A couple Christmases ago we shared mp3s of traditional Christmas songs that had been Chinese-ified. This year you get some genuine Chinese Christmas songs, as in songs written by Chinese in Chinese and in a Chinese style, rather than sounding like corrupted English songs. The first song is especially good for language students; it’s so repetitive that you only have to learn four lines.
I tried to find well-produced recordings of arrangements that would sound good to Western ears, but each link below fails on one or both accounts (this is not surprising for a lot of traditional Chinese music). But the point is that it’s a Chinese song anyway, so you get what you get, which in this case is 10000x tamer than the inebriated felines of Beijing opera.
Mouseover the Chinese below to see the pronunciation. My translation is veeery rough. [Note: go to China Live Hope to see the Chinese pronunciation.]
《欢乐佳音歌》 Joyous Tidings
#83 in the TSPM hymnal (赞美诗)
Listen: here and here.
欢乐圣诞佳音大家来歌唱 耶路撒冷欢呼弥赛亚为王
Joyous Christmas tidings, everyone come sing, Jerusalem hails the Messiah as King
锡安全地报道救主已降临 耶稣基督甘愿卑贱救众人
Zion the whole earth announces the saviour has come,
Jesus Christ willingly humbly rescues everyone
欢乐圣诞佳音大家来歌唱 耶路撒冷欢呼弥赛亚为王
Joyous Christmas tidings, everyone come sing, Jerusalem hails the Messiah as King
欢乐圣诞佳音大家来歌唱 耶路撒冷欢呼弥赛亚为王
Joyous Christmas tidings, everyone come sing, Jerusalem hails the Messiah as King
普世万民齐来传扬主降生 赐下救恩万众信徒蒙恩深
All the people in all the world, come spread the news that the Lord is born,
bestowing salvation, multitudes of believers receive profound grace
欢乐圣诞佳音大家来歌唱 耶路撒冷欢呼弥赛亚为王
Joyous Christmas tidings, everyone come sing, Jerusalem hails the Messiah as King
欢乐圣诞佳音大家来歌唱 耶路撒冷欢呼弥赛亚为王
Joyous Christmas tidings, everyone come sing, Jerusalem hails the Messiah as King
信徒大家恭敬献上感谢心 天军同唱哈利路亚满天庭
All believers respectfully offer God thankful hearts,
sing hallelujah together with Heaven’s hosts filling Heaven
欢乐圣诞佳音大家来歌唱 耶路撒冷欢呼弥赛亚为王
Joyous Christmas tidings, everyone come sing, Jerusalem hails the Messiah as King
《圣诞感恩歌》 Christmas Thanksgiving
#84 in the TSPM hymnal (赞美诗)
Listen: here and here.
耶稣来人间 神爱世人 / Jesus comes to earth, God loves the people of the world
主为救人类 道成肉身 / The Lord saves humanity, ‘The Word becomes Flesh’
天使唱赞歌 颂主下凡尘 / Angels sing praise, an ode to God who came to earth
神恩真浩大 比海还要深 / God’s grace is truly great, even deeper than the ocean
当年主降生 牧人闻讯 / When the Lord was born, shepherds heard the news
前往伯利恒 朝拜圣婴 / Went ahead to Bethlehem to worship the holy infant
归来乐无限 报告主降生 / Come back with unbounded happiness, reporting the Lord’s birth
全城都传开 基督已来临 / The whole city spreads the news, Christ has come
救主来世界 赐人和平 / The Saviour comes to the world, bestowing on people peace
马槽里安身 四周宁静 / In a manger taking shelter, all around is tranquil
我们感谢主 得闻此佳音 / We give thanks to the Lord, hearing these good tidings
效法三博士 献上一片心 / Imitate the Three Wisemen, offering up hearts of thanks
赞美主降生 万众欢腾 / Praise for the Lord’s birth, universal celebration
我们今得着 神子名分 / We now can have the status of God’s children
生活有盼望 从此享永生 / Life has hope, from now on enjoying eternal life
美满又幸福 全靠主鸿恩 / Blissful and blessed, completely depending on God’s great grace
The coworker who introduced me to these says that both are homegrown Chinese Christmas songs, though I think I hear some traditional Western hymn-i-ness in the second one especially.
Anyway, if you’ve got Chinese Christmas music, please share!
This post originally appeared at China Hope Live on December 9, 2012.
Photo Credit: Virtual Eric The Great Wall of China – Mutianyu 1
Joel 大江
Joel and his family hope to live, work, and raise their family in China. In 2006 they finished M.A.s in Intercultural Studies while teaching English in Taiwan. Then they studied Chinese for two years in Tianjin and now live and work in Qingdao.View Full Bio
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