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BEIJING, Dec. 31-- When the song "Xianglian," or "A Love in the Hometown," was first released in 1979, its singer Li Guyi was met with strong criticism for the "demoralizing" content and singing style of the song. "Your image, your singing, will always stay in my heart ... My love, my sweet dreams, will always stay in your arms," the lyrics Li sang with a tender and breathy voice were regarded to be unacceptable by some people four decades ago when many believed that art should only promote revolutionary morale and nothing more. However, about four years later in 1983, support from a greater part of the public brought the song to the stage of the Spring Festival TV gala of national broadcaster China Central Television, one of the most-watched TV events in the country. It was viewed as a "signal flare" of China's reform and opening-up as people began to entertain a freer mind. Today, as the Chinese can freely enjoy genres of music from jazz to R&B, this song is regarded as "the first popular song of the Chinese mainland after the reform and opening-up." "In a retrospective view, the controversies around 'Xianglian' at the time were a contention between a new thought for art and an old one," said Li, who turned 74 this year, having spent 57 years as a performer. The success of the song, Li believes, lies in the fact that it responds to the people's call for refreshment in art in the era of reform and opening-up. | 
