Hi, members of Teh Tarik Group are going to "captivate" you with their melodious traditional Chinese songs this coming Tuesday! We are going to sing five different traditional songs of different festivals such as the Chinese New Year, the Moon - cake festival and also song that symbolizes the power and dignity of the Chinese.
Actually, our group is a melting pot of students from three main races in Malaysia. We have six Chinese, two Indians and a Malay. We decided to pick Chinese traditional songs as our performance so that we can learn it more easily for majority of us are Chinese.
Since there are three members in our group do not actually know how to read Mandarin, we first translated the lyrics into English.
Then, we listened to the songs from Youtube to get more familiar to the lyrics and melodies of the songs. In order to understand the meaning and the story delivered by the songs, we did some research online and also asked questions from our elders. The song "Descendants of the dragon" is actually a sign of ethnic identity. Next, the song "Gong Xi Gong Xi" was sang during Chinese New Year which depicts the starting of a whole new year. There are also songs like "The Round Moon" and "Moonlight in Town" which reminds us about not forgetting the legends about the Lantern Festival and encourage people to pass down the tales to the next generation. By getting all those information, we are able to get a better understanding to those songs and get the basic idea on presenting our performance.
In addition, we decided to give out eighteen red packets during our presentation. Of course we will not put in money, but we decided to insert a small piece of colour paper in each red packet with some wishes on it. We wish to deliver our happiness to others. XD
Although some of us might have a tough to learn all the lyrics and melodies of the songs, we enjoyed ourselves very much in getting know of others culture. We were really happy to spend our time together and practices camaraderie between people. We hope to make our performance a success!
THE IMPORTANCE OF PRESERVING CHINESE TRADITIONAL MUSIC
Music is food of soul. It provides tired minds a healthy entertainment and help to release pressure of work and other social activities. If we look back at history, man love music and melody all the time. People were used to show their sentiment through music in different circumstances like war and battles, happiness and wedding ceremonies, grief and sorrow. Every religions and races have their own unique traditional music.
Traditional music is an important part of virtually every culture, and is very often the inspiration for other cultural musics as they develop throughout history. Traditional music is a part of how cultures celebrate, play, worship, grieve, experience peace and make war. Traditional music is contemporary to keep the heritage of that area alive. Most of the festivals and ceremonies of our country are connected to the traditions of our ancestors that is the reason of its high demand by the dwellers. Moreover people value it to pilgrimage the inventors of these traditional music and intrigued to keep them alive for ever.
Furthermore, preserving Chinese traditional music is extremely important since all of the songs are connected to the traditions of our ancestors. Therefore, the Chinese traditional music resemble the histories and the cultures of our religions. Most of the Chinese traditional music is related to a specific story such as wars and celebrations. We have our own roles to preserve it for our next generation so that our cultures can be past down from one generation to the next.
In addition, traditional music has an inner power too. Nowadays, there are also some old folks listen to the traditional music whenever and wherever. They enjoy the traditional music when they are in both happy and sad time. They need music when relaxing as well as meditating, and even driving. Traditional music is played in festivals, in dance floors, in bedrooms, so on. How can traditional music do that? The only answer is that traditional music is a clever combination of real life and melody, as well as sentiments of composers. Traditional music therefore is easy to inspire emotion. Confucius taught that: “To educate somebody, you should start with poems, emphasize ceremonies, and finish with music.” Traditional musical knowledge was a matter of higher learning. It is said that he thought of the six most important subjects to study, studying music was second in importance only to the study of ritual or public ceremonies. He ranked music higher than the other four necessary subjects (archery, chariot-riding, calligraphy or writing, and computation or mathematics). In a nutshell, preserving Chinese traditional music is really a curial role that should be played by all of us, no matter how old we are and who we are. Chinese traditional music is the root of our religion and is the blood that flowing inside our bodies from the very first time we opened our eyes to see the world.
The verse in the original version about cannon fire
breaking through a tranquil night refers to the Opium Wars. China’s defeat in the two conflicts
(1839-42 and 1858-1860) led to the “unequal treaties,” which not only opened
treaty ports and carved up part of the Chinese coastline with foreign
concessions, but were also instrumental in opening the country to western
contact and legalizing Chinese emigration. The treaties were often referred to as a “national
humiliation.”
This song was written by Taiwan
singer/songwriter Hou Dejian
in December of 1978, in response to the American decision to break off
diplomatic relations with the Republic of China (Taiwan)
and establish relations with the People's Republic of China. Though it gained popularity as a patriotic song, in fact, Hou’s metaphor of growing up “under the claw of the
dragon” demonstrates a certain amount of ambivalence toward China. As scholar Geremie R. Barme has noted, "'Heirs' had originally
been written after the U.S. abandonment of the Republic of China in
1978 to express profound frustration with the traditions that the song
appeared, at least superficially, to romanticize."
"Heirs" was first recorded by singer Li Jianfu , and it quickly spread across Taiwan as a nationalistic anthem. A Cantonese version was recorded by Hong
Kong patriotic singer Zhang Mingmin. In 2000, Chinese American Leehom Wang recorded his version, adding
an English-language rap and changing the last verse to reference the experience
of Taiwanese immigrants in the United
States instead of the Opium Wars.
遙遠的東方有一條江 它的名字就叫長江 遙遠的東方有一條河 它的名字就叫黃河
In the Far East there is a river, its name is the Yangtze River In the Far East there is a river, its name is the Yellow River
雖不曾看見長江美 夢裡常神遊長江水 雖不曾聽見黃河壯 澎湃洶湧在夢裡
Although I’ve never seen the beauty of the Yangtze, in my dreams I miraculously travel the Yangtze’s waters Although I’ve never heard the strength of the Yellow River, the rushing and surging waters are in my dreams
古老的東方有一條龍 她的名字就叫中國 古老的東方有一群人 他們全都是龍的傳人
In the Ancient East there is a dragon, her name is China In the Ancient East there is a people, they are all the heirs of the dragon
巨龍腳底下我成長 長成以後是龍的傳人 黑眼睛黑頭髮黃皮膚 永永遠遠是龍的傳人
I grew up under the claw of the dragon, after I grew up I became an heir of the dragon Black eyes, black hair, yellow skin, forever and ever an heir of the dragon
百年前寧靜的一個夜 巨變前夕的深夜裡 槍砲聲敲碎了寧靜夜 四面楚歌是姑息的劍
One hundred years ago on a tranquil night, in the deep of the night before enormous changes Gun and cannon fire destroyed the tranquil night, surrounded on all sides by the appeasers' swords
多少年砲聲仍隆隆 多少年又是多少年 巨龍巨龍你擦亮眼 永永遠遠的擦亮眼
How many years have gone by with the gunshots still ringing out, how many years followed by how many years Mighty dragon, mighty dragon open your eyes,
forever and ever open your eyes
yao yuan de dong fang you yi tiao jiang ta de ming zi jiu jiao chang jiang
yao yuan de dong fang you yi tiao he ta de ming zi jiu jiao huang he
sui bu zeng kan jian chang jiang mei meng li chang shen you chang jiang shui
sui bu zeng ting jian huang he zhuang peng pai xiong yong zai meng li
gu lao de dong fang you yi tiao long ta de ming zi jiu jiao zhong guo
gu lao de dong fang you yi qun ren ta men quan du shi long de chuan ren
ju long jiao di xia wo cheng chang chang cheng yi hou shi long de chuan ren
hei yan jing hei tou fa huang pi fu yong yong yuan yuan shi long de chuan ren
duo nian qian ning jing de yi ge ye wo men quan jia ren dao liao niu yue
ye huo ya shao bu jin zai xin jian mei ye mei tian dui jia de si nian
bie ren tu di shang wo cheng chang chang cheng yi hou shi long de chuan ren
ju long ju long ni ca liang yan yong yong yuan yuan de ca liang yan
ju long ju long ni ca liang yan yong yong yuan yuan de ca liang yan
2.GONG XI GONG XI 恭喜恭喜
恭喜 gōng xǐ --- congratulations greetings 恭喜發財gōng xǐ fā cái ---- May you have a prosperous New Year! (New Year's greeting) The title of this song, 恭喜恭喜 (Gōng xǐ gōng xǐ) literally means "Congratulations, Congratulations". It has the sense of "Good wishes to you for a happy and prosperous New Year". I translated "Gong xi" as "Good wishes" to keep this meaning. This song is very popular in China. It has a very catchy chorus.
每条大街小巷 mei tiao da jie xiao xiang 每个人的嘴里 mei ge ren di zui li 见面第一句话 jian mian di yi ju hua 就是恭喜恭喜 jiu shi gong xi gong xi 恭喜恭喜恭喜你呀 gong xi gong xi gong xi ni ya 恭喜恭喜恭喜你 gong xi gong xi gong xi ni
冬天已到尽头 dong tian yi dao jing tou 真是好的消息 zhen shi hao di xiao xi 温暖的春风 wen nuan di chun feng 就要吹醒大地 jiu yao chui xing da di 恭喜恭喜恭喜你呀 gong xi gong xi gong xi ni ya 恭喜恭喜恭喜你 gong xi gong xi gong xi ni
浩浩冰雪融解 hao hao bing xue rong jie 眼看梅花吐蕊 yan kan mei hua tu rui 漫漫长夜过去 man man chang ye guo qu 听到一声鸡啼 ting dao yi shen ji ti 恭喜恭喜恭喜你呀 gong xi gong xi gong xi ni ya 恭喜恭喜恭喜你 gong xi gong xi gong xi ni
经过多少困难 jing guo duo shao kun nan 历经多少磨练 li jing duo shao mo lian 多少心儿盼望 duo shao xin er pan wang 盼望春的消息 pan wang chun de xiao xi 恭喜恭喜恭喜你呀 gong xi gong xi gong xi ni ya 恭喜恭喜恭喜你 gong xi gong xi gong xi ni
--
English Translation:
1 Everywhere on the streets, The first phrase from people's mouths When meeting is congratulations. Congratulations, congratulations, congratulations to you Congratulations, congratulations, congratulations to you
2 The winter has come to an end. What good news! The warm breeze of the spring will wake up the earth. Congratulations, congratulations, congratulations to you Congratulations, congratulations, congratulations to you
3 The heavy snow has melted. Soon the plum blossoms will spill out. The endless nights have passed. Hear the rooster's shrill crow. Congratulations, congratulations, congratulations to you Congratulations, congratulations, congratulations to you
4 After so much difficulty, Experiencing so much discipline, How many hearts are looking forward To the news of spring? Congratulations, congratulations, congratulations to you Congratulations, congratulations, congratulations to you
3. Qing Ming 清明
The Chinese Qingming Festival falls on either April 4th or 5th. Also
known, as Tomb Sweeping Festival, it's a time for families to remember
and pay respects to their ancestors. Qingming is one of the 24 Solar terms
in traditional Chinese culture, which refers to the warming of weather
and blooming of plants. During the Qingming time, the climate in the
South of China is getting warm and Spring is coming. However, there is
also some cold weather before and after the Qingming time. The average
daily temperature may be below 12℃ which will result to the death of
early season rice. In the northwest highlands of China, livestock will
suffer the lack of food due to the consumption of the whole winter. It
is essential to protect old and young livestock from the harm of early
Spring due to lack of food. "It's always raining during Qingming time"
is written by a famous poet Du Mu of Tang Dynasty.
However the situation is not the same as described in the poem. The
southern of China and the western part of China often suffer from dry
weather for long time. The total raining volume in early April is only
about 10 to 20 mm, which is far from half of the raining volume in that
of regions south of the Yangtze River. However, the southeast part of China receives a higher volume of rain. The early April raining volume is about 20 to 40 mm. Except from the northeast and northwest part of China, the
temperature in most places of China has raised to more than 12℃. Most
places of China show a busy Spring scene. The wheat during this period
is almost blooming, and rape has been in full bloom. Agricultural plants
such as corn, broomcorn
and cotton are almost planted. During this season, it is recommended
that the fertilization and water management is implemented well to
assure the nutrition of plants. As the tea tree is also sprouting at
this time, measures should be taken to protect the plants from diseases
and pests. Here's a origin story for Qing Ming's festive.
Here's also the song for Qing Ming poem,
清明时节雨纷纷， qing ming shi jie yu fen fen 路上行人欲断魂。 lu shang xing ren yu duan huan 借问酒家何处有， jie wen jiu jia he chu you 牧童遥指杏花村。 mutong yao zhi xing hua chun English translation: The ceaseless drizzles drips all the dismal day, So broken-hearted fares the traveler on the way. When asked where could be found a tavern bower, A cowboy points to yonder village of the apricot flower.
4. The Round Moon / 月亮圆
Lyrics: 月亮圆 (with pinyin) ＊月亮圆 月亮圆 月亮照在我的家 yue liang yuan yue liang yuan yue liang zhao zai wo de jia 没有春夏秋冬的家 流传千年 mei you chun xia qiu dong de jia liu chuan qian nian 重唱 ＊ ＃现在的孩子不相信 月亮有小白兔 xian zai de hai zi bu xiang xin yue liang you xiao bai tu 功课与电脑 使他们不再听古老的神话 gong ke yu dian nao shi ta men bu zai ting gu lao de shen hua 当高楼大厦 遮挡了古老的月亮 dang gao lou da sha zhe dang le gu lao de yue liang 就趁这季节 让你的孩子知道 jiu chen zhe ge ji jie rang ni de hai zi zhi dao 古老的神话 源自何方 gu lao de shen hua yuan zi he fang 重唱 ＊,＊,＃,＊,＊,＊,＊,＊ English Translation: ＊Full moon, full moon Full moon shines upon my home A home without four seasons Lives for thousands of years Repeat ＊ ＃Children nowadays do not believe there's a bunny in the moon Homework and computers, they no longer listen to the old tale Skyscrapers obstruct the ancient moon During this festive, let your children know.. The origin of this old tale~ Repeat ＊,＊,＃,＊,＊,＊,＊,＊x 5. Sing Moonlight of the downtown 城里的月光 This is a very old song that comes at least a decade ago, yet the lyrics are still as touching as is still sang by many artist..
Title: The Moonlight In The CityArtist: Marvis HeeAlbum Regret Every heart arrives at a certain place Will sometimes have memories that are unforgettable. In the midst of the night, at a certain place Will sometimes contains deep thoughts of someone Loves to separate passionate people apart. As long as the hearts knows the direction of affection Does it matter if they cannot be together all the time? (Refrain) The moonlight in the city that illuminates my dream Please send warmth to his heart. Shining through the many meetings and partings Can we not have more happy moments? Please surround and protect them. If theres a day when we meet once again Let blissfulness scatters throughout tonight. Repeat * Repeat (Refrain) Repeat the last 2 lines
(*)
The Relentless change that alters the world
The moonlight in the city that illuminates my dream
