2004 Chinese Lyrics Selection

Author: Zeng Xianrui
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-01-01
Features: The renowned poet Ai Qing once said, "Lyrics and poetry are like twin sisters," and this is quite reasonable. In ancient times, both poetry and ci (a form of Chinese verse) fell under the category of rhyming literature. Today, while new poetry does not emphasize rhyme, there are still many commonalities in terms of conception, theme, language, and other aspects. The difference lies in that poetry, as a visual art, can be written in a subtle and ambiguous manner, whereas lyrics, as an auditory art, require clarity and simplicity. As the famous lyricist Qiao Yu said, lyrics "must embody depth in simplicity, obscurity in clarity, twists in straightforwardness, culture in the rustic, and elegance in the common." They should be easily understood at a glance. A good lyric is a song that can be sung; it is both a lyric and a poem, a poem that is both profound and accessible, a poem that rolls off the tongue. It shares the charm, imagery, language, character, and beauty of poetry. It reads like an inspiring poem and sounds like a thought-provoking song. Compared to poetry, writing good lyrics is more challenging because they must conform to the constraints of music. Qiao Yu once said, "Lyrics are easy to write, but lyrics are hard to write well. A mere hundred words must create a complete world." Indeed, writing a good lyric is not an easy task. Fortunately, our lyricists have faced the challenge head-on, embraced the constraints of music, and even found joy and enjoyment in them. They have meticulously crafted and quietly toiled, creating a wealth of outstanding lyrical works. The published "Annual Lyric Selections" bear witness to this. However, it must be acknowledged that these masterpieces are like gold nuggets sifted from thousands of entries used in publicly published periodicals, media, and internal lyric magazines each year. Overall, the level of creation still, as Qiao Yu pointed out, remains "mostly rough, with few refined."