2021 五一国际劳动节特别节日 、May the 1st Labour day Holiday performance
Today’s translation offers a chance for you to practice your mandarin whilst listening to a popular Chinese song called 再唱山歌给党听. This translates as Sing a Folk Song For the Party. Here, the party they are referring to are the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The song, which began life as a poem, was first sang in public in 1963. Ever since the catchy tune and patriotic lyrics have made it a staple of televised live performances during national festivals.
Setting the scene
This show was the opening song of the performance that was shown on channel 1 of CCTV which is the National Broadcasting Channel in China. You will note that just before the song starts we see a wide-angle shot of the stage. As part of this stage there are several Chinese characters two yellow characters in the middle and three characters in red on either side:
The characters in the middle in yellow are 五一, these are the characters 五 meaning 5 and 一 meaning 1. Together, in this context they stand for 1st of the 5th; the 1st of May. To the left of these characters, in red, we read 中国梦，or the Chinese Dream. And to the right we have 劳动美，meaning the beauty of work. Together these characters imply a celebration of the Chinese Dream being achieved through work. A fitting message on the 1st of May; Labour Day.
再唱山歌给党听 – The Song
The lyrics of 再唱山歌给党听 were first penned as a poem by Yao Xiaozhou who was a worker in the Jiaoping coal mine in Shaanxi Province. After coming across the poem during his travels across the country it was written down under the title ‘Sing a Folk Song to the Party’ by a soldier named Lei Feng in hid diaries. Lei Feng was used as a model citizen by the CCP for propoganda purposes.
After Lei Feng died his diary was published and when the composer Zhu Jianer read the poem ‘Sing a folk song to the party’ he decided the words of the poem could be recorded as lyrics to a song.
The song was brought to a national audience in 1963 when performed by a Tibetan singer named Caidan Zhuoma at the Shanghai Spring music festival. Her performance was broadcast to the nation over the radio.
The song has since become a frequent feature in national televised festivals, such as New Year and Labour Day.
The Performers
There are four performers singing 再唱山歌给党听, two women and a man. They are:
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| 阿兰 – A Lan | 平安 – Ping An |
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| 曹芙嘉 – Cao Fu Jia | 扎西顿珠 – Zha Si Dun Zhu |
阿兰 – A Lan – 阿兰 is an ethnically Tibetan singer who first gained fame at the age of 9 when she appeared in a popular show called Sun Goddess that aired on CCTV. Years later she moved to Japan to further her singing career and now she is a hugely popular singer across Asia.
平安 – Ping An – 平安, also called Anson Ping, shot to fame when he appeared in the first series of ‘The Voice’ in China. His mesmerising performances brought him to the attention of a huge audience across China.
曹芙嘉 – Cao Fu Jia – was born in 1982. In 1993 at the age of 11 she took part in atalent show which was broadcast on Henan’s provincial broadcasting channel. As well as having released several solo albums Cao Fujia is also a performer with the Art Troupe representing the Political wing of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
扎西顿珠 – Zha Si Dun Zhu – ZhaSi DunZhu was born to become a star. At a very young age he joined the Central National Song and Dance Ensemble and went on to become a singer, a dancer, and an actor. He has also presented many famous TV shows including a talent show named ‘Looking for Third Sister Liu’.
再唱山歌给党听 – Translation
Verse -1
再唱山歌给党听我把歌儿献给你
Zài chàng shāngē gěi dǎng tīng wǒ bǎ gēr xiàngěi nǐ
I’m singing a folk song to the party again that they can hear me dedicate it to them
五十六个民族同唱一首歌我们一起再唱山歌
56 Nationalities singing a song together, each of us singing this folk song
Chorus
五十六个民族再唱山歌，山歌给党听
Wǔshíliù gè mínzú zài chàng shāngē， shāngē gěi dǎng tìng
56 Nationalities singing this folk song together as one, singing for the party.
Verse 2
再唱山歌给党听， 幸福的歌儿献给你。
Zài chàng shāngē gěi dǎng tìng， xìngfú de gēr xiàngěi nǐ
I’m singing a folk song again for the party, a cheerful tune that I dedicate to you.
民族兄弟姐妹心连着心， 我们携手和谐家园。
A people of brothers and sisters at heart one, we join hands to share our harmonious home.
Chorus
五十六个民族再唱山歌， 山歌给党听
Wǔshíliù gè mínzú zài chàng shāngē， shāngē gěi dǎng tìng
56 Nationalities singing this folk song together as one, singing for the party.
Verse 3
再唱山歌给党听，幸福的歌儿献给你。
Zài chàng shāngē gěi dǎng tìng， xìngfú de gēr xiàngěi nǐ
I’m singing a folk song again for the party, a cheerful tune that I dedicate to you.
民族兄弟姐妹心连着心， 我们携手和谐家园。
A people of brothers and sisters at heart one, we join hands to share our harmonious home.
Chorus
五十六个民族再唱山歌， 山歌给党听
Wǔshíliù gè mínzú zài chàng shāngē， shāngē gěi dǎng tìng
56 Nationalities singing this folk song together as one, singing for the party.