On December 7, the 2025 Peking University “December 9th Singing Competition” were grandly held at PKU Centennial Hall. After nearly more than two months of meticulous preparation, the “Love for the Nation, Concern for the World” representative team delivered a superb performance of the song Farewell Is a Difficult Thing, earning a score of 95.24 and winning First Prize in Group B.
Ninety years ago, young patriots embarked from homes to rally and cry out for salvation; today, young scholars assemble here, devoting themselves to the pursuit of knowledge. Through the shifting of epochs, their expansive spirit endures; neither towering mountains nor vast oceans can weaken the bonds of their unity. Behold the genuine heart, where care for loved ones meets love for the homeland; Witness the lofty ideal, where the nation’s salvation expands into concern for the world.
“Perseverance, Again and Again” — Voices Unceasing, Flowing into a River
In October, students entering in 2025 at School of International Studies assembled in Room C307 for the preparation meeting of the “December 9th Singing Competition” Watching outstanding performances by senior students, they gained a first glimpse of what seniors called their “most unforgettable memory,” and began to sense the deeper spirit of the December 9 choral tradition.
At the time, few knew that what lay ahead would be a journey at once arduous and poetic, demanding yet heartwarming.
Between “choral singing” and “solo singing” lies a world of difference. For many students with little choral experience, challenges abounded: pitch, diction, and emotion within each section; blending, transitions, and call-and-response across sections; coordination between conductor and accompanist. Like rolling mountain ranges blocking the way, these challenges led toward a brilliantly lit stage at journey’s end. Only daily practice and unwavering commitment could guide them through the mountains to the destination.
“Dreaming back to that youth, persevering again and again”—a lyric repeatedly sung, and the truest portrait of rehearsal. Lead rehearsal coach Senior Student Yang Jieyu began with fundamental vocal exercises, guiding everyone patiently from the basics. From diaphragmatic breathing and breath control to vocal placement and scale warm-ups, the sounds in the classroom gradually grew from tentative to full and resonant.
Subsequently, the four sections—soprano, alto, tenor, and bass—rehearsed separately to refine lyrics and melodies. Dance and stage drama rehearsals progressed in parallel, orderly and steady. Every rhyme and cutoff, every movement and expression, condensed shared sweat and sincere passion.
Undergraduate Yong Xiaoyang, a member of the stage drama, reflected: “A stage drama is not one person’s dance, but something forged by a group. In this collective, we felt warmth and discovered a new self amid the interweaving echoes of history and reality.”
Undergraduate Li Xiaojin recalled: “At first my pitch wasn’t very accurate, but over three weeks of learning and rehearsal I made steady progress—moving from timidity to stability, finally confident enough to blend into the collective harmony. I think the December 9 choral concert is both romantic and sacred.”
“Unforgettable Moments” — Small Details Warming the Cold
“An unexpected gathering—one of life’s truest joys.” We met at summer’s end and journeyed together toward a winter’s snow. From all corners we came, gathering over several winter nights. December 9 rehearsals brought everyone together, breaking barriers of region and age, embracing an unforgettable season of youth.
“Unforgettable moments”—the seniors remembered every junior’s birthday; unforgettable were the months of quiet planning, the carefully prepared birthday performances just for us. On stage, they danced with verve and sang with passion; with laughter and song they welcomed us newcomers—singing for us, and to us.
As round cakes were sliced and plated, we wove through the classroom sharing pieces with every classmate—sharing birthday joy with all members of the School of International Studies, blending the seniors’ affection into cream and sweetness that lingered in the heart.
We bade farewell to our hometowns, yet found new ties and new memories of youth within this new family.
“Singing This Song for You” — Hearts Aligned, Shining Like the Stars
On the day of the performance, senior students came to the Qiulin Auditorium to help with makeup, offering enthusiastic support and strength.
Before taking the stage, Kang Tao, Secretary of the CPC Committee of SIS; Zhang Xinyang, Deputy Secretary of the CPC Committee of SIS; Wu Hao, Class Advisor for Undergraduates Admitted in 2025; and Li Ruixuan, Secretary of the Youth League Committee of SIS, visited the rehearsal site. They commended the students’ two months of hard work and encouraged them to maintain high spirits and present a performance that fully reflected the ethos of the School of International Studies.
With mountains and rivers shattered and iron hooves pressing in, snow-laden winds swept the streets of Beiping like countless unsent letters home. The youth of the School of International Studies bade farewell to their hometowns and set out at dusk—taking pens as spears and thought as blade—to question the world order and seek a path for the nation in its hour of peril.
As the second section began, male and female voices sang in dialogue. Amid gunfire stood the warriors’ courage and sacrifice; by the hearth, the wives’ gentle steadfastness. One departs, one waits—farewell and reunion folded into the same burning pulse.
The music swelled and the tempo quickened. The line “holding those years in our hearts” distilled the strength of our generation—carrying forward the legacy of our predecessors to forge new brilliance. Youth from ninety years ago clasped hands with ours in the same beat; hometown and beloved interwove into a mighty current. At depth of feeling, the “beloved” became the land, and the “hometown” took the name China.
This was not a farewell, but a grand promise with our forebears: after wind and snow comes spring’s prosperity; through the long night, sparks rise to set the plains alight.
In the new era, students of Peking University’s School of International Studies will remember the cries of our predecessors, write peace into our DNA, shoulder rejuvenation, and let prosperity be fulfilled and the flame passed on.
Planning | Student Union Arts Department
Writing | Gao Zizhuo, Ren Keying, Wang Ermo, Yu Qingshi, Lin Haoyang
Photos | Yu Guanzhi, Liu Guangyu, Shi Yabing, Wang Zhe
Video | Luo Wanrong
Editors | Lin Haoyang, Gao Yang
Communist Youth League Committee of the School of International Studies