The oratorio "Song of Everlasting Sorrow" is based on the poem of the same name by the Tang Dynasty poet Bai Juyi.
In the summer and autumn of 1932, when the Japanese invaders invaded China and the country's subjugation was imminent, Chinese musician Huang Zitong and poet Wei Hanzhang used music as a weapon of struggle to write a poem based on the poem of the same name by the Tang Dynasty poet Bai Juyi. He produced my country's first oratorio "Song of Everlasting Sorrow".
The name of the oratorio was first translated by Mr. Huang Zi and spread to China. The first oratorio in the history of Chinese music also came from Huang Zi's creation, namely "Song of Everlasting Sorrow". This vocal music genre is a multi-movement large-scale vocal suite between an opera and a cantata. This work is composed of mixed chorus, female chorus, male chorus, duet, solo and other forms.
"Song of Everlasting Regret" draws lessons from history and sounds a severe warning to the authorities: If the authorities continue to be corrupt and indulgent, we will be unable to resist the increasingly rampant Japanese Empire. As expected, after the September 18th Incident, the Japanese invaders continued to penetrate deep into the mainland and launched provocations in Shanghai. The 19th Route Army of the Kuomintang stationed in Songhu fought back heroically. However, the corrupt Kuomintang authorities adopted a policy of non-resistance, and the survival of the nation was at stake. As the situation becomes increasingly severe, this work reflects the patriotic enthusiasm and the increasingly awakening national consciousness of the broad masses of the people.
Original text of the poem "Song of Everlasting Sorrow"
The Emperor of the Han Dynasty paid great attention to beauty and thought of his country, and he could not find it for many years. There is a daughter in the Yang family who has just grown up. She is raised in a boudoir and no one knows her. It’s hard to give up on your natural beauty, so you will choose to be by the side of the king. Looking back and smiling, the sixth palace has no color. In the cold spring, you can bathe in Huaqing Pool, and the hot spring water will wash away your fat. The waiter helped her weakly, and it was the beginning of her new grace. The flowers on the temples are swaying with golden steps, and the hibiscus tent warms the spring night. The spring night is short and the sun is high, and from now on the king will not go to court early. There is no leisure for Cheng Huan to serve banquets, and all the nights are dedicated to spring outings.
There are three thousand beauties in the harem, and three thousand people love them all. The golden house is made up to serve as a charming lady at night, and the jade tower is full of drunkenness and spring. Sisters and brothers are all from the earth, poor and glorious. Therefore, the hearts of parents all over the world are determined not to be reborn as a boy but to be reborn as a girl. The blue clouds are rising from the heights of Li Palace, and the wind of fairy music can be heard everywhere. Slow singing, slow dancing, silk and bamboo, the king can't see enough of it all day long. Yuyang's flying dragon stirs the earth, shocking the colorful clothes and feathers. Smoke and dust arose from the Jiuzhong City Tower, and thousands of horses traveled southwest. The green flowers swayed and stopped, more than a hundred miles west of the capital. The Sixth Army had nothing to do but turned around and died in front of the horse.
There is no one to collect the flowers and flowers on the ground, and the green buds and jade are scratching their heads. The king hid his face and could not save him. He looked back and saw the blood and tears flowing. The yellow leaves are scattered in the wind, and the clouds linger in the sword pavilion. There are few people walking at the foot of Mount Emei, and the flags are dim and the sun is thin. The water of the Shu River is green, the mountains of Shu are green, and the Holy Lord is in love with him day and night. Seeing the moon in the palace looks sad, and hearing the sound of broken bells in the rainy night. The sky spins and the earth turns back to Long Yu. He hesitates and cannot go. In the mud at the foot of Mawei slope, there is no place where Yuyan Kong died.
The emperor and his ministers looked after each other with all their clothes, and looked eastward to the capital to return home. When I return, the ponds and gardens are all still the same, with lots of liquid and lotus but little willow. Hibiscus is like a face and willows are like eyebrows, how can I not shed tears at this? The peach and plum blossoms bloom in the spring breeze, and the sycamore leaves fall in the autumn rain. There are many autumn grasses in the south of the West Palace, and the fallen leaves are full of red leaves that are not swept away. The disciples in Liyuan have new white hair, and the prisoner Qing'e in Jiaofang is old. The fireflies in the evening palace are quietly thinking, and the solitary lamp has been used up before they can fall asleep. The night is long and the bells and drums are beginning, and the stars are about to dawn. The mandarin duck tiles are frosty and the flowers are heavy, and the emerald quilt is cold, who cares?
After so many years of separation between life and death, my soul never came to sleep. Linqiong Taoist priests from Hongdu can reach the soul with their sincerity. In order to appreciate the king's thoughts, he taught the alchemists to search diligently. Empty and control the energy, it rushes like electricity, ascending to heaven and earth to seek everywhere. The blue sky above and the yellow spring below fall, and both places are nowhere to be seen. Suddenly I heard that there was a fairy mountain on the sea, and the mountain was ethereal. The exquisite pavilion is filled with five clouds, among which there are many fairies. One of them has a character called Tai Zhen, and his skin and appearance are all mixed. Knock on the jade in the west chamber of the golden palace, and teach Xiaoyu to report a double success.
Hearing that the Emperor of Han Dynasty envoys, the dream soul in Jiuhua tent was frightened. I pick up my clothes, push my pillow, and wander around, and the silver screen of beads and foils meanders open. The hair on the temples is half fresh and sleeping, and the flower crown is not neat when I come out of the hall. The wind blows and the fairy's mantle flutters, just like the dancing of colorful clothes and feathers. The jade face is lonely and full of tears, and a branch of pear blossom brings rain in spring. I look at the king with affection, and my voice and appearance are blurry when I say goodbye. Love is overwhelming in Zhaoyang Palace, and the sun and moon are long in Penglai Palace. Looking back at the world, Chang'an is nowhere to be seen, but dust and mist.
I will send old things to express my deep affection, and send my hairpin to the future. Leave one strand of the hairpin and combine it into a fan; break the hairpin into gold and combine it into two pieces. But the teaching heart is as strong as gold, and we will meet in heaven and on earth.
I sent my farewell words again with great care, and in them I vowed to know each other. On July 7th, in the Hall of Eternal Life, no one was whispering in the middle of the night. I wish to be a winged bird in the sky, and a twig on the ground. As time goes by, this hatred will last forever.