Friends of youth, gathered together at this moment, raising the boat, the warm breeze gently blowing, the flowers are fragrant, the birds are singing, the spring light is intoxicating, and the laughter and laughter are like colorful clouds drifting ......
The beautiful melody reverberates again, does it bring our memories back to the glorious 80s for a moment?
At that time, we were so full of vitality! As the song says, we are full of confidence in the future of our motherland and full of expectations for a better life. Now, we are satisfied that we have realized the future of the song.
We have been singing the song "Young Friends Come to Meet" for 44 years, and it has also been popular for 44 years.
It accompanies our youth and sings about our shared dreams and pursuits. We love this song because of the lightness and power of the melody, and on the other hand, because the lyrics are uplifting and deeply rooted in people's hearts.
However, have you noticed? Over the years, almost every singer who has sung this song has become popular. Even Gu Jianfen, the composer who composed the music for it, has won a reputation.
But what about its lyricists? How many people still remember? How many people else know? If there were no lyrics written by Zhang Meitong, how could this song be so classic, so deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and so enduring and enduring ?
Therefore, none of us should forget this talented and low-key and reserved lyricist.
Sadly, not long ago, on January 20, 2024, the lyricist who was supposed to be famous all over the world passed away. I am very sorry and saddened by this.
Therefore, I think we should take this opportunity today to introduce you to this wonderful lyricist. His growth process, legendary life, choices, marriage, and other well-known songs he wrote in addition to "Young Friends Come to Meet" should be known to more people.
Some people pursue themselves all their lives, act from the heart, and live a simple and pure life, such as Zhang Meitong. Let's uncover his story together. Zhang Meitong: **The alternative life of a talented man In 1940, Zhang Meitong was born in Yuanping City, Shanxi Province, which is rich in products and outstanding people, and is known as "Pear Township".
Zhang Meitong has had a sensitivity to musical notes since he was a child, and at the same time loves literature, his poetry language is simple but can deeply move people's hearts, which laid a solid foundation for him to become a lyricist later.
He began to teach himself simple music when he was in elementary school, and began to compose songs independently in high school, so he won the title of "little talent" in the local area. In 1961, at the age of 21, he was successfully admitted to the Art Department of Shanxi University, and after graduation, he stayed in the school to teach with his excellent performance, and the professionalism of the working environment and the artistic atmosphere provided great help to his creation.
However, he soon volunteered to leave the position, why is that?
Zhang Meitong decided to give up everything in order to pursue love. At Shanxi University, he met a junior sister named Cheng Qi, four years younger than him, who majored in Chinese and worked as a teacher in a coal mining middle school in Datong City, Shanxi Province.
After Zhang Meitong and Cheng Qi tied the knot, they were separated from each other all year round due to their geographical location. From Taiyuan to Datong, the distance is about 280 kilometers, and the traffic conditions at that time were also very inconvenient.
On holidays, Zhang Meitong always made full preparations in advance, and experienced a bumpy and hourly journey before returning to their small home in Datong. However, due to the long distance, sometimes there are some troubles at home, but Zhang Meitong cannot rush back in the first place.
This is undoubtedly a deep pain for Zhang Meitong, who attaches great importance to his family. Therefore, in order to be able to be with his family, Zhang Meitong made the difficult decision in 1972 to give up his job at Shanxi University and, through hard work, transferred to the Datong Mining Bureau to engage in propaganda work.
Although Zhang Meitong was considered by some to be inappropriate as a university teacher in the provincial capital, and chose to work in a company in Datong, which may cause losses to his professional creation, I deeply feel that his spirit of "not playing cards according to the rules" is worthy of appreciation.
He is a person who bravely follows his heart and believes that he can show his talent no matter in **. In the Datong Mining Bureau, he served as a trade union officer, deputy director of the Propaganda Department, minister, vice chairman, secretary general of the Cultural Work Committee, etc., although he was busy, he always insisted on literary creation, and his works were constantly published in journals such as "Poetry Magazine".
His song "Young Friends Come to Meet" was born on the basis of a lyric he wrote in 1979, "The Glorious New Generation of the Eighties", which was published in the March 1980 issue of "Word Magazine".
Gu Jianfen and many other composers were attracted by his warm emotions and fresh words.
Zhang Meitong created such an affectionate lyric, which is inseparable from his special experience with 1978. At that time, the convening of the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China brought earth-shaking changes to the whole country, and people were full of smiles and expectations for a better future.
This inspired Zhang Meitong, and he deeply felt that he had the responsibility to leave the mark of this era with **. Therefore, the lyrics "In another twenty years, we will meet" came into being and became the soul of this lyric.
In just one night, he wrote the lyrics of "The Glorious New Generation of the Eighties". From a first-person perspective, he vividly shows the scene of young people gathering together, singing and laughing in the 80s, and at the same time expressing the pride and expectation of the "new generation in the 80s" through "the sky is new, the earth is new, and the spring is brighter".
Zhang Meitong writes his inner feelings passionately, without reservation, and with great fluency. He didn't think his words were very good, but he just wanted to express his feelings and emotions through words.
At that time, many readers mistakenly thought that the lyricist who could so vividly show the spiritual outlook of young people in the 80s must be a young talent. However, in fact, Zhang Meitong is already a 39-year-old middle-aged man.
But he still maintains a young heart, and like a young man in his early 20s, he is full of confidence in life and full of expectations for the future.
Gu Jianfen was very excited after reading the lyrics of "The Glorious New Generation of the Eighties". At the same time, she was also inspired by the lyrics of the song, a passionate, cheerful and ethnic melody echoed in her mind, so she quickly added a melody to the lyrics of the song, and changed the title of the song to "Young Friends Come to Meet".
On September 23, 1980, the Mid-Autumn Festival, in order to "promote new songs and new talents", "Beijing Evening News" hosted the "New Star ** Meeting" held in the Capital Gymnasium.
Eight young singers, including Zhu Mingying, Su Xiaoming, Zheng Xulan, Yuan Zheng, Wu Guosong, Wang Jing, Li Mo and Ren Yan, took the stage to perform more than 20 innovative songs, including "Night of the Military Port", "Orchids and Butterflies", "Sun Island" and so on.
At the "Rising Star ** Meeting", "Meet in Young Friends" attracted much attention with the first singing of young actor Ren Yan. The song quickly won the hearts of the audience, and many even joined in the chorus to sing their hearts together.
The next day, the streets and alleys of Beijing rang out"Ah dear friends, to whom does the wonderful spring belong? It belongs to me, to you, to our new generation of ...... in the eighties"The melody reverberates around every corner.
This song instantly became popular and became a household name in the radio era, a hit song sung by women and children, and was repeated by major radio stations every day**.
There used to be a documentary called "Don't Let the Years Pay for the Water", which showed the positive and self-striving spirit of young people in that era, which is almost exactly the same as the meaning expressed in "Young Friends Come to Meet".
At that time, the young people were really full of energy and fighting spirit, they were full of vigor and refused to be comfortable, some were busy with night school, some were keen on foreign language study, some were obsessed with new technologies, and some were crazy about absorbing knowledge.
The social atmosphere full of dreams and the pursuit of progress was a clear sign of that era.
With his unique creative talent, Zhang Meitong deeply integrated this state into the song "Young Friends Come to Meet". This song has also become a special symbol of our nostalgia for the 80s.
Every time we sing this song, those vivid images from decades ago immediately come to our minds, making our blood boil, recalling that era of passion and youth.
Young Friends Come to Meet" is popular all over the country, and the singers are like Li Gu.
1. Zhu Fengbo, Geng Lianfeng, Zhang Zhenfu, Xie Lisi, Wang Jieshi, etc. have become popular, and even composer Gu Jianfen has become popular.
However, the lyricist Zhang Meitong has not been known by the majority of fans for a long time. Zhang Meitong's life has always been low-key, and although his songs are popular all over the country, he himself has not changed much because of this.
Only his friends and relatives knew that he had written the song and congratulated him, but he always smiled and didn't pay much attention to it.
He works in the art troupe of Datong Mining Bureau, in addition to completing daily rehearsals and performances, he still insists on creating in his spare time, and all his works revolve around the life of a miner he is familiar with.
Songs such as "Miner's Mother", "Woman in the Mine" and "Miner's Story" have won many successes, while works such as "I Am a Black Guy Mining Coal" and "Mine Path" have also won the love of listeners.
He is a prolific writer, the long ** "The Widow of the Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee", the reportage "There is Great Harmony in the World", the short story ** collection "The Woman Pulling the Camel", the drama "Sweet Honey", and the TV series "Jellyfish Niangniang" are all his masterpieces.
However, due to his long-term life and work in Datong, there are not many opportunities to appear on some talk shows. This is also an important reason why he has not been popular for many years.
Although Zhang Meitong had the opportunity to leave the Datong Mining Bureau many times and join a professional creative group in Beijing, due to his deep affection for the Datong Mining Bureau and his reluctance to separate from his wife Cheng Qi again, he finally chose to stick to the front line of the Datong Mining Bureau until his retirement.
The impact of the song "Young Friends Come to Meet" is undoubtedly far-reaching. In 1983, UNESCO selected it as the leading textbook in the Asia-Pacific region.
In addition to frequently appearing in various large-scale theatrical performances, many movies and TV series depicting life in the 80s also used this song. Therefore, we cannot ignore Zhang Meitong's creative achievements.
In 2000, on the 20th anniversary of the song "Young Friends Come to Meet", the future depicted in the song became a reality. Zhang Meitong collaborated with lyricist Jia Ding again to create the lyrics of the new song "Meet Again in Twenty Years", composed by Gu Jianfen - "It's too late to wait, it's too late to be intoxicated, oh it's too late to be intoxicated, the young heart faces the rising sun and chases hope together......”
At the "Hundred Flowers Welcome Spring" party, a song "Meet Again in Twenty Years" once again evoked the memories of the majority of fans. The style of this lyric is simple, the image is distinct, and the distinctive characteristics of the times are unforgettable.
Just like "Young Friends Come to Meet" back then, it gained warm love as soon as it appeared at the welcome party. This time, Wang Xiaotang, Xie Fang, Tao Yuling and other old artists sang this song together, which made countless audiences excited, as if they had returned to that beautiful era.
Zhang Meitong may not be well known as a name, but he doesn't pay much attention to it. He focuses on creation, enjoys life, and looks down on fame and fortune.
In Zhang Meitong's creative career, his wife Cheng Qi gave him great support. Cheng Qi not only shared most of the housework in the family, but also provided valuable advice to many of Zhang Meitong's works.
Cheng Qi initially taught English at Yongdingzhuang Coal Mine Middle School, but was later transferred to the Datong Mining Bureau, where he served as head of the mission department.
The consistent tacit understanding between Cheng Qi and Zhang Mei stems from their shared preferences, pursuits and goals. Cheng Qi is keen on literary creation, and the couple have completed masterpieces such as "Deep in the Mountains" and "Woman Pulling the Camel Team", fully demonstrating her artistic talent.
After retiring, Zhang Meitong moved to the suburbs of Beijing in 2000, and his son is already working in the capital. The couple supported each other and accompanied each other, and performed a beautiful story of boundless true love.
In 2002, Zhang Meitong wrote a new song "Always Come and Go" at the age of 62, the lyrics depict the harmony between people, once Cai Guoqing and other singers sang in the 2003 CCTV Spring Festival Gala, it quickly became a pop golden song, and won the "Most Popular Song Award" in the selection of the Spring Festival Gala program that year.
As a prolific lyricist, Zhang Meitong has created songs such as "The Moon Flowers Bloom", "We Sing Today", and "Go to Jiangsu and Love Jiangsu". Even at the age of 83, he is still active in the creation of original songs, such as "The Silk Road", in which he depicts a long scroll of ink painting across time and space with majestic momentum, in which "The Silk Road is long, floating to the distant distance, the desert camel bell, a long scroll of ink and ......."”
Shortly after the launch of "Thousands of Miles on the Silk Road", we received the news that Zhang Meitong had passed away due to illness, which shocked us. Zhang Meitong, a famous lyricist in China, died of illness in Datong, Shanxi Province on January 20, 2024, at the age of 84.
Even now, there are still many people who don't know that Zhang Meitong is the creator of the lyrics of the song "Young Friends Come to Meet" that we are familiar with.
Although Zhang Meitong is far away from us, the beautiful songs he left behind have injected strength into us and added color to our lives. Therefore, we should remember his contribution and always remember him.
Today, when we once again sang "Young Friends Come to Meet", in "Hold your chest up, smile and raise your eyebrows, glory belongs to the new generation of the 80s!" Let us pay tribute to this veteran artist who conveys our common feelings.
Expect the music to live forever, and hope that the spirit of the 80s will never die.