On the Issue of "Farewell" (Lyrics by Li Shutong)

Outside the pavilion, by the ancient road, the grass is green and the sky is blue.

The evening breeze blows the willow flute, and the sunset is beyond the mountains.

The horizon is limited, and the acquaintance is half scattered.

A glass of turbid wine is the best way to leave Meng Han tonight.

Outside the long pavilion, by the ancient road, the grass is green and the sky is blue.

The evening breeze blows the willow flute, and the sunset is beyond the mountains.

This is the famous campus song "Farewell" which was very popular in the 192s and 193s. It was written by Mr. Li Shutong, a famous music educator during the May 4th Movement, around 191.

Li Shutong was Master Hongyi who became a monk in Hupaoquan in Hangzhou in 1918.

This song "Farewell" was almost unknown to the intelligentsia before liberation, and it was even a household name in Jiangnan generation. For decades, thousands of college, secondary and junior college students sang this song to bid farewell to their alma mater and teachers and go to society. Because of this, it has been quoted by many Chinese and foreign films, and some of them are also the theme songs of the films, such as Early Spring in February and the Japanese film Ah, Yemailing! 》； Li Shutong's farewell is the theme song of Old Things South of the City, which won the international Golden Eagle Award in 198s. It adds infinite poetic meaning to the film.

Why does such a simple short song have such a great charm, almost unlimited by time, and infect generation after generation?

this is a problem worth studying.

First of all, when the author wrote this lyric, he borrowed, learned and inherited the essence of Chinese traditional culture, and applied it to his study, by going up one flight of stairs. If you pay attention, you will find that Li Shutong's creation of this song is influenced by The West Chamber and A Farewell to the Pavilion, both in diction and artistic conception. We might as well quote the relevant passages in The West Chamber as follows:

[ Palace] [Correct and Good] Blue sky, yellow land and tight west wind. The wild geese fly south. Who is drunk with frost forest in Xiao Lai? Always tears away.

[ rolling hydrangea] I hate to meet you late, but I hate to get sick. Willow silk is long and jade is difficult to tie, and I hate it when I am in the forest. The horse limped along, and the car followed quickly, but he sued Acacia for avoidance, and broke the problem and left early. Hearing the word go away, Jin Chuan was released. Seeing the ten-mile pavilion in the distance, I lost my muscles: who knows this hatred?

[ It's quiet on all sides] In an instant, the cup and dish are in chaos, the car is thrown to the east, the horse is heading west, and the two sides are wandering, and the sunset is green. Know where he is staying tonight? It's hard to find in dreams.

four evil spirits] to whom is this sorrow complained? Acacia only knows itself, and God doesn't care if people are haggard. Tears add nine twists and turns to the Yellow River overflow, and hate the three peaks and Hua Yue low. In the evening, I leaned against the west wing and saw some ancient sunset roads and decaying willows.

[ three evil spirits] came with a smile and went home alone crying. If I go home to Luotai, I will stay in the spring with embroidered incense last night, and I will have a dream of being cold tonight. Don't miss you unintentionally. When you see the saddle mounted, you can't help but frown with tears.

[ one evil spirit] The green hills are separated to see me off, and the sparse forests are not beautiful, but the light smoke and dusk cover each other. The ancient sunset road is silent, and the autumn wind listens to Ma Si. Why am I lazy to get on the bus? I was in a hurry when I came. Why is it too late after I went?

[ Ending] Among the surrounding mountains, a whip is still shining. All over the world, how can you afford these cars?

As long as you make a little comparison, you can find many similarities between the two. It's just that Li's lyrics have raised and expanded the content of "The Romance of the West Chamber" to the farewell of students to friends, teachers and alma mater, and then extended to the thinking of life, nature, universe and time.

didn't we say we should inherit the traditional culture? This is a typical example of inheritance!

the second and most important point is that the author abandons political preaching in his creation, but focuses on human nature. Politics is limited by time and class and cannot be as eternal as human nature. It is not surprising that the ancients made a great fuss about this "farewell" and wrote a special "farewell", because this "farewell" is something that human beings often encounter, which touches the most sensitive feelings of human beings and touches the most sensitive nerves of human nature. Through this "parting", people often think about many important issues between life and time, time and space, man and nature, and between people. The eternity of the universe and the shortness of life, the changes of the times and the scars of human feelings arouse the sense of vicissitudes of human beings, which is unforgettable. Literary and artistic works will become immortal works if they can accurately reflect the characteristics and requirements of human nature at this time.

This is the main reason for the success of Li Shutong's Farewell.

From this, I think of some poems I usually read on the Internet. One of their fundamental defects is that "I am worried about making new words". In order to make my poems have a strong political nature, it seems that the author is "concerned about the country and the people", and often adds political color to his poems, thus making his poems a "slogan slogan" in another situation, which is dry and has no vitality.

literature is not politics, and generally speaking, writers are not politicians. If you don't understand politics and insist on politics, it is inevitable that there will be works that are neither fish nor fowl.

There is another situation, that is, the authors are deeply influenced by modern critics, and all want to be an "unrestrained" poet like Xin Qiji, but they don't have the life practice of blood and fire like other great poets, so they rely on wine and dreams to talk big. They think that in this way, they will be "unrestrained" and different from ordinary small literati, but they just make a big taboo in creation. The same characteristics of these works are that they have no image, no plot and no artistic conception. At first reading, they feel good, but after reading, they have no impression. Except for "big" and "crazy", you can't get anything else from such works. They are the same, just like "machine poems" written by computer programs. In such works, human nature, the essential attribute of human beings, has almost been eroded away, so how can we move people?

Engels said in his letter to Mrs. Hakenas that the more concealed the author's political motives, the better. The writer's position is expressed through the real representation of life. It can be seen that Marxism has always opposed "slogan" literature. The life of literature is real, and once you play with the imaginary, the life of literature will end. Even the propaganda of revolutionaries can't be played in vain. Once propaganda becomes "propaganda", it will lose its practical significance. Historically, at the beginning of every revolutionary class, his slogan can move people's hearts, just because it must tell the truth at that time, and people will understand it as soon as they listen; When propaganda becomes a "mandarin" that people don't understand, it is getting farther and farther away from the requirements of human nature. At this time, both literature and propaganda are just "talking to themselves".

My friend gave me Li Shutong's "Farewell", and I was very moved. I wrote the above words for my own reference and for my friends.