Listen to Shirley to Sing the Poem Listen to Shirley to Sing the Poem in English July 18, 2010Listen to Shirley to Sing the Poem in Chinese July 18, 2010Listen to Shirley to Sing the Poem in Chinese Oct, 2005Listen Shirley to Explain the Poem July 12,2010 & Follow Me to Read ItFollow Shirley to Read the New Words & the PoemRead Shirley's Comments about This Poem July 18, 2010 See Shirley Created Paintings & Calligraphy for the Poem July 18,2010
Hi, friends, have you been to any grassland? Have you been to any ancient war field? Today, I would like to introduce a new Chinese classical poem names Chi Le Ge-- A Song Of Chi Le, which was also a folk song by a nomadic nationality names Chi Le that had lived in today’s Gansu and Inner Mongolia in the Southern and Northern Dynasties of China(420 -589).
Notes: According to the Chinese Pinyin, I should write Chi Le as Chile, for avoiding the confusing from the country's name of Chile in English, I wrote it as Chi Le. Chi Le people were very good at making high vehicles. Therefore, they were also called Gapche -- high vehicle nationality in the history. When they came to the Chi Le plain (Today's North of Shanxi ) by the Yinshan Mountains (today's inner Mongolia) by their high vehicles and cattle. They chose to settle down in the beautiful place.
In one of the hardest wars, at the most difficult time that they were near to fail, an elder Chi Le general--Hu Lu Jin led his soldier to sing this poem. The strong tone and the beautiful lyric made them tear and encouraged their courage to fight continuously and to protect their grassland. With a high emotion, they beat their enemy and came back with their cattle together.
So, this is not only an ancient common folk, but also a fighting song. The pity is that for the time is too long so that the music has been lost.
I love this poem for it has written out the deep love of the local people to their hometown via describing the beautiful landscape of the North of China with a very simple language ? First of all, they wrote how the Chi Le plain was around of the Yanshan mountains, how the sky was just like a yurt to envelop the earth. When the wind blew the grass banding low and the cattle were appeared here or there, to “paint” something moving and maybe with sound on the vast and peaceful background.
So, I had written a piece of music to match the poem on the airplane between Wuxi to Shenzhen, in my traveling to see my parents during the national holiday Oct, 2005,
It was the first time that my mother encouraged me to create my own music after
she had been against me to learn art of painting and music for so many years…
Therefore, when I wrote the music on the airplane, tears were flowing on my face, not for the sadness, but for the happiness and so much touching when I looked at the beautiful white clouds in the sky out of the windows of the airplane. That had really offered me so many inspirations and helped me to complete the creation quickly...
Right now, my mother has left from me and I have been suffering the sickness since she was gone. But, I will never give up to work as long as I can.
I am going to do my best to create something most beautiful to help all of the friends who are interested in Chinese cultures, while to encourage myself, to return the beautiful world with my limited life and endless love to the world...
I do hope that my effort will be some of help with you to learn Chinese language and cultures...
MAIN MEANING OF THE PEOM :
Chile Song
Folk of Southern and Northern Dynasties
( 420 -589)
Chi Le plain,
lies by the Yinshan Mountains,
the sky is like dome yurt
envelop the earth.
The heaven is vast and hazy
the wilds is boundless.
When the wind blows the grass bending low,
the cattle is appeared there...
Translation by Anonymous
Song of the Chile Prairie
Below the Yinshan Mountains, the Chile Prairie lies.
Like a huge yurt, hangs over the earth the sky.
Between the blue sky and the boundless earth, wind blows,
Flocks and herds appear, grass bending low.NEW WORDS & CHINESE CHARACTERS:
You are welcome to hit any Chinese character that you need help, to see its Chinese pinyin, meaning, pronunciation and follow me to read it敕勒歌
敕勒川 - Chì lè chuān，
阴山下 - yīn shāng xià。
天似穹庐 - tiān sì qióng lú,
笼盖四野 - lǒng gài sì yě 。
天苍苍 - Tiān cāng cāng,
野茫茫 - yě máng máng，
风吹草低见牛羊 - fēng chuī cǎo dī xiàn niú yáng。
If you have any questions, comments and suggestions, please write to
shirley@ebridge.cn or
shirleyz004@yahoo.com. You are welcome to publish your opinions in
Message Board as well.
Shirley Zhang
Written, Sung, Translated & Recorded Sun, July 18, 2010/Oct 8, 2005
