I can't recall how this song came to my attention. I think youtube coughed it up because I was looking for and listening to Chinese music videos for something pleasant to the ear, with lyrics I might like. This song seemed to fit with a caution against the use of violence to solve problems. Then I started looking at the drama series itself and became more and more perplexed trying to understand what I was watching and listening to.

Got this general description from Baidu:

"Tianwen" 天问 is the theme song of the web series "Shanhe Ling" 山河令* sung by Liu Yuning. It was officially released on February 23, 2021, along with the album "Shanhe Ling Web Series Original Soundtrack" [2]The song, with lyrics by Zhang Huiquan (@骁Studio) and music by Yan Xiaonan (@骁Studio), blends rock elements with a chivalrous spirit. It has sparked heated discussions among listeners thanks to Liu Yuning's signature voice and smooth transitions between his true and falsetto voice. [6-7].

In 2021, the song won the Tencent Music You Chart Top Ten Chinese Style Songs of the Year, Top Ten Film and Television OSTs of the Year, and TMEA Top Ten Golden Songs of the Year. [4]In 2022, it was nominated for Best Song for Chinese TV Drama at the 2nd Macau International Television Festival Golden Melody Awards. [3][5].

There is an English translation of the lyrics to Heavenly Questions in the google video above, (you have to turn it on). The translation isn't too bad. This drama "Word of Honor" looked like standard martial arts (Wuxia) fare from China but I didn't understand it much at all till I found some background on the song after several days. I like the song, believing it to be alluding to or borrowing its style from the ancient poem of the same name attributed to Qu Yuan c. 340–278 BC (the warring states period) from the Chu state, collected in the books of Chu Ci. (I only found a section of that poem in English. I understand entire poem is 372 lines in total).

Heavenly Questions

Qu's poem Heavenly Questions (Tianwen) addressed ontological questions regarding the origins of the universe and the mysteries of heaven and earth.[23]: 182–183  China's interplanetary exploration program, Tianwen (Heavenly Questions) is named after the poem. The first mission to Mars, Tianwen-1, was launched on July 23, 2020, and reached Mars on February 10, 2021. On Mar 14, 2021, the lander and rover successfully landed on the surface of Mars.

Contrary to my first inclination, I started watching this improbable tale (on viki.com), and found it somewhat amusing. There appears to be a lot of sexual, including gay** innuendo, and double entendre that was unexpected and seemed incongruous (like the graphic theatrical violence) given the otherwise quite refined patina. ( Compare to the crude sex and violence depicted in the Netflix Warrior series which someone recommended to me).

Tianwen 天问 -Heavenly Questions, Theme Song of the Web Series 山河令 "Shanhe Ling" *

Ask the sword, ask the blade, grudges settled?
Afraid old hatreds and new resentments will only add to the turmoil
Ask for plans, ask for tactics, let's see who is superior
How many rises and falls in a lifetime, difficult to predict
Ask for directions, ask the route, the mountains and rivers interminable
Where is the voice I well know? I'm alone #
Ask the rain, ask the sun, how many matters weigh in my heart?

Account for the moonlight, the twilights and dawns one after another
Ask the flowers, ask the leaves, their colors are just right

Life's joys and sorrows are fleeting, how many spring nights are there?
Ask autumn, ask winter, the wind and snow are bitter
Rainbows easily dissipate, years are hard to endure

Flowers bloom early, Heaven knows; Heaven doesn't smile, Heaven too is old
The Jianghu*** is small, the world and sky vast, I've forgotten the people gone
Flowers wither, Heaven knows; Heaven doesn't grieve, Heaven too is old
Heroes have all passed, the harvest season short, I've forgotten the people gone

Ask the immortals, ask the Dao, who lives easily?
Young brethren, the world grows old
Ask the earth, ask the heavens, one lifetime of hubris
Humans are insignificant, laughable, unforgettable
Ask the flowers, ask the leaves, their colors are just right
Life's joys are fleeting, a few spring nights gone
Ask autumn, ask winter, the wind and snow bitter
Rainbows easily scatter, the years are hard to endure

Flowers bloom early, Heaven knows; Heaven doesn't smile, Heaven too is old
The Jianghu*** is small, heaven and earth are vast; I have forgotten the people gone
Flowers wither, Heaven knows; Heaven doesn't grieve, Heaven too is old
Heroes have all passed, years are short; I've forgotten the people gone
Flowers bloom early, Heaven knows; Heaven, doesn't smile, Heaven too is old
The world is small, the universe vast; I've forgotten the people gone
Flowers wither, Heaven knows; Heaven, doesn't grieve, Heaven too is old
Heroes have all passed, years are short; I've forgotten the people gone

* Order of the Mountains and Rivers 山河令 alludes to a martial arts order, or Wuxia 武侠, of which there are several in the series. It is also interpreted Word of Honor in the English title. 山河 shan he is mountains and lakes; 令 ling is order. It can also mean Word of Honor. Suggested in the first two lines which could be taken as meaning "do you think violence resolves issues? Or does it make things worse?" Life is short do you really want to spend it fighting?

# This line is interpreted Where is my soulmate? I'm lonely. My interpretation is closer to the literal meaning.

** http://www.china.org.cn/english/2002/Oct/44940.htm

Historical traces of male homosexuality persist through dynasty to dynasty from ancient times and never disappear. It was in full swing during the Spring and Autumn and the Warring Periods, at which time Mi Zixia, favorite of the Monarch Wei, and Long Yang, favored by Monarch Wei, were the two best-known figures.

The greatest influences and achievements back then, however, belonged to the famous poet Qu Yuan. It is said that his love for the monarch Chu can be felt in most of his works, for instance his "Lisao" and "Longing for Beauty".

*** Jianghu – The Hidden World .

The Chinese expression jianghu (江湖) literally translates to “rivers and lakes” but it means so much more. Jianghu is the name of the brotherhood of outsiders that existed in old China. It is the counterculture society of workers who made their living with the skill of their own two hands: craftsmen, beggars, thieves, street performers, fortune tellers, wandering healers, and many martial artists. In ancient China, where education was valued over physical ability, this was the lowest rank of social order. Mainstream society belonged to the Confucian scholar-officials. Its underbelly was the jianghu. The jianghu has inspired countless numbers of novels and movies. Jianghu tradition still influences martial arts to this day.

Then there is this which I found helpful, as I'm not at all knowledgeable in the fantasy genre-

Clarifying Wuxia, Xianxia and related Chinese Fantasy genres

Fell into a rabbit hole.