“Through the window, the first light of dawn breaks; the sun casts its glow on the western bridge, and clouds drift on their own—
I think of you that year, the hem of your dress fluttering gently in the lotus-scented breeze.”
The moment Luoming sang those first two lines, the audience was captivated—but more than that, the panelists’ eyes lit up.
Seated among them were a professor from Peking University’s Department of Chinese Literature, the vice president of the Chinese Poetry Association, and a graduate student in history from Capital Normal University. All three were deeply rooted in literary work, and they could instantly sense the artistic beauty embedded in these lyrics.
“This song is no ordinary piece!” Zhou Hongbing remarked with a smile. “In just two lines, it builds a complete, vivid mood.”
Li Mingyuan nodded in agreement. Both lines used scenery to convey emotion, with the view outside the window evoking memories in the singer’s heart.
What made it even more ingenious was how the opening two short phrases both described time: “the first light of dawn through the window” signified the beginning of the day as the window was bathed in morning glow, while “the sun casts its glow on the western bridge” pointed to the evening light spilling onto the bridge, marking the end of the day.
Combined with the lines that followed, a full emotional landscape emerged: from dawn to dusk, day after day, the protagonist stands alone at the window, gazing into the distance. The drifting clouds on the horizon are like the hem of your clothes, swaying in the wind that year.
“Gilded carvings fade with time, ripples stir in the passing years—I put down my brush seven years ago,
For in this life, I only ever picked up the pen for you.”
“This verse is also remarkable,” Zhou Hongbing thought to himself. “The first part used scenery to evoke emotion; this part uses objects to symbolize the person.” Time may wear away the gold leaf on carvings, but it cannot smooth over the memories that constantly ripple in the heart. The brush was set aside seven years ago, simply because he would only ever write for one person.
“Rain blurs my sight, year after year I lean by the well, hoping for your return home—
What I fear most is that tears will unknowingly fall in two streams.
I wander through this mortal world, yet cannot find your paradise—
The eastern vase and western mirror sit in place, yet hatred cannot erase the memory.
Again, in the Qingming rain, I pluck chrysanthemums and send them to your side,
And softly sing the song you loved the most.”
As the chorus faded and the interlude began, Li Yunshang found it hard to calm herself. The lyrics were simply too beautiful.
“Two streams of tears,” “eastern vase and western mirror,” “plucking chrysanthemums”—not a single word explicitly mentioned longing, yet every word was steeped in it.
Especially the line “I wander through this mortal world, yet cannot find your paradise”—it elevated the emotion to its peak.
“Young people today really have something!” Li Mingyuan sighed in admiration. “This song is about mourning the departed, with sadness as its foundation, yet it expresses a complex, refined sorrow. That line about wandering and not finding paradise captures that grief so vividly.”
“Yes, it’s hard to imagine—” Zhou Hongbing started to say, but before he could finish, Lin Shuwen’s voice began to sing again.
“A zither sounds from afar, ethereal and haunting, as if calling down the rain—
Whispering my countless thoughts to myself alone.
Moonlit shadows flicker, fireworks bloom in layers, candlelight glows red—
Old dreams of the mortal world crumble all into emptiness.”
“The first part writes of longing, the second of parting—excellently done!” Li Yunshang couldn’t help but praise. As she spoke, she turned her gaze to the stage. The stunning young woman in the red palace dress left her almost spellbound.
Who wouldn’t adore someone with both beauty and talent?
“What a pity I’m not a man—otherwise I would definitely pursue her,” Li Yunshang mused silently.
While she was lost in these idle thoughts, the song had already reached its final stanza:
“I wander through this mortal world, yet cannot find your paradise—
The eastern vase and western mirror sit in place, yet hatred cannot erase the memory.
Again, in the Qingming rain, I pluck chrysanthemums and send them to your side,
And softly sing the song you loved the most.”
For the very last line of the final stanza, Luoming deliberately slowed the tempo, giving it a gentle, storytelling quality that pushed the wave of longing to its peak.
“Thank you, everyone!”
Luoming bowed to the audience.
The next second, thunderous applause erupted.
“Even though I didn’t fully understand some of the lyrics, for some reason I feel a tightness in my chest.”
“This song is amazing! The lyrics are incredible—the only small flaw is that the accompaniment sounds a bit simple, but otherwise it’s perfect.”
“It’s not that the accompaniment is simple—the composition itself is fairly minimal. But that doesn’t take away from it; this is undeniably a great song.”
“Such a shame we can’t bring our phones in—otherwise I could have recorded it and listened to it later.”
“Yeah! What a pity.”
The audience clapped and buzzed with chatter.
Backstage, Sister Shan and the Chen sisters were completely stunned.
“When did Sister Wen write this song?” Sister Shan asked the Chen sisters.
Both shook their heads simultaneously. They were certain that Lin Shuwen had never written such a song.
“Surely she didn’t write it at her sister’s place last night, did she?” Sister Shan said with a strange tone.
“Maybe… maybe Miss Lin gave the song to Sister Wen,” Chen Sichu blurted out instinctively.
“Impossible! If Miss Lin had gifted it, Sister Wen would never claim it as her own original work,” Chen Junmiao countered.
“That’s true… Then Sister Shan—”
“Never mind! It doesn’t matter when she wrote it. What matters is that we now have three top-quality tracks for the album. Their popularity will definitely not be low. Sister Wen’s album has a real chance of becoming legendary with just one release!” Sister Shan said excitedly.
“Should we contact the company ahead of time and get them to push some trending topics for us?”
“Not yet. Wait until the episode airs. Remember, this is a CCTV program—we can’t bypass them to do our own promotion.”
The Chen sisters nodded in agreement.
After Luoming’s performance ended, the panelists and host Sa Ning walked back onstage together to wrap up the final segment of the show.
“Alright, dear audience, that brings our show to a close for today. In this episode, we explored the charm of Tang poetry. Next time, we’ll travel to the Song dynasty and savor the beauty of Song lyrics together. We’ll see you next episode—thank you all for watching!”
As Sa Ning delivered the closing remarks, the guests waved to the cameras.
“Cut~” At Director Zhu’s command, the recording officially ended.
“Great work, everyone! Today’s shoot went so smoothly, all thanks to you. Lunch is on me!” Director Zhu walked onto the stage, beaming with delight.
Clearly, he was extremely satisfied with the episode’s outcome.
In fact, just a moment ago backstage, Director Zhu had already praised Lin Shuyue enthusiastically: “Xiao Lin, well done! Getting your sister to appear on the show and perform that song—I’m giving you credit for this one!”
“Director Zhu, isn’t that a bit too generous?”
“Not at all. Xiao Lin, you should know that while our show’s ratings are decent, it’s a rather serious, educational variety program, so it doesn’t quite appeal to younger viewers. Your sister has a certain popularity among the youth, and this song of hers is of high quality with the potential to become a hit. If it takes off, our program can attract more young viewers, and we’ll be better able to fulfill our mission of promoting traditional culture. So tell me—shouldn’t I give you credit for that?”
“If you’re offering, I’ll gladly take it!” Lin Shuyue laughed and accepted.
“Haha! Good! I love your straightforward attitude. Join us for lunch later!”
