng ch笛n do
綏 經 筝 - Y sh狸 xu叩n y叩 b叩i zhng b朝鐚
篆 - y坦u yu hu zh朝 qio
篆 箙 筝 篋 - Qio y b湛 zhng ch笛n鐚
- zh b ch笛n l叩i bo
緇 絮 羲 - Di do shn hu l叩n mn sh鱈鐚
絅 筝 筝 膃 - t zi cng zhng xio
 If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, welcome to write to shirley@ebridge.cn or shirleyz004@yahoo.com ,you can also publish your opinions on Message Board . :-)
--Shirley Zhang
June 27, 2010
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Classical Poems/Lyrics
