At that time, the creator of this song, Wang Yongquan, was working as a club director in an infantry regiment of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) and was preparing to compose a song for the All-Army Literary and Artistic Performance when he happened to catch a glimpse of a four-sentence poem in a publication a year ago (1959), which reads: "The red sunlight is flying in the western mountains at sunset, and the warriors return to their camps after hitting the targets. The red flowers on their chests reflect the colorful sunshine, and their crisp songs fly all over the sky". The author of the poem is "Niu Baoyuan".
At that time, this inconspicuous poem was discovered by Wang Yongquan, who felt that although the poem was commonplace, its content could still match his own creative thinking. As the performance was imminent, time was short and there was no time for a new work, so he studied the poem and modified it to be contrary to the "common sense" of the place. The first is to make it more suitable for the format of the song and the rhyme scheme.
To change the phrase "red flowers on the chest" to "red flag on the wind". Because the routine target shooting return chest is not with red flowers, and not a triumphant return? And "wind display red flag" scene is much more spectacular. And also changed the "crisp singing" to "happy singing".
Next, Wang Yongquan added a second verse: "The song flew to Beijing, Chairman Mao was happy to hear it. He praised us for our good singing, and praised us for being the best in marksmanship." This is really a marvelous idea! The extraordinary imaginative power of these lyrics and the revolutionary romanticism they manifested were absolutely the best in the historical background of that time! It also makes up for the inherent shortcomings of the first verse. The "realism" of the first verse is complemented by the "spontaneity" of the second verse, which is perfect.
The tunes are like the wings of the lyrics, and good lyrics with good tunes naturally spread their wings and fly. With Wang Yongquan's profound knowledge of folk music, he drew on the elements of northern Shaanxi folk songs and sang them over and over again. The song "Returning from Target Shooting" was sent to the All-Army Literary Performance. In the forest of works stood out and won the "First Prize" by popular demand! This is how the song "Return from Target Shooting" was born! Time flies, counting more than 40 years have passed, the stormy times, the big waves of sand. How many musical works in the roaring river of history drowned. How many have been left for posterity? The song "Return from Target Shooting" is just like a light boat, floating through the turbulent years, quietly moored in people's hearts. No matter when and where, the familiar melody, often recalled, lingering in the heart, unforgettable .