Tong Hua by Guang Liang (Fairy-tale 童话 by Michael Wong 光良)

Tong Hua by Guang Liang (Fairy-tale 童话 by Michael Wong 光良) is an unbelievably popular song among basic Chinese class teachers and students. It was there in all the Chinese schools I attended, and it’s quite obvious why – it’s easy to understand, it’s simple to follow, it’s touching and melodic.

The NCKU Chinese Language school has been holding a KTV Karaoke competition this past week among the Chinese language students. Surprisingly, I knew some of the songs there, but – among others – there was Michael Wong’s Tonghua once again. So, here’s a chance to compare the Chinese language students of the NCKU Chinese Language center in Tainan-Taiwan to the Hebrew University East Asia department in Jerusalem-Israel :

NCKU Language School KTV contest:

Hebrew University’s East-Asia day:

(Honestly, who do you think’s better?)

So, as a tribute to the official number 1 study-Chinese song, here’s the original TongHua video with English translation embedded, followed by the lyrics (thanks to Chinatown):

Tong Hua by Guang Liang
(Fairy-tale 童话 by Michael Wong 光良)

 

 

忘了有多久
wàng le yǒu duō jiǔ
I forgot how long it has been
再没听到你
zài méi tīng dào nǐ
Since the last time I heard you
对我说你最爱的故事
duì wǒ shuō nǐ zuì ài de gù shì
and I told you your favourite story
我想了很久
wǒ xiǎng lè hěn jiǔ
I thought for a long time
我开始慌了
wǒ kāi shǐ huāng le
I started to feel confused
是不是我又做错什么
shì bú shì wǒ yòu zuò cuò shén me
If once again it was my mistake
你哭着对我说
nǐ kū zhe duì wǒ shuō
You told me crying
童话里都是骗人的
tóng huà lǐ dōu shì piàn rén de
that all fairytales are a lie
我不可能是你的王子
Wǒ bù kě néng shì nǐ de wáng zi
and I can’t be your prince
也许你不会懂
yé xü3 nǐ bù huì dǒng
But you don’t understand either
从你说爱我以后
cóng nǐ shuō ài wǒ yǐ hòu
that since you told me you loved me
我的天空星星都亮了
wǒ de tiān kōng xīng xīng dōu liàng le
All the stars in my sky were bright
我愿变成童话里
wǒ yuàn biàn chéng tóng huà lǐ
I hope I’ll change this fairytale
你爱的那个天使
nǐ ài de nǎ gè tiān shǐ
your love for that angel
张开双手
zhāng kāi shuāng shǒu
Extend my hands
变成翅膀守护你
biàn chéng chì bǎng shǒu hù nǐ
turning them into wings to protect you
你要相信
nǐ yào xiāng xìn
You have to believe
相信我们会像童话故事里
xiāng xìn wǒ men huì xiàng tóng huà gù shì lǐ
We can be just like a fairytale
幸福和快乐是结局
xìng fú hé kuài lè shi jié jú
With happiness and joy in the end
一起写我们的结局
yī qǐ xiě wǒ men de jié jú
We can write together our own happy ending.