The Hard Road to Shu | Li Bai’s Original Poem Set to New Music
Grandevity Studio presents Li Bai’s complete Shu Dao Nan as a new musical setting using 100% of the project-established original poem, with no modern lyrical expansion, paraphrased replacement lyrics or additional repeated lines. Premium Cinematic Mandopop Soul, Chinese mountain atmosphere, 74 BPM, 6/8, guqin harmonics, xiao, deep cello, Fender Rhodes, Neo-Soul bass, low Chinese percussion and cinematic strings carry the journey from the opening cry of astonishment to the final westward sigh.
“Ah! How perilous, how high!
The road to Shu is hard, harder than climbing the blue heavens!”
Li Bai’s Shu Dao Nan does not begin quietly.
There is no gradual introduction.
No traveler is introduced.
No route is explained.
Instead,
there is an exclamation.
The mountains are already there.
Too high even for the yellow crane.
Too sheer even for apes searching for a hold.
A road coils through precipices while torrents, waterfalls and falling stones thunder through countless valleys.
Within that immense world,
the human traveler becomes smaller and smaller.
Grandevity Studio sets Li Bai’s original text directly to new music.
There are no newly written lyrics.
No modern lyrical expansion.
No paraphrased replacement verses.
No additional repetitions inserted merely to force the poem into a conventional pop structure.
From:
噫吁嚱！危乎高哉！
to:
側身西望長咨嗟！
Li Bai’s own structure, repetitions and emotional progression determine the shape of the music.
This is not a modern rewrite of The Hard Road to Shu.
The poem itself becomes the song.
Watch the MV: 🎬 The Hard Road to Shu | Official Music Video
Headphones recommended. The film is grounded in a Tang-dynasty historical setting. A single traveling scholar in his early thirties and the same lean dark-chestnut horse remain the visual thread throughout the journey, moving from morning mist and high bird paths through cliffside plank roads, Qingni, ancient trees, moonlit mountains, violent waterfalls, Jian Gate and finally the long westward gaze. The visual language deliberately avoids wuxia, immortal fantasy and heroic conquest.
A Poem That Begins With Astonishment
“Shu Dao Nan” was already an established yuefu title before Li Bai.
Earlier works associated the subject with the difficulty of entering Shu.
Li Bai turns that inherited theme into something vastly larger.
Myth.
Geography.
History.
Sound.
Fear.
Light.
Imagination.
All are compressed into one journey.
The first true protagonist is therefore not the traveler.
It is the mountain.
噫吁嚱！危乎高哉！
This is not detached description.
It is the instinctive cry of a human being looking upward.
Then comes:
蜀道之難，難於上青天！
The road to Shu is hard,
harder than climbing the blue heavens.
At its first appearance,
the refrain is primarily about scale and height.
Ancient Shu and the Birth of the Road
Li Bai moves backward into a remote past:
蠶叢及魚鳧，開國何茫然！
Can Cong and Yu Fu belong to traditions concerning early Shu.
The beginning of the region disappears into legendary distance.
Then:
地崩山摧壯士死， 然後天梯石棧相鉤連。
Earth breaks.
Mountains fall.
Mighty men die.
Only then do ladders and cliff roads join the route.
The historical reality of cliffside roads and the scale of myth merge into one image.
The road appears almost to have been born from the breaking of the earth.
The Larger the Mountains, the Smaller the Human Being
上有六龍回日之高標， 下有衝波逆折之回川。
Li Bai expands upward and downward at the same time.
The heights approach the sun.
The valleys contain violent water.
Then:
黃鶴之飛尚不得過， 猿猱欲度愁攀援。
Even creatures built for flight or climbing cannot pass easily.
The road finally reaches human scale:
青泥何盤盤， 百步九折縈巖巒。
It coils.
Turns.
Climbs.
Returns.
The traveler is no longer looking at the mountain from outside.
He is inside it.
Reaching Toward the Stars
捫參歷井仰脅息， 以手撫膺坐長歎。
Shen and Jing are ancient stellar constellations.
Li Bai imagines the road reaching so high that the traveler seems almost able to touch the stars.
Yet there is no triumph.
The traveler holds his breath,
places a hand on his chest,
sits,
and sighs.
That relationship between scale and humanity became a central principle of the MV.
The mountains occupy the frame.
The traveler and horse become smaller.
This is not a story about conquering nature.
It is a story about continuing through a world vastly larger than oneself.
The Empty Mountain at Night
問君西遊何時還？ 畏途巉巖不可攀。
The question of return now enters the poem.
The journey is no longer only spectacle.
Then:
但見悲鳥號古木， 雄飛雌從繞林間。
And later:
又聞子規啼夜月， 愁空山。
Daylight mountains inspire awe.
The night mountain creates loneliness.
When the great refrain returns:
蜀道之難，難於上青天， 使人聽此凋朱顏！
its meaning has changed.
The first was astonishment.
The second is fear.
Ten Thousand Valleys Thunder
The poem then reaches its greatest acoustic eruption:
連峰去天不盈尺， 枯松倒掛倚絕壁。
and:
飛湍瀑流爭喧豗， 砯崖轉石萬壑雷。
Peaks.
Dead pines.
Sheer cliffs.
Rapids.
Waterfalls.
Falling stones.
Thunder.
Everything erupts at once.
For this production,
the greatest musical climax is therefore not assigned to an invented chorus.
Li Bai had already written the climax:
萬壑雷。
Ten thousand valleys thunder.
Jian Gate: When the Danger Changes
劍閣崢嶸而崔嵬， 一夫當關，萬夫莫開。
At Jian Gate,
the poem begins to change.
Until now,
danger has largely come from nature.
Then:
所守或匪親， 化為狼與豺。
Now danger can come from people.
The following lines darken the landscape further:
朝避猛虎， 夕避長蛇；
磨牙吮血， 殺人如麻。
The natural world is dangerous.
The human world may be no safer.
Better to Return Home
After all the immense imagery,
Li Bai suddenly becomes simple:
錦城雖云樂， 不如早還家。
Brocade City is traditionally associated with Chengdu.
After mountains,
torrents,
beasts,
and fortified passes,
the poem no longer asks for a greater spectacle.
It asks for home.
The grandeur recedes.
Weariness enters.
The Final Refrain
At the end:
蜀道之難， 難於上青天，
followed by:
側身西望長咨嗟！
The refrain has now appeared three times.
The first:
astonishment.
The second:
fear.
The third:
lament.
There is no triumphant arrival.
No conquest.
No heroic victory.
The traveler turns toward the west.
The mountains remain.
The road remains.
And he sighs.
Music Design
The production is built around:
Premium Cinematic Mandopop Soul / Chinese Mountain Atmosphere / Chinese Cinematic Fusion
74 BPM.
6/8.
Epic Through-composed Narrative.
The track opens with:
- distant mountain wind
- guqin harmonics
- xiao
- deep cello
噫吁嚱！危乎高哉！
enters almost a cappella.
Fender Rhodes,
Neo-Soul bass,
restrained drums,
low Chinese percussion,
and cinematic strings gradually enter as the journey deepens.
The three appearances of:
蜀道之難，難於上青天
carry different emotional roles:
Astonishment.
Fear.
Lament.
The largest orchestral and percussive climax belongs to:
飛湍瀑流爭喧豗， 砯崖轉石萬壑雷。
After the final line,
the voice disappears.
Only distance,
mountains,
and wind remain.
MV Visual Design
The MV is grounded in a Tang-dynasty historical setting.
The same traveling scholar,
approximately in his early thirties,
and the same lean dark-chestnut horse remain consistent throughout.
The visual journey passes through:
- high bird paths near the Taibai direction
- cliffside plank roads
- Qingni’s winding ascent
- ancient trees and mournful birds
- moonlit mountains
- hanging dead pines
- violent waterfalls
- thundering valleys
- Jian Gate
- tigers and serpents
- a distant vision of Brocade City
- the final westward gaze
The film deliberately avoids:
wuxia spectacle,
immortal fantasy,
superhuman movement,
and the modern fantasy idea of conquering nature.
The world is immense.
The traveler is small.
The road is almost impossible.
And still,
he continues.
📜 Complete Sung Text / Original Chinese with English Translation
Li Bai, Shu Dao Nan / The Hard Road to Shu
100% project-established original text・No modern expansion・No paraphrased replacement lyrics・No additional repeated lines
噫吁嚱！危乎高哉！
蜀道之難，難於上青天！
Ah! How perilous, how high!
The road to Shu is hard, harder than climbing the blue heavens!
蠶叢及魚鳧，開國何茫然！
爾來四萬八千歲，不與秦塞通人煙。
Can Cong and Yu Fu founded the realm, how lost in distant haze!
For forty-eight thousand years, no human way linked Shu with the passes of Qin.
西當太白有鳥道，可以橫絕峨眉巔。
地崩山摧壯士死，
然後天梯石棧相鉤連。
Westward, by Mount Taibai, only a bird-path crossed toward Emei’s crest.
Earth split, mountains fell, and mighty men died;
only then were sky-ladders and cliff roads joined.
上有六龍回日之高標，
下有衝波逆折之回川。
Above are heights that turn back the sun’s six dragons;
below are rushing waters recoiling through winding channels.
黃鶴之飛尚不得過，
猿猱欲度愁攀援。
Even the yellow crane cannot fly across;
apes would cross, yet grieve for want of holds.
青泥何盤盤，
百步九折縈巖巒。
How endlessly Qingni coils!
A hundred steps, nine turns, winding around the crags.
捫參歷井仰脅息，
以手撫膺坐長歎。
Touching Shen and passing Jing, one looks up and holds one’s breath;
hand on breast, one sits and heaves a long sigh.
問君西遊何時還？
畏途巉巖不可攀。
Tell me, traveler westward, when will you return?
The fearful cliffs are impossible to climb.
但見悲鳥號古木，
雄飛雌從繞林間。
Only mournful birds cry from ancient trees,
the male in flight, the female following, circling through the woods.
又聞子規啼夜月，
愁空山。
Again the cuckoo cries beneath the night moon,
grieving in the empty mountains.
蜀道之難，難於上青天，
使人聽此凋朱顏！
The road to Shu is hard, harder than climbing the blue heavens;
hearing this alone drains colour from the face!
連峰去天不盈尺，
枯松倒掛倚絕壁。
Linked peaks rise within a foot of heaven;
withered pines hang upside down from sheer cliffs.
飛湍瀑流爭喧豗，
砯崖轉石萬壑雷。
Flying rapids and waterfalls roar and contend;
waters strike cliffs, stones whirl, ten thousand valleys thunder.
其險也如此，
嗟爾遠道之人胡為乎來哉！
Such is its peril;
alas, you traveler from afar, why have you come here?
劍閣崢嶸而崔嵬，
一夫當關，萬夫莫開。
Jian Gate towers, rugged and immense;
one man guards the pass, ten thousand cannot break through.
所守或匪親，
化為狼與豺。
If its keeper is not one of your own,
he may turn wolf or jackal.
朝避猛虎，
夕避長蛇；
By dawn, beware the tiger;
by dusk, beware the long snake;
磨牙吮血，
殺人如麻。
grinding teeth and sucking blood,
killing men like hemp laid low.
錦城雖云樂，
不如早還家。
Though Brocade City is said to be joyous,
better to return home early.
蜀道之難，
難於上青天，
The road to Shu is hard,
harder than climbing the blue heavens;
側身西望長咨嗟！
I turn westward and gaze,
sighing long.
💿 Credits
- Song Title: The Hard Road to Shu
- Chinese Title: 蜀道難
- Romanised Title: Shu Dao Nan
- Classical Source: Li Bai, Shu Dao Nan
- Author: Li Bai
- Period: Tang Dynasty
- Literary Form: Yuefu old-title poem / long-form poetic song
- Original Text / Complete Sung Words: Li Bai
- Lyrics Format: 100% project-established original poem, with no modern expansion, paraphrased replacement lyrics, added lyrics or additional repeated lines
- Music Style: Premium Cinematic Mandopop Soul / Chinese Mountain Atmosphere / Chinese Cinematic Fusion
- Tempo / Meter: 74 BPM / 6/8
- Form: Epic Through-composed Narrative
- Composition / Arrangement: Suno AI
- Music Production / Creative Direction: Grandevity Limited / Grandevity Studio
- AI-Assisted Visuals: ChatGPT Images
- Video Editing / Art Direction / Creative Production: Grandevity Studio
- Released by: Grandevity Limited
- Production Year: 2026
- Official MV: https://youtu.be/jBTMf0ja1aI
- YouTube Music: https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_nWzoCQ-w_Qdx2aIkR5f1gYL-1gdW1PaVI
⚖️ Copyright Notice
Li Bai’s Shu Dao Nan / The Hard Road to Shu is a public-domain classical literary work.
This musical production uses 100% of the project-established original text adopted for the finished song. No modern lyrical expansion, paraphrased replacement lyrics, newly written lyric sections or additional repeated lines have been introduced.
The music production, recorded master, arrangement, mix, master, AI-assisted visuals, MV footage, cover artwork, video editing, subtitles, shot design, art direction, promotional writing and overall creative production were produced by or lawfully licensed to Grandevity Limited / Grandevity Studio. Relevant rights are retained and administered subject to applicable law and the terms of the platforms and production tools used.
© 2026 Grandevity Limited / Grandevity Studio. All Rights Reserved.
This notice does not restrict lawful use of Li Bai’s public-domain original text.
Licensing Contact:
About This Project
The Hard Road to Shu is part of Grandevity Studio’s Classical Literature Reimagined in Music series.
Some classical works invite rewriting.
Others already contain all the rhythm,
imagery,
repetition,
sound,
and emotional architecture they need.
Shu Dao Nan belongs to the latter.
More than a thousand years ago,
Li Bai wrote:
蜀道之難，難於上青天。
The mountains are still immense.
The human figure is still small.
And the final westward sigh can still be heard.