Media file:
vid. 4.2 c
Title:
Jiang Tao and the Song of the Foolish Old Man, part 3
Source:
Heidelberg catalogue entry, DACHS Archive
Keywords:
Foolish Old Man, Jiang Tao, Cultural Revolution, Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy, Yang Zirong

Jiang Tao and the Song of the Foolish Old Man, part 3

Jiang’s song talks of the younger generation’s admiration (所以后来人为你感叹) for those members of the older generation who took up the difficult task of “opening up the roads” for them: “Not to have a road is hard, but to open one is even harder” (无路难呀, 开路更难). The achievements of earlier generations make it possible for succeeding generations to enjoy easier and more carefree lives (引起了生活在今天幸福时代许多年轻人的共鸣，DACHS 2008 Foolish Old Man, TV Drama 2007/08 Critical Views). To underscore this harmonious relationship, one of the concert recordings of Jiang Tao’s song shows how enormously popular the song is among people from very different generations. In the performance venue, everybody, old and young, seems to know the song so well that they can sing along; the song clearly bridges the widening generation gaps in Chinese society.