Zhou Siming

zsm_511@126.com

LYRIC writing is a kind of language art. It mirrors the times and reflects the spirit of the public in time.

In the early 1990s, Li Ruiqi and I were colleagues of the Shenzhen Municipal Party Committee. After I left the committee to work for the Shenzhen Press Group, he still worked in the post. In recent years, Li has been working as secretary of the Party and chairman of the Shenzhen Federation of Literary and Art Circles. In his role, he assumes the responsibility of guiding the literary and art work of the city. To my surprise, he went beyond his job responsibilities and devoted himself to writing lyrics. What surprised me more was that his devotion was not just a fad. His lyrics are well received.

The year 2020 marks the 40th anniversary of the establishment of Shenzhen Special Economic Zone. It is also a key year for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area as well as Shenzhen, which has been designated as a pilot and demonstration area for building socialism with Chinese characteristics. To mark this special year, Li sought to create lyrics to express his passions and feelings. After serious contemplation, he wrote lyrics for a song called “Mountains and Seas Rhyme,” a song with his lyrics set to a beautiful melody that praises Shenzhen people who are striding on the road of rejuvenation in the new era.

With poetic words, he paints beautiful and colorful pictures of the people, and interprets the magnificent scenes of Shenzhen’s development from a small fishing village to a prosperous metropolis. The perfect combination of lyrics and melody ignites the listener’s passion.

In a time when the whole country was fighting against the COVID-19 epidemic, Li paid tribute to the medical staff, aka “angels in white,” who fought against the epidemic, in the song “The Most Beautiful Doctor.” The song was promoted in a CCTV program “Folk Song China.” The lyrics are about the life story of Lin Qiaozhi, a famous Chinese obstetrician and gynecologist in the 20th century. With touching and emotional lyrics, the author expressed more than just his personal admiration and respect for Lin; he also expressed praise and respect for all the medical staff who have saved lives, made selfless contributions and served the people.

Li has also created many other song lyrics, such as “Hello! Shenzhen.” The lyrics of this song are short, but as we know, the more concise something is, the harder it is to write. For example, the artistic conception should be beautiful, the content should be rich, should have profound connotation, should be able to reflect the rich colorful life, and should convey uplifting powers. Most important of all, “the words must serve as an expressive tool of emotions, otherwise it is just a pile of meaningless words.”

This quote is from an ancient motto left by Chinese poet Bai Juyi of the Tang Dynasty (618-907), and is a summary of the historical mission of the literati in the past dynasties. For lyric writers, the mission means having a strong concern for the times, for reality, and for the responsibility of social progress. To achieve this, a writer should listen and grasp the pulse of the times, follow the beat of the times, live a life and eulogize the times. A good lyricist is the voice of an age.

(The author is the vice chairman of the Shenzhen Literary Critics Association.)