In May 1998 a symphony orchestra, formed by a group of German musicians and vocalists, paid a visit to Beijing and gave a very successful performance of Gustav Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde to Chinese audiences. Historically as well as culturally the programme was highly significant: almost ninety years after the completion of the work, Das Lied von der Erde received its Chinese première. This historic performance provoked great attention among the general public and attracted the interest of Chinese scholars and arts enthusiasts (an example being the former Chinese Vice-Prime Minister Li Lanqing). Following the performance scholars soon began to research the sources of the original Chinese poems which inspired Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde. So far, most of the original Tang-dynasty poems have been identified and the discussion and investigation for the remaining unidentified poem, Von der Jugend (Of Youth), is ongoing.