Love is an eternal theme of human. It coexists with life, humanity and hope, and it is the ladder to completion. Just as the Indian poet Tagore once said, “love is the ultimate meaning of everything surrounding us. Love is not only about feelings, but also the embodiment of truth.
Therefore, Losing love, to some extent, is losing the meaning of life and the access to the ultimate truth. Chinese love songs, as an important part of Chinese music, extols love, the greatest and most mysterious force of human beings. Most people will think of particular love songs when thinking back to their sweet days. The following songs are some classic and romantic Chinese love songs.
1. The Moon Represents My Heart
The Moon Represents My Heart, a song with a waltz-like lilt, is one of China’s most well-known love songs. It was first sung by the Taiwanese singer Cheng Fenlan in 1972 and it became one of the most popular songs in China after Taiwanese pop singer Teresa Teng (Deng Lijun ) performed it in the late 1970s. Ever since this song has been sung and replayed by hundreds of Chinese and foreign singers and was used as background music for many films and teleplay. Teresa Teng's version of this song topped the list of “Hong Kong top ten Chinese songs in the 20th century” in 1999 and was selected as the number one in “Taiwan top ten hits for one hundred years” in 2011. Besides, this song was often sung in various shows and KTV parlors. Though popularized in 1970s, the song sounds quite fresh even today. And with its trilogy type on formal structure, the song sounds lively, bright and touching. The song is full of Oriental-color romance, and its lyrics express that words cannot fully convey one’s love, only the moon, a symbol of romance, can.
2. As Sweet As Honey
As Sweet As Honey (or Tian Mimi in Chinese) is a very old and classical Chinese love song, and it is also sung by Teresa Teng in 1979. The song has been a masterpiece of Teresa Teng, and it enhances a relaxed, lively and cheerful artistic atmosphere. The 1996 Hong Kong movie Comrades: Almost a Love Story (or Tian Mimi in Chinese), directed by Peter Chan and starring Maggie Cheung and Leon Lai, uses the the name of the song as its title and also features the legacy of Teresa Teng in an important subplot to the main story. She died a year before the film was released, so it was considered a love poem in memory of her. Her music is featured prominently throughout the film. The film was a hit at that time, and resonated and inspired generations of musicians and fans.
Taiwanese superstar singer Deng Li Jun, 1953–1995
3. Kissgoodby
Kissgoodby was a classic love song by Jacky Cheung (Zhang Xueyou), which was included in his fifth album released in 1993. It is one of his representatives. The song expresses the ambivalence and pain of the lovelorn. The song’s melody is beautiful and touching, and one may have different feelings every time listening to the song. In addition, Jacky Cheung’s charming, deep voice as well as the highly infectious expressiveness of the song make it popular among people. The popular classic song has become a brand of that time, carrying people’s memory. In 2004, the internationally well-known pop group Michael Learns to Rock (also known as MKLR) made a cover of this song, making the song become an international classical song.
Hong Kong singer and actor, Jacky Cheung
4. The Most Romantic Thing
The most romantic thing was sung by Cyndi Chaw (Zhao Yonghua) in 1994 . It is a delicate and tender love song. Its prelude is relaxing with the warmth of string music and the sound of a piano. It sounds free, easy and comfortable, like bathing in the afternoon sunshine. The song tells us one thing that romance is not out-of-reach but just around us. And if feeling it wholeheartedly, one can always feel the joy of romance. Romance is not money or luxury that only belongs to leisure and rich people, and you don’t have to trek to experience romance. You can always find romance from everything around you at dawn or dusk. For some people, the most romantic thing is such kind of things as sending flowers, singing love songs and having a candle-light dinner. However, Cyndi Chaw’s song The Most Romantic thing tells us that "The most romantic thing I can imagine is to get older slowly with you."
One part of the music score copy of The Most Romantic Thing
5. Loving You 10 Thousand Years
Loving You 10 Thousand Years is a very popular song by Hong Kong Cantopop singer Andy Lau(Liu Dehua). The song was included in Andy Lau’s album Andy Lau 99 Live Concert released in October 1999. The song won the golden melody awards of the Chinese songs Channel V in 1999. Loving You 10 Thousand Years is a classic lieder, and it combines classical element with pop song. The song was widely sung in karaoke after it was released. “Love you for 10,000 years”, as the song reads, wishes love can last forever. Artistic conception created by the song plus Andy Lau’s sound made the song a favorite among love birds at that time, and it has become the collective memory of people in that era.
Hong Kong actor and singer, Andy Lau
6. In A Faraway Place
In A Faraway Place is a widely-sung Chinese song created by Wang Luobin in 1939 when he met a beautiful Tibetan girl at Qinghai Lake. The song describes that a rich prince has a crush on a pretty girl but he can’t marry her due to their differences in wealth and status. With bright lyrics, the song sublimes love and the meaning of life, the wonderful melody of the song transcends time and space. Just like sounds of nature, it lingers on one’s heart. Wang is called ‘The Vocal King of the West’ because of this song. And by this song, he won the special contribution award of UNESCO for the cultural exchanges between the East and West in 1994. This song, hailed as ‘the pearl on the crown of art treasure’, is Wang’s favorite and also regarded as one of his highly evaluated songs. The song’s lyrics, by Wang’s will, were engraved on his tombstone.
One part of the music score copy of In A Faraway Place
