Farewell

AnonymousBashu Publishing House · ChinaJul 2024

4.0

Word count: 782 words
Chapters: 8

Summary

"Song of Farewell" takes its melody from the American song "Dreaming of Home and Mother" by John P. Ordway. "Dreaming of Home and Mother" was a minstrel song, a genre popular in the United States in the late 19th century, performed by white actors in blackface and musically modeled on Black songs. Ordway led "Ordway's Aeolians" and wrote many minstrel songs. While Li Shutong was studying in Japan, the Japanese lyricist Kuantō Kyūkei set lyrics to the melody of "Dreaming of Home and Mother" under the title "Travel Sorrow." Li Shutong's "Song of Farewell," written in 1941, took its melody from Kuantō Kyūkei's "Travel Sorrow." Today "Travel Sorrow" is still widely sung in Japan, while "Song of Farewell" has become the unrivaled classic of farewell songs in China. Shen Xingong also wrote "Last Night's Dream" to the melody of "Dreaming of Home and Mother," but it never rivaled the brilliance of Li Shutong's "Song of Farewell."

Editor's review

The journey of this song is itself a piece of modern cultural history worth reading closely. From the melody of a 19th-century American minstrel song to Kuantō Kyūkei's "Travel Sorrow" and then to Li Shutong's "Song of Farewell," which became the classic of farewell songs, a single tune crossed languages and borders and finally settled in the Chinese context into a distinctive beauty of sorrow without excess. Taking "Song of Farewell" as its thread, this book links the spread of the music, Li Shutong's years in Japan, and the history of modern school songs, showing how a song was repeatedly rewritten by different cultures and became a collective memory. It is compact yet offers a concrete entry point for understanding modern cultural interaction among China, the West, and Japan. It suits a quiet afternoon, ideally alongside recordings of different versions of "Song of Farewell," to better feel the changing times behind the melody. Readers interested in modern cultural history, the spread of music, or Li Shutong studies will find leads and inspiration here.

Who it's for

A good fit for

General readers interested in modern cultural history and musical exchange between China and other countries
Teachers, students, and enthusiasts studying Li Shutong or school songs
Music lovers who want to understand the origins of classic songs
Middle-school students and above seeking an introductory book on modern cultural history

Not a good fit for

Those expecting a systematic music theory textbook or professional composition analysis
Readers who want only lyric appreciation and are not seeking historical context
Specialist researchers seeking deep scholarly examination and extensive annotations

Reading tips

First listen to Li Shutong's "Song of Farewell" and the Japanese "Travel Sorrow," then read the text to feel how melody and lyric correspond
Trace the transmission in order—the American original, Japan's "Travel Sorrow," China's "Song of Farewell"—and take simple notes
Read alongside Li Shutong's years in Japan and the background of school songs to understand why the lyrics took their final form in Chinese
After reading, compare with Shen Xingong's "Last Night's Dream" and consider why different lyrics to the same tune met different fates

About the publisher

Bashu Publishing House China · Founded in 1983

Bashu Publishing House is a publisher centered on collating and publishing classical Chinese cultural texts, with its main publishing areas covering classical literature, Eastern philosophy, ancient poetry, and educational classics. Its library currently holds 1,075 titles, including representative works such as Dream of the Red Chamber, the Preface to the Orchid Pavilion Gathering, Renjian Cihua, and Out to the Frontier, involving authors such as Cao Xueqin, Wang Xizhi, Wang Guowei, Wang Changling, Liu Xie, and Yan Yu. These reflect the publisher's focus on literary classics, poetry criticism, and philosophical readings. Its publishing character lies in working around ancient texts and canonical works, with attention to textual collation and presentation. Public information on its more detailed publishing background and series plans is limited; this introduction is based only on the library's book information.

版权信息
序
别子开
昙秀相别
别王子直
别石塔
别姜君
别文甫子辩

FAQ

Where did the melody of "Song of Farewell" originally come from?

The melody comes from the American song "Dreaming of Home and Mother" by John P. Ordway, a minstrel song popular in the United States in the late 19th century. While Li Shutong was in Japan, the Japanese writer Kuantō Kyūkei set "Travel Sorrow" to the same melody, and Li Shutong's "Song of Farewell" took its melody from "Travel Sorrow."

Why is "Travel Sorrow" still sung in Japan while "Song of Farewell" became a classic in China?

The same melody was given new lyrics in different contexts, and both Kuantō Kyūkei's "Travel Sorrow" and Li Shutong's "Song of Farewell" fit the rhythm and feeling of their respective languages. Sources show that "Travel Sorrow" has long been sung in Japan, while "Song of Farewell" became the unrivaled classic of farewell songs in China, showing that a melody becomes collective memory only when joined to local lyrics and settings.

What is the relationship between Shen Xingong's "Last Night's Dream" and "Song of Farewell"?

Shen Xingong also wrote "Last Night's Dream" to the melody of "Dreaming of Home and Mother," another attempt at setting new lyrics to the same tune. Sources note that it never rivaled the brilliance of Li Shutong's "Song of Farewell." It can be read in comparison with "Song of Farewell" to observe how different lyrics to the same melody met different fates.

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About the author

Anonymous Author

Anonymous is not a real personal name but a general Chinese designation for authors whose names are unknown, lost, or unsigned. Neither nationality nor dates of birth and death can be verified, and available public information is limited, so the works attributed to this name are the only basis for description. The collection holds 2,078 works under Anonymous, spanning medicine, classics, historical readings, ancient poetry, classical literature, and philosophy. Representative works include The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon: Lingshu, Mencius, The Book of Documents, Nineteen Old Poems, Complete Song Ci, and The Peacock Flies Southeast. Most of these works took shape through long transmission and editing, emerging either from collective folk creation or from authors whose names were lost over time. In ancient China, the Book of Songs, the Great Learning, and many popular storybooks and plays were signed Anonymous because their authors could not be traced. Anonymous works cross the classics, histories, philosophical writings, medical texts, and poetry; their subjects are broad, and their styles vary from archaic simplicity to clear naturalness, making them important and influential sources for understanding ancient Chinese thought, medicine, and literature.