Overview
Introduction
"Zai Na Yaoyuan De Difang" (Chinese: 在那遥远的地方) is the title and first line of a popular Chinese song by Wang Luobin, the renowned Chinese songwriter and ethnic music researcher.
History
Wang Luobin wrote the song in 1939 in Qinghai while shooting a film near Qinghai Lake. He met a young Tibetan girl, and wrote a song about the beautiful impression that she left upon him and all those around her. The song is set to the tune of a Kazakh folk song that Wang had collected in the area.
It became one of the most popular songs in China and one of the best known Chinese songs in many countries. Wang Luobin first named this song as "The Grassland Love Song" (草原情歌), but later changed to "Zai Na Yaoyuan De Difang". The song is extremely popular in Japan where it is called "Love Song of the Steppe" (草原情歌 Sōgen jyōka?).
Various English-language sources use different translations of the song's title. China Daily, Ministry of Culture of China, China Central Television, and China Radio International translated the name into "In That Place Wholly Faraway". Beijing Review and a Newcastle University academic Joanna Smith Finley translated it into "In That Faraway Place". Xinhua News Agency translated it into "In a Faraway Fairyland". WaterFire, University of Queensland, and Scotland-China Association translated it into "In That Distant Place". Su Xiaokang translated it into "In a Land Far Far Away". A University of Toronto academic Joshua D. Pilzer translated it into "In That Far-Off Land". An Indian historian Sarvepalli Gopal translated it into "In That Remote Place".
Lyrics
在那遥远的地方
有位好姑娘
人们走过了她的帐房
都要回头留恋地张望
她那粉红的笑脸
好像红太阳
她那美丽动人的眼睛
好像晚上明媚的月亮
我愿抛弃了财产
跟她去放羊
每天看着她动人的眼睛
和那美丽金边的衣裳
我愿做一只小羊
跟她去放羊
我愿她拿着细细的皮鞭
不断轻轻打在我身上
我愿她拿着细细的皮鞭
不断轻轻打在我身上
