Oct 15, 2005

Listen to Shirley Singing This Poem Oct 14, 2005

Hi, friends, today I would like to introduce a new Chinese classical poem Da Feng Ge -- The Song Of The Gale for you. This poem was written by Liu Bang (B.C.256- B.C.195),the first emperor who found of the Han Dynasty ( B.C.206   A.D. 220). Han Dynasty is one of the greatest dynasties in Chinese history for it unified the country, enlarged the territory, made the literature and art to be improved very much...

This poem was written at the time that the Han Dynasty was just found but it was not very stable yet. Liu Bang as the first emperor, he just defeated a rise in revolt from an old general and he came back his hometown in today's Jiang Su on the road to go back to the capital of Han Dynasty in today's Xian. As   the first emperor, he was so happy, so proud of himself for his success with many dreams for his new dynasty. At the same time, he was worrying his potential enemies would be against him and he had not found the warriors to protect the country. So, he sang this poem with dance and tears in the celebration party with his family, old friends and the younger ones in his hometown.

I love this poem for it expresses many feelings, emotions and much meaning with a very great momentum language. This is a happy poem with sadness in it.

For helping you to remember the lyrics and understand this poem easily, I wrote a piece of music to match it and hope you enjoy it.

Main Meaning of the Poem:

The gale is flowing strongly,
clouds are flying upwards.
I come back my hometown,
after I found a new unified dynasty.
How /Where can I get the warriors,
to guard the frontiers of the country?

Translation by Mr. Xu Yuanchong

A great wind rises, oh! the clouds are driven away,
I come back my natival land, oh, now the world is under my sway,
Where can I find brave men, oh! to guard my four frontiers today!

Chinese Characters & Pronunciations

大风起兮云飞扬 -- dà fēng qǐ xī yún fēi yáng,
威加海内兮归故乡 -- wēi jiā hai nèi xī gūi gù xiāng ,
安得猛士兮守四方 -- ān déměngshìxīshǒu sìfāng?

If you have any questions, comments and suggestions, you are welcome to write to shirley@ebridge.cn .

Shirley Zhang
Written, Edited & Recorded Oct 15, 2005