Chapter 135: The Great Wall, Who Is Trembling?

Many veterans of the music industry stood up to criticize Ren Qian.

Their attacks all followed a similar theme: Traditional-style music is the vessel for the profound depth of Chinese culture, and any other musical form is merely dross—a betrayal of tradition. Since nine out of ten songs created by Ren Qian were not in the traditional style, they were, in their view, nothing but trash and vulgarity.

Ren Qian was left speechless. He couldn’t believe this was their justification; truly, when one wishes to condemn, one will always find a pretext.

"Stubborn and narrow-minded," he muttered.

Ren Qian picked up his pen and wrote two characters on his manuscript: *The Great Wall*.

***

By evening, netizens idling online were surprised to find that Ren Qian’s Weibo had been updated.

"What does it mean to inherit and carry forward the traditions of our ancestors? What are the traditional virtues left by those before us?

I only remember one golden age: the Tang Dynasty. It was broad-minded; it never blindly discriminated against any ethnic group, was never blindly arrogant, and was certainly never stubborn. It was enlightened!

Some take pride in the vast historical records of our great nation; some take pride in our Great Wall; some take pride in our countless antiques…

But I, for one, take pride in only one kind of spirit!

A spirit that says: 'As heaven maintains vigor through movement, a gentleman should strive for self-improvement.'

A spirit that says: 'The ocean is vast because it admits all rivers; greatness comes from inclusivity.'

The so-called veterans of the music industry seem quite confused. You claim to be proud of the legendary 'God of Song,' and your pride stems from the traditional music he created—music that evokes a strong sense of national pride.

But the spirit that the 'God of Song' actually passed down is the very thing you turn a blind eye to!

How many of his singles were attempts to draw from the strengths of all schools of thought! Yet all of this has been obscured by you. You only care about mythologizing him, immersing yourselves in the glory he brought, while failing to see that the most precious treasure he left behind was his capacity for inclusion. Open your eyes and look! If you truly understood his earnest intentions, would our current music scene be in such a state?!"

Below the post was a link to a song: *The Great Wall*.

The Great Wall—everyone knows it: Shanhai Pass, Jiayu Pass, the vast frontier! The pride of the empire, the pride of the yellow race!

Ren Qian was using it to write a song? Was it to praise the Great Wall? Or to praise the first generation "God of Song"?

They clicked to listen. Although Ren Qian’s music wasn't traditional—and was deemed "vulgar" by some old-timers—what did they, as ordinary citizens, know of such "high-brow" things? Besides, Ren Qian’s songs had always been excellent.

The song began.

The intro was mysterious—a series of high-pitched, dolphin-like vocals, as if someone were screaming from the peak of a high mountain. A piercing, desolate scream.

Was it Lady Meng Jiang weeping at the Great Wall? Not quite, but inexplicably, a heavy feeling began to spread in the listener's chest.

It was tragic and bleak, like standing alone on a dilapidated wall under the setting sun, gazing out while riding a thin, weary horse.

Then came the strumming of a guitar, the sound of ten thousand galloping horses, followed by the beating of war drums—a battle poised to erupt.

"The distant East!
The vast frontier!
The ancient, crumbling wall!
The vicissitudes of the past!
The scenery of the future!
Ten thousand miles of mountains, firmly joined together!"

"The distant East, the vast frontier." There was no doubt this referred to the Huaxia Constitutional Empire. But the mention of this "ancient, crumbling wall" felt jarring in the lyrics, yet it immediately brought the Great Wall to mind.

But why describe the grand, majestic Great Wall as a "crumbling wall"? This was the symbol of the empire! To use only those two words to describe it was something some patriots couldn't accept.

"The vicissitudes of the past. The scenery of the future, ten thousand miles of mountains, firmly joined together." This line offered some solace to the patriots. But the way Ren Qian sang the final notes, with a half-torn, weeping inflection, made their hearts grow heavy. It sounded like praise, yet carried a hint of disparagement.

By this point, listeners realized the song was not as simple as it appeared.

"Surrounding the aging nation!
Surrounding the truth of facts!
Surrounding the vast passage of time!
Surrounding reality and ideals!"

Four lines of grand, parallel structure made the listeners tremble. A Great Wall, a crumbling barrier, surrounding this five-thousand-year-old nation, surrounding thousands of years of history…

The terrifying part was that this wall, while seemingly glorious, had left the people within unable to break free. Since the Great Wall, what else did they have? Western technology had surpassed them in the 17th and 18th centuries. If not for their massive population and the sudden emergence of many enlightened individuals after that era who went to the West to learn, could their nation have continued to shine?

Even now, they hadn't caught up to the West in technology. The inventions and laws in their textbooks were all the achievements of Westerners. Aside from the Four Great Inventions, they seemed to have very little to show for themselves!

It was terrifying!

The lyrics painted a vivid picture, revealing the powerful blinding effect of this wall.

"The superstitious village!
The mysterious... center!
And the battlefields of yesterday!
The Emperor’s New Clothes!
The hot-blooded spear!
Yet who is willing to linger on the frontier?"

"The superstitious village! The Emperor’s New Clothes!" Was this satire? Was it saying they were naked and exposed, yet pretending to be wealthy and grand?

"Surrounding the aging nation!
Surrounding the truth of facts!
Surrounding the vast passage of time!
Surrounding reality and ideals! Crying out!!"

The parallel structure returned, and Ren Qian’s vocal finish was again tragic and infectious, a sense of stifled frustration permeating the air.

This wake-up call was like a bolt of lightning, causing the blood of the descendants of the Yellow Emperor to surge within their veins!

Past glory and brilliance were, in the end, only the past. If it were allowed to become a spiritual cage for this nation, then the nation would never be able to move forward!

"Covering our ears!
Where is there a day we don't hear those crying out!
Woo--ahwoo--ahahah...
Covering our eyes!
Seeing again that scar we once admired!
Woo--ahwoo--ahahah...
Left upon the head of the earth!"

The explosive performance, the frantic, high-pitched voice, and the tragic trailing notes imbued this simple song with infinite patriotism!

It didn't simply praise how beautiful the motherland was; it didn't turn patriotism into a slogan! Instead, it offered a bitter medicine to the motherland!

True patriotism isn't just talk! It is having the courage to "worry about the world's troubles before the world begins to worry." Clearly, Ren Qian had achieved this.

His song broke away from the usual national consciousness of the empire, using the Great Wall to reflect the festering sores of a closed-off nation—the Great Wall was a product of feudal tyranny, built upon the sacrifice of countless flesh and blood. It stretched for thousands of miles, suppressing the "dragon veins," and while later generations took pride in it, they ignored the parts that demanded reflection.

Ren Qian remembered that Mark Twain once said the thousands of miles of American railways were covered with the vengeful souls of hundreds of thousands of black slaves.

And the Great Wall—was it not also wound with the souls of hundreds of thousands, even millions?

Yet everyone saw only the glory, and people only touted the glory, while the most important and necessary things were discarded.

It had to be said, it was tragic!

Ren Qian wanted to tell everyone through *The Great Wall* that the thing they took such pride in was, in fact, a spiritual wall. It shackled their footsteps, keeping them treading water!

So what were they being arrogant about? What were they shouting about? Why were they making such fools of themselves?!

...

As the song ended, many netizens remained silent. *The Great Wall* was not just a satire on the music industry, nor was it just a display of patriotism; it was a deep concern for the nation and its people.

A netizen named "Fan Xin" felt a whirlwind of emotions, their blood boiling, and quickly commented: "I pay tribute to such a singer! The concept of the Great Wall has gained a new layer of meaning today. It is not just glory; there are millions of souls standing on those walls! This should serve as a spur—with the Great Wall still standing, how can we be so arrogant and complacent?!

'The ocean is vast because it admits all rivers; greatness comes from inclusivity!' If we blindly worship the 'Great Wall' of traditional music, I don't see where the path forward lies for our music scene!"

Another netizen, "Bored Commoner," commented: "After listening to this song, I must drink a toast! In the past, I only recognized one 'God of Song.' From this day forward, I will honor Ren Qian as the second!"