The Book of All Things: Born for Joy

186.

The street sounds, the a cappella ending, and the male backing vocals in the chorus all originated from Jane Zhang's ideas. Li Zichun naturally chose to retain the original flavor of the song.

Next came the second song, "How to Say I Love You" by Zhao Chuan:

I'm in pain; how can I not be sad?

You advised me to extinguish the fire in my heart.

What else can I say? Everything I say will be wrong.

You told me that leaving would bring relief.

Try to live on your own

Try to find yourself, stop wasting time on love.

But how do I express my love?

My heart is aching.

If you could possess

I will hold back my tears.

The first time I held your hand, I felt your tenderness through my fingertips.

Behind every affectionate gaze

Who knows how much sorrow there will be?

How can I not be sad? You advised me to extinguish the fire in my heart, but what else can I do? Whatever I do is wrong.

If I were to dissect my heart for you...

As long as this outcome is changed

I would say I'm willing to do it; I'm fed up with loneliness.

......"

This is a song from 1993. Back then, radios in cars, stereos in convenience stores, and streets and alleys were all playing the line, "But how can I say I love you?" The beautiful melody, the touching lyrics, and the heart-wrenching performance by singer Zhao Chuan made this song a classic, which is also why Li Zichun chose it.

Even those who were hearing it for the first time were deeply moved, and many were even brought to tears.

Perhaps because he had been so engrossed in his singing, Li Zichun calmed himself down and continued singing "Love You Ten Thousand Years".

One rotation of the Earth is one day.

That means I miss you every day.

True, good, and beautiful love

There are no limits and no flaws.

One revolution of the Earth around the sun takes one year.

That means I love you for another year.

The horizon remains unchanged, and so does my heart.

I will love you for ten thousand years

My love for you can withstand the test.

It transcends the limitations of time.

Shrinking the geographical plane and connecting them tightly.

......

With your appearance

It occupied all my vision

......

I will love you for ten thousand years.

This song is a complete and memorable love song, and with Andy Lau's convincing performance, it has become a favorite of many.

But in Li Zichun's view, can so-called love really last for ten thousand years?

Stephen Chow said in *A Chinese Odyssey*, "There was once a sincere love placed before me, but I didn't cherish it. Only when I lost it did I regret it deeply. Nothing in this world is more painful than this." "Put your sword against my throat! Don't hesitate any longer! If God could give me another chance, I would say three words to that girl: I love you. If I had to put a time limit on this love, I hope it would be—ten thousand years!"

This is truly a romantic and beautiful love confession, but everyone seems to have forgotten that there was a preceding scene where Zixia drew her sword and pressed it against Supreme Treasure's throat. The sword was only 0.01 centimeters away from his throat. What could a glib-tongued man forced into a corner not say if he wanted to live?

As he himself said, "Because I decided to tell a lie. Although I have told countless lies in my life, I think this one is the most perfect..."

The so-called "I will love you for ten thousand years" was nothing more than a perfect lie that Supreme Treasure had already prepared to deceive people.

Therefore, anyone who says "I will love you for ten thousand years" should be killed with a sword.

Even Stephen Chow himself thought that this period of time was too long, so many years later in "Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons", he said: "Ten thousand years is too long, I want you to love me now".

Ten thousand years is too long. Love me now.

If you don't love me now, how can I expect a so-called ten thousand years?

Just like what Athena Chu, who played Zixia Fairy, said: "Life is really short, so when you meet the person you love, you must hold their hand tightly and not give yourself a chance to regret it."

After finishing the song, Li Zichun sighed, took the guitar from the staff, and began to sing the Cantonese hit song "A Lifetime of Love" that had touched countless people:

The past, the present, all gone, never to return.

Red fallen leaves, buried deep in the dust.

The beginning and the end are always the same, nothing has changed.

You drift on the horizon, beyond the white clouds.

A sea of ​​suffering churns with love and hate.

In this world, one cannot escape fate.

The blind date turned out to be impossible to get close to.

Or perhaps I should believe it's fate.

Lover, after parting, will never return (a love affair that has faded away).

Silently I sit alone, gazing beyond the mortal world. (May we continue in the future)

Flowers may fade (I only wish), but they will bloom again (for you).

My lifelong love is faintly visible (waiting) beyond the white clouds (anticipation).

......"

The song describes the process of a boy growing into a man, expressing a poignant and sorrowful longing for someone he loves.

The piece "A Lifetime of Love" was chosen by director Jeffrey Lau. When Lowell Lo was composing "A Lifetime of Love," Lau said that this love story would never have a happy ending in five hundred years, which gave Lowell Lo goosebumps. That night, the melody came to him. Tang Shu-chen was also moved by the "five hundred years of love's bitter sea" when he composed it, and he completed the composition in just two hours.

Whether it's the imagery expressed in the lyrics or the melody itself, this song is undoubtedly an unsurpassable classic, a poignant and sorrowful tale of unrequited love. Nothing can be said, nothing needs to be said; just listen to this song quietly. Some say: when you truly understand "A Chinese Odyssey," you truly understand love; then, when you understand "A Lifetime of Love," you truly understand what sorrow and helplessness are.

After finishing the song, Li Zichun didn't stop there. He continued playing and singing, and after an interlude, he sang the Mandarin version of "A Lifetime of Love," a song from the 2013 film *Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons*, with lyrics modified by Stephen Chow and reinterpreted by Shu Qi:

Yesterday and today are gone and will never return.

Beauty fades, colors turn pale.

Love remains, from the past until now.

I'd like to wait for you beyond the white clouds.

Painful love brings sorrow.

In this world, fate cannot be changed.

Let go, we can no longer love each other.

Is this God's arrangement?

Lover leaves and never comes back

Speechless sighs, love is gone.

Although the flowers will wither

But it will reopen.

A love that feels like a lifetime ago lies beyond the white clouds.

......"

The Mandarin version is more like a heartfelt question and admonition: What is destined to be yours will be yours, and what is not, you cannot force.

It evokes both boundless emotions and endless longing.

The only love of my life is you.

PS: Data is from the internet.

"How to Say I Love You" is a song with lyrics and music by Jonathan Lee, arrangement by Hsu Te-chang and Chung Hsing-min, and sung by Zhao Chuan. It was included in Zhao Chuan's 1993 album "The Promise".

"Love You Ten Thousand Years" is a song with lyrics by Andy Lau, music by Giorgio Moroder, Andy Lau, and Chen Dejian, arrangement by Kong Xiangdong, and sung by Andy Lau. It was included in the live album "Andy Lau 99 Concert" released by BMG on September 26, 1999. In 1999, the song won the Channel V Chinese Music Awards Golden Melody Award.

"A Lifetime of Love" is a song with lyrics by Tang Shuchen, music and arrangement by Lowell Lo, and sung by Lowell Lo and Karen Mok. It is the end-credits song of Stephen Chow's classic film "A Chinese Odyssey Part Two: Cinderella" and is included in the album "The Monkey King: Journey to the West Double Record Movie Song and Dance Version", released by Rock Records on May 1, 1995.