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BBC Radio 3 is a radio channel that started transmitting on the 30th September 1967. It replaced Third Programme.

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Innovative and thought-provoking features on a wide variety of subjects

Innovative and thought-provoking features that make adventurous use of sound and explore a wide variety of subjects. Made by leading radio producers.

Between the Ears: Between the Ears: Saying Goodbye Again and Again

Between the Ears: Saying Goodbye Again and Again

30/06/2012

BBC Radio 3 - Between the Ears, Between the Ears: Saying Goodbye Again and Again

A sonic journey through Xu Zhimo's famous Chinese poem: Saying Goodbye to Cambridge Again.

A sonic journey along the river Cam exploring why thousands of Chinese tourists visit to remember a poem they all learnt in school, Xu Zhimo's Saying Goodbye to Cambridge Again.

"Quietly I leave, as quietly as I came here."

Each year thousands of Chinese tourists visit Cambridge, not to see the usual sites, but to pay homage to a poem they all had to learn by heart in school - Xu Zhimo's 'Saying Goodbye to Cambridge Again'. Few non-Chinese speakers will have heard of it.

"Saying Goodbye again and again" takes a sonic journey along the River Cam capturing the voices of teachers, students, tourists, punt chauffeurs, a tour guide, a translator and experts on early 20th century Chinese poetry. Also visiting Cambridge are two poets from two very different backgrounds - Sean Street and Xin Zeng - who muse on the life of Xu Zhimo and explore the hidden depths of a poem which used ideas from the English romantics to help break the strict rules of classical Chinese poetry. 

Producer: Andy Cartwright
A Soundscape Production for BBC Radio 3.

Live music and the arts: broadcasts more live music than any other radio network. Classical music is its core. Genres include world and new music, jazz, speech and drama.

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