Tale of the Red Cliff
Introduction of the Song
The song “Tales of the Red Cliff” was composed and sung by the prolific Taiwan-based Singaporean singer, songwriter, and actor, Lin Jun Jie (林俊杰), who is also known as JJ Lin. “Tales of the Red Cliff” is the official English title of the song, which in mandarin is “Zui Chi bi” (醉赤壁), or “Drunken Red Cliff” as translated literally. “Tales of the Red cliff” was released in his album, Sixology on 18 October 2008, with rights to Ocean Butterflies Music. The album’s English title “Sixology” seems to have been inspired by the mere fact that it was the sixth album JJ Lin released It was, however, called “JJ陸” in mandarin, which literally means JJ Land. The album won 10 Selling Mandarin Albums of the Year at the 2009 International Federation of the Phonographic Industry Hong Kong Album Sales Awards.
While the music in this song is composed by JJ Lin, the singer himself, the lyrics were written by the award winning lyricist, Vincent Fang or Fang Wenshan (方文山). As evinced from its title and through references in the lyrics, the song is known to be inspired by the intimate relations between two lovers from the classic Chinese novel, “The Romance of the Three Kingdoms”. Curiously, scenes in the music video are from John Woo’s movie “Red Cliff” (2009) or “The Battle of Red Cliff”, the titled it was promoted with in Singapore. Although “Tales of the Red Cliff” was released in the same year as the movie, the song was not featured in the movie. Nonetheless, the inclusion of these scenes are important in our interpretation of the song and we will discuss its significance later.
In this essay, we firstly describe the musical structure and instrumentation employed in the song. A deeper harmonic analysis will be interweaved with our lyric analysis of the song to show how the music reinforces, or complicates, key themes and issues discussed in the song. In our lyric analysis of the song, we show how the denotative and connotative meanings of words used conjure up a rich history of Chinese traditions, which are employed to structure his passion and love. Ultimately, we argue that JJ Lin portrays a modern take of Chineseness which is characterised by a blend of tradition and modernity - as evinced in both his music and lyrics - in particular, that modernity is deeply rooted in, and thus shaped by, tradition.
Musical Arrangement of the Song
“Tales of the Red Cliff” follows the conventional form of the popular music form. The typical pop music form starts with an intro, followed by verse and chorus. A breakdown occurs before going back to verse and chorus. There is usually a bridge leading to the chorus for the third time, and finally to the outro.
Chord progressions, following the I → IV → V or I → IV → VI, are conventional to pop music and are found in “Tales of the Red Cliff”. However, multiple modulations or change of keys, are not conventional to popular music. In this song, there are six modulations:
Intro: F minor
verse 1: B
Chorus: Ab (first relative of Fm)
verse 2: B
Chorus: Ab
Chorus (repeat): Bb (modulates by a full tone, instead of the conventional semi-tone)
Outro: F minor
The significance of these six modulations, will be discussed in relation to our lyrics analysis. Apart from modulating, two other key features of “Tales of the Red Cliff” positions the song outside of the conventions of pop music: 1) the inclusion of a Neapolitan 6th chord and 2) the ending on an unresolved major 7th chord, are largely atypical of pop music, thus questioning the songs positions as a conventional pop music.
Apart from its harmonic distinctiveness, the song’s choice of instruments situates itself as part of a greater wave of modern Chinese songs. In this modern wave of Chinese pop songs, musicians compose pieces which bear vestiges of Chinese classical music, played with both western and Chinese instruments. This blend of instruments signals a new category, or genre, songs bearing a unique Chinese style, or Chineseness. This is a song with the perfect combination of R & B and Chinese Style. Typically accompanied with a Western-style band, sometimes incorporating traditional Chinese instruments. In this song, traditional Chinese instruments are heard in the intro, in the middle bridge, and in the outro. In the intro, an electronic piano begins the song with an outlining of chords, and is followed by a sudden awakening to the memories of past life with a frightening thunder. The erhu and violin take over the soundscape and are performed a soft timbre. The effects of this instruments not only signal the Chinese style of the music, but also, the sound of the erhu is similar to that of weeping, as if one is complaining of one’s sadness. In the middle instrumental bridge, layers of instruments are added which lead listeners into JJ Lin’s artistic conception of deep sadness and regret, and of lingering and unwillingness. In the outro, the erhu and string ensemble repeats the tune of the intro, signalling a recollection of the past once again. A final chord, the unresolved major 7th chord, is played by an electric piano, which leads one to contemplate the unresolved narrative of the song, a point discussed in the later sections of this essay.
In terms of rhythm, a predominantly western rhythm is adopted. In the stanzas, JJ Lin is accompanied with an electric piano and guitar, and joined by the heavy downbeats of a drum playing the conventional 4/4 rhythm.
The Chineseness of Chinese pop music is embodied in its rhythm and instruments. In the rhythm of Chinese style pop music, the popular rhythm rehashes ancient melodies, which typically lack bass when played by traditional Chinese instruments, making them sound more modern, especially when attention is given to the bass. Therefore, this integration of western instruments and rhythms with existing Chinese melodies and instruments creates a unique blend of modern music Chinese music which takes the traditional and modifies it to something more current, and global in its outreach.
A key characteristic of JJ Lin’s music in this song is that the music enhances the meaning of the lyrics, and enables a better understanding of the song. The next section of this essay deals, primarily, with an in-depth analysis of the lyrics. Where necessary, points mentioned under this section will be interweaved into the lyric discussion to underscore our interpretation of the song.
Analysis of the Song’s Lyrics
In our analysis, we will show how JJ Lin employs imagery of historical wars and hyperbolic language which conjure memories of historical wars fought in the Han dynasty. Ultimately, we argue that JJ Lin re-appropriates this history of battle for himself to structure an intense, passionate love for his lover.
A tensed and gloomy outlook
The song begins with a tensed gloominess, which is instrumental in setting the tone of the song – one of quiet pity over the narrator's long wait for his lover. The aforementioned crying sound which the erhu produces in the intro foregrounds the gloominess in the song. The lyrics begin with an imagery of falling leaves, which gather into a huge, layered pile. Leaves have always been employed as an image in ancient poetry to express a sad feeling – the despair felt by leaves falling off a tree and withering on the ground. Du Fu (杜甫), the famous poet in Tang Dynasty, used leaves to express the feelings of sorrow in the line 无边落木萧萧下 from his famous poem Climbing (登高) (Du,2009). The stacking of leaves, layer after layer, foregrounds a sense of history and nostalgia which the will be discussed later in the essay. The resultant multi-layered pile of leaves suggests that an extended period of time has passed, and the speaker, or “I”, has been waiting all this time, to the point he goes past his youthful age and into his next reincarnated stage: "我今生还在等" (I, in this life, still am waiting). The word used to describe “I” passing the prime of his life is pertinent: "踩过", does not suggest a mere walking past youthful days, but a careful, investigative treading over his youthful age, similar to words like, "踩跷" (walking on stilts) and "踩案" (investigate a crime), which creates tension in “I”'s protracted wait. The sense of the long-drawn passing of time, coupled with a careful passing over of youth, creates a tensed and gloomy outlook of the song.
The tensed nature of the song is heightened by the proliferation of the phrase "一世 就只能有一次的认真 ". Three words in this line - "一世" (one life), "一次" (one time) and "认真" (attentiveness, earnestness) - reveal the severity and gravity of this singular opportunity which must be treated with attentive care, and not be wasted away. This call for prudence heightens the tensed atmosphere of the song and is further underscored by "确认过眼神", which denotes that “I” has verified through the emotive gaze of his lover. Intensifying the sense of tension is the chorus’ ending on an imperfect cadence, concluding the chorus with a minor chord tonality. Instead of a perfect cadence (Chord V → I) in the stanzas, the chorus ends on a tensed and interrupted minor sixth (vi = Gm). Minor chords, by nature of the harmonics, lend of sad and pensive feel. Interestingly, the chorus, which is sung in Ab major, is the relative minor of the intro’s Fm key. This chordal relationship links the sadness tunes of the erhu in the intro, to the imperfect harmonics of the chorus.
The gloomy, dreary outlook is reinforced through a image of moonlight and two, hyperbolic expressions of tears. Moon light is one of the most commonly used images in ancient Chinese poetry. When a night falls, and a bright moon shines on a male character, his solitude and loneliness is exposed. In the line, “青石板上的月光照进这山城”, the loneliness of “I” is foregrounded, which, coupled with the setting of nightfall, creates a gloomy outlook. In the first hyperbolic expression of tears, "听见 前世谁在泪语纷纷", “I” hears the language of tears (泪语), from a previous life (前世), which drips drop by drop (纷纷), again adding to the idea of prolonged season of tears. In the second, "我策马出征 马蹄声如泪奔", the horses’ galloping sound for war are like tears which flow quickly (奔 from 奔流). These exaggerated expressions bring the “I”'s despondent feelings to the forefront. In addition, the employment of war imagery – horses for battle – taps on the historical context of the song, which especially crucial in the rest of our analysis.
Historical Context
The title of the song, "Tale of the Red Cliffs" (醉赤壁) brings into remembrance the historical battle at the Red Cliffs (赤壁之战). This reference brings back two important subplots, which run alongside each other: firstly, a battle sub plot, and secondly, a romance sub plot, both of which are crucial in understanding the language and imagery employed in this song.
The Battle of Red Cliffs was detailed recorded in both Romance of the Three Kingdoms (三国演义) and Records of the Three Kingdoms (三国志).
Romance of the Three Kingdoms is one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. Its author is Luo Guanzhong, famous novelist in Yuan Dynasty. The novel depicts the history from the end of Eastern Han dynasty to early era of Western Jin dynasty. The story romanticises and dramatises the lives of warlords who tried to replace and reunite the dwindling Han dynasty, the political and military struggles experienced by Han and the three kingdoms, the transformation of various social struggles and contradictions, and the historical changes of this era. It has a total of 800,000 words and nearly a thousand dramatic characters (mostly historical) in 120 chapters.
Records of the Three Kingdom is a historical record of the Three Kingdoms era, written and compiled by Chen Shou(陈寿). Unlike Romance of the Three Kingdom, the author drew historical facts after careful study on the reliability of sources and careful expurgation of unreliable information through a rigorous review.
The battle subplot occurs at the end of the Han dynasty, in which the allied forces of the southern warlords Liu Bei (刘备) and Sun Quan (孙权) war against the numerically superior forces of the northern warlord Cao Cao (曹操). Cao Cao had ambitions of conquering the land south of the Yangtze River, but in AD 208, Liu Bei and Sun Quan successfully defeated Cao Cao's invading army and reunified the dwindling land of the Han dynasty. With control of the Yangtze river, and a strong military foundation, two southern states of Shun Han and Eastern Wu were formed (Chen, 2016). On one level, the historical background of wars fought at the Red cliffs underscores the sense of tension and gloominess which the song begins with. Yet at a deeper level, an image of the Liu Bei's and Sun Quan's horsemen and horses galloping at the plains of the Yangtze river is superimposed with rapid flowing tears of”I”. Furthermore, it is interesting that we are asked to hear, "听见", the sound of tears falling just as we would, in an imaginary way, hear the galloping sounds of horses for battle at the battle at the Red Cliffs.
Another significant character in this account is Zhou Yu, "周瑜", one of the famous generals who worked for Sun Quan in Eastern Wu. This battle was iconic to Zhou Yu as he displayed his virtuosity in the battlefield and gained fame (Chen, 2016). A famous poet in the Northern Song Dynasty, Su Shi (苏轼), also uses the battle at the Red Cliffs to describe Zhou Yu's heroic spirit in his poem Former Ode on the Red Cliff (念奴娇.赤壁怀古) (Su, 2001). Considering how closely associated Red Cliffs are with Zhou Yu in Chinese literature, it is not unreasonable to posit that Red Cliffs are representative, or in some ways symbolic, of the character of Zhou Yu.
Zhou Yu's character is significant because of his involvement in the second romance subplot of this battle. Su writes that the Red cliffs "retrieve[s] the time when Gong Jin (courtesy name of Zhou Yu) and [his wife] Xiao Qiao (小乔) were first married" (Su, 2001). The love story of Zhou Yu and Xiao Qiao are often depicted as conjugal love and is well known in Chinese literature Records of the Three Kingdoms (三国志) (Chen, 2016). However, in AD 210, Zhou Yu died in an expedition in Ba Qiu (Chen, 2016), forever separating the lovers apart. It is said, in a Ming poetry that Xiao Qiao accompanied Zhou Yu at this tomb until she also died (Anonymity). Such a tragic end perhaps explains the gloomy beginning of this song. However, it is this precise confluence of gloominess, tears of love lost, and images of the historical Red Cliff battle that sets the stage for “I”'s expression of a passionate love for his lover.
The passion of Zhou Yu's love for Xiao Qiao
With the history of a lost lover, and of war, Zhou Yu uses the language of war to structure his language of love. For example, the line "我挥剑转身 而鲜血如红唇" shows Zhou Yu interrupting the gloominess of the moment with the brandishing of a knife, and a turning around. This combined action is packed and condensed into a 4-word phrase - 挥剑转身, which suggests the celerity of the fighting. This action is then discontinued with the conjunction, but (而), which suggests a change of state. The change of state is significant, as it suggests a movement away from the chaos of war, and into the discourse of love. Furthermore, the discourse of love is communicated with the association of the fresh blood (鲜) from blood shed of war – an image of bright red - to the redness of his lover's lips (红唇) - an image of seductive red. Such a grotesque comparison of his lover's lips with that of bloodshed connotes an intense love that exists in the midst of war, insomuch that the lover's features are described through the images of war. Moreover, such a comparison shows how potent Zhou Yu's love is: a love capable of discontinuing and displacing images of war with that of love.
The passion of Zhou Yu's love continues in the line, "前朝记忆渡红尘 伤人的不是刀刃, 是你转世而来的魂", which also exemplifies how the language of the historical war shapes the language of love. The word, "渡", bears the idea crossing or passing through ar river (渡河), and also that of passing/going through life( 渡一生). This word reifies the image already in the reader's mind – that of the Yangtze river and the historical battle which led to the claiming of land around Yangtze river. The use of 红尘, which means mortal life, is also significant as the colour red, which holds a duality of reference - that of war and of romance -, are compounded in his mortal life. Bringing these images and references together, it is the memories of the past dynasties that enables him to cross his river of (mortal) life with hopes of find his lover again, just as he had her back in history. Moreover, the image of war in the knife (刀刃) is used to show that, that which hurts is not wounds from war, but that of his unsuccessful search for his lover's reincarnated spirit.
An interesting parallel is made with the narrator's turning his back away from war (挥剑转身), and the reincarnating spirit of his lover (转世而来的魂). Both events involve a turning movement, which suggests a deliberate turning away towards the discourse of love. This turning action is symbolic of “I”'s deliberate and intense yearning to find the lover. He turns away from war (leaving the heat of the battle) and is transported to thoughts of his lover's red lips. Similarly, he shuns the pain inflicted on him by swords and daggers, but instead feels the pain of unrequited love: to have sought his lover's reincarnated spirit, but not finding it.
The passion of Zhou Yu's love is further exemplified through two comparisons: 1) image of far-reaching roots, 2) association with drunkenness. Firstly, the memories (回忆) of Zhou Yu's love is expressed to be like the roots of an tree at Lou Yang City (洛阳城旁的老树根), which are far-reaching, extending deep down (延伸). This is further evinced with the phrase "情极深", which suggests that his feelings are like very deep, perhaps as deep as roots .This love, as described through the image of roots, can be interpreted has having been extended and stretched over generations and cycles of life, and is now deeply entrenched in his memory, which supports how passionate Zhou Yu is for Xiao Qiao. Conversely, the image of roots also suggest how deeply rooted in historical wars and tradition Zhou Yu's love is for Xiao Qiao, a graphic way of showing one's passion.
Secondly, Zhou Yu's love explained by the association with drunkenness in the lines:
"你问 经过是谁的心跳声
我拿醇酒一坛饮恨
你那千年眼神
是我 醉醉坠入赤壁的 伤痕".
Wine and drunkenness are a common motif in ancient poetry. 李白 writes in his poem 宣州谢朓楼钱别校书叔云 that "Drinking magnifies the sadness and melancholy (举杯消愁愁更愁)" (Li, 2009). Zhou Yu takes wine to forget his pain, but his love cannot be abated by drinking. Instead, he "drunkenly" enters the war of Red Cliffs, perhaps drunk with love. What wounds him are not the scars of war, but the millennial gaze of his love. It seems illogical that wounds of war are nothing compared to the drunken passion Zhou Yu has, but that's JJ Lin's employment of hyperbolic expressions to convey the intensity of the love Zhou Yu contains.
A turn towards a hopeful love for Xiao Qiao
At this point of our analysis, Zhou Yu's love has been characterised through historical references and the language of war. There is, as we have we shown through repeated suggestions of gloominess and tension, an underlying thread of dejection which ties the song together. Yet, the lyrics offer a glimmer of hope in this seemingly bleak search for Xiao Qiao. This is offered through the motifs of 1) renewal and regeneration, and the 2) permanency of fated love, which we discuss now.
As much as the motifs of reincarnation (转世) and of the cycle of life and death (轮回) prolong the wait which Zhou Yu has been part of, it is undeniable that they also suggest a sense of renewal – that despair and gloominess renewing to a hopeful end. This is corroborated by the change of key during the last iteration of the chorus in the music video, coupled with an increased bass instruments and higher stringed instruments which stir a, comparatively, upbeat, lively feel in the listener. At the same time, the video shows "Zhou Yu" and Xiao Qiao facing each other, stepping towards other carefully, in a manner similar abovementioned mode of 踩过. In addition, a striking image of hope is conjured with in the line 一次缘份结一次绳. Fate and knot-tying was a way ancient people used to count notes and record information. According to legend, "Big things big knot, small things small knot" (Ji,2010). Ancient Chinese literature Book of Changes (易经) records: "Ancient people use knot rope to record and this ease governance". A book, Lao Zi (老子), records, "people use knot rope to record"(Li, 2016). Combined with the idea of fate (缘分), every fate is recorded and knotted in a person's heart. The image of knot-tying to suggest a securing of fate affords a strong sense of permanency of Zhou Yu's love for Xiao Qiao. As much as Zhou Yu meets with cycle after cycle of disappointment, he holds fast to the permanency of fate to tide him through, with hopes of reuniting with Xiao Qiao once again. In terms of music, the six instances of modulation (or change of key) - which is highly unconventional in pop music-, carries the idea of a constant change, like reincarnation, and is thus symbolic of a constant renewal and hope. In line with the idea of renewal and hope is the feature of the Neapolitan 6th chord, which was referenced in the earlier section. Happening twice in the song, once in the first stanza, and once in the outro, the employment of the Neapolitan sixth chord lends a refreshing feel to the music, amidst the predominantly minor key which the song is sung in. These two instances of music refreshment offer a glimmer of hope, in the realm of the music, for listeners.
Mystery of "I" (我) and "You" (你), and an ambivalent end of the music video
As we have already hinted in the above paragraph, with a deliberate inclusion of Zhou Yu in inverted commas, the identity of the first person singular pronoun, I (我), may not necessarily be Zhou Yu. Similarly, is the second person pronoun, you (你), directed at Xiao Qiao? This is an important issue of discussion as both pronouns occur 21 times and 10 times respectively. To shed light on this, we make reference to the music video. The music video begins with identifiable, historic figures of "Zhou Yu" and "Xiao Qiao", who interact in a distinguishable Chinese-architectural abode, dressed in traditional Chinese costumes for war and for daily living. However, as the lyrics are sung, we see the figure of JJ Lin, the writer and singer of this song, making a diegetic appearance. The video cuts to JJ Lin singing and touching the artefacts in the house, reading ancients scripts, exploring the house, as if also searching for Xiao Qiao. JJ Lin, because of his inclusion into the story-world of the video, becomes tied into discourse of love. At this point, the character of "Zhou Yu", which we first see, no longer makes an appearance in the story world. It becomes apparent that JJ Lin has now taken the position of Zhou Yu,. In contrast, we do not see a modern-day version of Xiao Qiao; she remains unchanged. Our reading suggests the possibility that JJ Lin is the modern reincarnation, after many cycles, of the ancient "Zhou Yu" and he still is searching for his lover, Xiao Qiao, which he finally does meet face to face, as aforementioned, in the last iteration of the chorus. JJ Lin, evidently, re-appropriates the history and battle of the Red cliffs to structure his love for his lover. Whether his lover is indeed the ancient Xiao Qiao, or a new modern-day version of the Xiao Qiao remains a mystery. What is evident, however, is that JJ Lin re-appropriates and claims the history and battles at Red Cliff for his own, using the experiences and language of war to structure his love for his lover.
Albeit a powerful use of history in reinforcing one's love, the music video goes one step further to write its own ending – an ending absent from the lyrics of the song. At the penultimate line of the song, JJ Lin's gaze meets that of Xiao Qiao, he stretches out his hand, like the stretching of the roots (延伸 versus 伸手), to touch Xiao Qiao's. However, at that precise moment, Xiao Qiao disappears, perhaps into her next cycle of life. This dissipates the glimmer of hope which the lyrics seem to point towards. Is there, truly, no hope for JJ Lin?
The music video seems to suggest a possible response from Xiao Qiao. While in the lyrics, it is written from the point of view of Zhou Yu, in which Xiao Qiao is the syntactical object (你), with no sense of agency granted, we see that in the music video, she sneaks into Cao Cao's military camp alone before the battle of Red Cliff to convince Cao Cao to withdraw his troops. This corresponds to the screenplay plot in the film Chibi (Woo, 2009), where Xiao Qiao agentically acts to move the plot, unlike her passive role in the lyrics of this song. In the music video, Xiao Qiao leaves a note "Be Safe (平安)" before leaving Zhou Yu, expressing her love to Zhou Yu through her concern for his safety. In contrast to the song, which offers no sign of Xiao Qiao's return of love, the music video gives a glimmer of hope that Zhou Yu's love will be requited.
Yet, complicating matters further is the song’s final ending on a major 7th chord, a feature which was alluded to in the previous section. In most songs, the music usually resolves to major 1 chord, which gives a note of finality to the song. However, instead of the conventional resolve to songs, JJ Lin decides to leave the listeners hanging (on the Red Cliff) with a unconcluded feel, as if the JJ Lin is still searching and thus refusing to resolve his music. Therefore, despite the glimmer of hope the song offers, the outcome and resolution of the song remains ambivalent, reinforcing the very tension that underlie the song from the very beginning.
Reflections and Conclusion
“Chineseness” - a modernity entrenched in tradition.
Unlike the ambivalence of the ending, the projection of “Chineseness” in this song is much clearer. In both the level of lyrics and of music, we see a consistent employment of tradition and in shaping modernity. In other words, Chineseness is one which is characterised by a deep entrenchment Chinese history and tradition, but manifest in a modern spin. In the lyrics, JJ Lin adapts the love story of historical characters to set the background of the song. Grounded in this historical background, he expresses his own love story and his attitude toward love. Since a good majority of his listeners are ethnic Chinese, who are familiar with Chinese culture and literature, the analogy drawn from historical stories evokes memories of Chinese tradition, and thus serves as a common denominator among the many ethnic Chinese groups. In some ways, the history and traditions of Chinese culture serve as a unifying factor amidst the many cultural differences within ethnic Chinese groups of JJ Lin’s listeners. The lyrics thus show a modern rehashing of tradition stories to convey JJ Lin’s personal passion for his lover.
Similarly, at the level of music, we see a similar entrenchment in traditional music. While the modern R & B rhythm is evident, the incorporation of traditional Chinese instruments characterise JJ Lin’s music. The elements of a western rhythm, and some instruments like the electric piano and guitar, give the song a modern feel, and thus increases the song’s reception among the younger generations, who are exposed more to western music styles, perhaps extending to a non-Chinese audience. As we have observed with the lyrics, the inclusion of traditional Chinese musical instruments prelude, interlude and outro, symbolizes a homage to Chinese tradition and culture. At the same time, these traditional instruments is familiar among the ethnic Chinese groups, thus linking different ethnic Chinese groups together through music. Chineseness in music is thus characterized by a blend of western styles with Chinese elements, creating a modern fusion which has evident vestiges of tradition Chinese music within it.
In conclusion, we have systematically shown how both the lyrics and music are carefully constructed and chosen by JJ Lin to portray his feelings; he uses the language, stories and music of traditional Chinese culture to structure his love for his lover. The end product, “Tales of the Red Cliff”, is a unique blend in which modern elements of music and mixed with traditional ones. “Tales of the Red Cliff” hence becomes a metaphor for “Chineseness” - a modernity deeply entrenched in tradition.
(4949 Words)
Reference
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