A musical homage to President Xi Jinping of China and his wife, Peng Liyuan, has circulated widely online in recent days, a sign of how the public face of Chinese leadership has changed since Mr. Xi took office two years ago.
The song, “Xi Dada Loves Peng Mama,” was created by a group of musicians in the central province of Henan, The Zhengzhou Evening News reported on Monday. The lyricist, Song Zhigang, is well known for creating the sorts of pop ballads that are inescapable in karaoke halls and long-distance buses.
“This song fermented for a long time, but it was created in almost one breath,” Mr. Song told the newspaper. “It’s an expression of my true inner feelings.”
The lyrics, roughly translated, say:
China produced an Uncle Xi,
He dares to fight the tigers.Not afraid of heaven, not afraid of earth,
Dreamers all look to him!China also has a Peng Mama,
Give her the most beautiful flowers.Protect and bless her,
Flourishing family, flourishing country, flourishing under heaven!Xi Dada loves Peng Mama,
This sort of love is legendary,Peng Mama loves Xi Dada,
The realm with love is the strongest!Men should study Xi Dada,
Women should study Peng Mama,Love like they do,
Love can warm everyone!Men should study Xi Dada,
Women should study Peng Mama,Love like they do,
People with love can win everything!Brave love is called Xi Dada loves Peng Mama,
Together, he’s always smiling happily at her.Brave love is called Peng Mama loves Xi Dada,
Hand in hand, her smile is the most beautiful flower.
Mr. Song told The Huashang Bao, a Xi’an-based newspaper, that he was inspired to write the song by images of the couple together in recent news coverage.
“Since General Secretary Xi came to power, there have been a lot of policies benefiting the nation and the people,” he said, using Mr. Xi’s title as head of the Communist Party. “For example, ‘fighting tigers’ [cracking down on high-level official corruption] and the ‘China Dream,’ these all speak to people’s hearts. For example, the ‘soft power’ General Secretary Xi speaks of, it’s embodied in Peng Liyuan. Her style provides a lot of help for foreign affairs and is the embodiment of our nation’s soft power.”
As he assumed power two years ago, it became clear that Mr. Xi would bring a new style to China’s top political offices. Whereas his predecessor, Hu Jintao, was known for his unchanging facial expression, Mr. Xi was demonstrative and comfortable in front of crowds. Ms. Peng was already famous as a singer and People’s Liberation Army officer who often performed on televised galas.
Official propaganda has helped to craft that new image of the Chinese leadership, and over the past year Mr. Xi has appeared in an animated video and cartoons diagramming his work schedule. Popular microblogs, apparently with official ties, offer details about their daily lives.
Mr. Song and his fellow creators of the paean to Mr. Xi and Ms. Peng didn’t indicate their project was proposed by propaganda officials, and the video, which shows more than 30 photos and cartoons of the couple, isn’t a terribly slick production. But the effort meshes with official efforts to polish the leader’s image.
And it may help Mr. Song’s and his colleagues’ careers as well. Yu Runze, one of the singers, told The Huashang Bao that “nothing would be better” than if they were chosen to perform the song next February for the annual Spring Festival Gala on Chinese state television.