Chinese Classical Poem 0050 & Shirley Created Music-0040: Where Are You, the Girl in Peach Blossoms?

LISTEN TO THE TEXTLISTEN TO SHIRLEY PLAY & SING THE POEM


In Chinese culture, people often compare a girl’s face with a peach blossom. And a peach flower is often related to a girl or a woman. I do not know when the tradition started, but I guess the little poem that was written by Tang Dynasty(618 -907) poet Cui Hu and the subsequent drama that was based on the poem, A Girl’s Face and Peach Blossoms, could be the origin.

The Original name of this poem is Ti Du Cheng Nan Zhuang -- Writing on a Wall of a Village in the South of the Capital City.

It tells the story in 4 simple lines:

On the same day and at the same gate last year,
there was a beautiful girl and some peach blossoms,
her red face and the pink flowers reflected each other,
On the same day and at the same gate this year,
No one knows where the girl and her face are,
there are only the peach blossoms
still there to smile to the spring wind alone...

There is a beautiful story in it and it has a sad feeling to it. There are at least two characters and there is a wonderful landscape... it really is a little poem with a strong artistic inspiration.

As soon as I closed my book, I decided to write a piece of music to set it to.

Can you imagine? I completed my writing of the music within about 20 minutes, but it took me 2 hours to record it.:-)

I really hope that my poem comments, music and singing are a little help to you to you in knowing more about Chinese culture and language. :-)



MAIN MEANING OF THE POEMLISTEN TO SHIRLEY PLAY & SING THE POEM :

On the same day and at the same gate last year,
there was a beautiful girl and some peach blossoms,
her red face and the pink flowers reflected each other,
On the same day and at the same gate this year,
No one knows where the girl and her face are,
there are only the peach blossoms
still there to smile to the spring alone...


NEW WORDS AND RONUNCIATION :

Please click on any Chinese character that you need help with to see its Chinese pinyin, pronunciation and meaning, and then follow me to read it.

CHINESE CHARACTERS :

题都城南庄

崔护 （唐）

去年今日此门中，
人面桃花相映红。
人面不知何处去，
桃花依旧笑春风。


LISTEN TO SHIRLEY PLAY & SING THE POEM :

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please write to shirley@ebridge.cn, or shirleyz004@yahoo.com, You are also welcome to publish your opinions in Forum For Friends.
--Shirley
Written, Sung, Translated and Record on Sun, July 30, 2006