Remaining

This is an original art song. The song is inspired by the author's adaptation of the legend of Guiguzi who is the master of Laozi, which depicts the deep love between the hero as a god and the worldly childhood sweetheart heroine.

The theme of the song, is about the love hidden in the heart, one side is due to the constraints of the world, the other is the rules of heaven, both sides are very wise to see the consequences so nobody steps out for telling the other the deep love, thus can only bury this love deep.

The author used classical Chinese to create the lyrics. Classical Chinese is a written language of Chinese in ancient China, which is characterized by the fact that every sentence is in harmony with the rhythm and the style is concise, and it can contain more profound and implicit meanings than vernacular Chinese.

The structure of the work can be divided into five parts. The main musical instrument uses the traditional Chinese guqin and dizi to depict the characters of the heroine and the hero respectively.

The first part is the introduction, which is introduced by using the guqin solo. The theme of overtone and wheel finger runs throughout the work. At the same time, a lot of guqin techniques are used, such as vibrato, stroke, wiping and so on.

The second part is the beginning of the voice, which expresses the sorrow of parting, using a mixed Chinese traditional D-flat Ya scale and A-flat Ya scale to create the lyric melody, and the dizi occasionally appears as an ornament.

The third part is the emotional turning point, which expresses happy memories. It uses the B-flat pentatonic scale, adding the soft and hazy piano timbre as the foundation. The climax of the music ends on the C pentatonic scale, and the rolling of guqin highlights the burst of emotion.

The fourth part is the heroine’s acceptance of the reality. The short sentences of the lyrics and melodies express a kind of helplessness and sigh. This paragraph begins with the C pentatonic scale but returns to the D-flat Ya scale, echoing the theme.

The last part uses the duet of guqin and dizi to express the interwoven emotions of the hero and heroine and echo the lyrics. At the end, a spoken part of Chinese opera is used to express the inner monologue of the heroine in the last two lyrics to sublimate the theme.

浮生一梦今方醒兮 望远归去

A dream of life is waking up now and looking far away for his return

梦缱绻兮而又不语 未别离

Dreaming in love and inseparable without saying a word, as yet to farewell

道兮美兮自缘何兮 吾未知

What was the reason/when for Dao, what was the reason/when for the beauty, I don't know

侃侃耳语自幼相往兮

Recalling the times of whispering since we’re young

矫矫瞰峰林溪勿扰兮

Recalling the times of chasing and overlooking the peaks of the forest and streams without a disturb

料今至兮何往兮

Should we know now why the past

歌兮旅兮长醉兮 又复何来兮

Singing(together), Travelling(together) and drinking(together), not even a point to have a life again

君来君去君望长虹兮踽踽

Mr.(You) came Mr.(You) left Mr.(You) looking towards the long rainbow bridge(a bridge connects to the gods world), walking alone

骄缕凄凄琴伴竹笛兮依依

Jiao Lv(Guqin) feels dismal but in companion with Dizi, reluctant part

道为守美兮 归一

Dao is to keep beauty, so eventually both goes to one

浮生一梦兮 梦从一

A dream of life, in dream I followed my heart

The main character in the story is a legendary figure -- Mr. Guiguzi(Wang xu), and his love. According to legend, he is the teacher of Laozi and others, who had long last influence in politics, economics, livelihood and so on in Chinese history, out into the mystery of Mr. Guiguzi living in seclusion, the legend of a hundred disciples, and the best hundred disciples to change the Warring States politics, economics, health and other fields, but no one can tell or are unwilling to tell where Mr. Guiguzi lives, but all point to a place, the Ghost Valley. (Ghost Valley is Guigu in Chinese).

Mr. Guiguzi had a childhood friend in the mundane world, because of its transcendent existence, the girl at the age of maturity did not dare to express, he certainly knew and very much liked and cared about this girl, before the enlightenment was due to timid and portal, after the enlightenment he was restricted by destiny and mission, he taught and preached to stabilize the Tian Dao(divine order of things), but could not expose through his demigod body because otherwise it would affect Tian Dao and his return to his world, and if that happens, two worlds will be tied, the consequences are unimaginable.

This girl is also outstanding, Wang Xu was raised up in a family of poverty and was disliked by her family since childhood, but she was born in a famous family, versatile in music, calligraphy and painting etc. When Wang Xu’s family suffered from major changes, Wang Xu was seriously injured that time, it’s her who saved him, and hided him to the Ghost Valley, and often visited.

He woke up several days later with enlightenment, but because of the Tian Dao constraints, he can only bury this affection, and the girl understands him very well, satisfied with along side for companion and help to teach the world, and finally completed the mundane world, the time has come.

This day, as usual, she brought his favorite dishes before he was injured, although, Wang Xu has been fasting for many years, but still enjoyed her meal, the spirits made on their own, later called 'Shenxian Niang (immortal brew)', after the meal, he still sent her to the halfway up the path of the Wang (forget) slope, but she has actually perceived today and the usual difference, yes, he is about to 'leave', for his own world. So, she had her personal maidservant prepare her beloved guqin - ‘Jiao Lv’, the mountain is very strange today, it is still red haze earlier but, this moment unknowingly became foggy, she took the bamboo umbrella in the hand of the maidservant ran towards him, he is still watching on the long slope, seeing her go and return, he smiled, but still took the open umbrella, and did not say anything, just waved his hand to indicate goodbye. The first thing that happened was that she took a step back and pressed down the sadness and joy in her heart, listening to the drizzle of nature touching the ground. (He looked up at the sky, the time was up, held the umbrella, turned back, into that white world...)

She has never been married, but today she is bun for him, ruffling Jiao Lv(Gu qin)...The song echoes, the afterglow drifts...But this is only in her dream.