Xiāng Sī | Chinese Folk Songs Project - Chinese Folk Songs for Music Teachers

Xiāng Sī
(Thinking of Each Other)
By Wang Wei [Tang Dynasty 8th Century]

Wang Wei (699-759 approximate) is a renowned poet and painter of the Tang Dynasty whose works are still know throughout China. Wang Wei was from the Han people.

Children learn Wang Wei's poems at home and then again in school. This arrangement of Xiāng Sī is one of many musical arrangements of his poem. It is a song of remembrance and may be sung at any time of year.

Pinyin Version

Hóng dòu shēng nán guó,
chūn lái fā jǐ zhī.
Yuàn jūn duō cǎi xié yà,
cǐ wù zuì xiāng sī.

English Translation

The red beans grow in the southland
Flourish on the branches when spring comes
Would you gather an armful, I pray
For the fond love and remembrance they express.