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The following line comes from the song 归去来兮 by 花粥:
此去必经年 荒野寒暑换红颜
此去必经年: This time I will be gone for several years.
荒野 is clearly wilderness.
寒暑 is hot and cold, and by synecdoche summer and winter, a year.
红颜 means rosy cheeks, and is alluding to a beautiful woman.
换 generally means to exchange (交换) or change (改变), but I'm having trouble understanding the message here. Can 换 also mean to become (成为)?
Is she saying that during the years, she will transform into a beautiful woman?
I feel that the rest of the song lyrics provide the required context to interpret the line in question. I don't claim any singularly "correct" interpretation of course, just my personal take.
I've chosen a few opening lines, (which usually set the general tone / direction for the rest), as a kind of "explanatory preamble" to the line in question. They are:-
余音裊裊我看了太多熱鬧
而置身事外的君子在一旁冷笑
紛紛擾擾這人間缺個公道
我辭三界 別五行自顧去逍遙
此去必經年, 荒野寒暑換紅顏
往事散雲煙 十寸光陰換一錢
Here goes:-
(please note that I am paraphrasing as a direct translation often makes no sense in English)
The first 2 lines depict the author's disappointment / unhappiness / dissatisfaction with "Life", "the Human Condition", "this cynical Mundane world which showcases the worst of human nature and motives", as she sees it.
And in leaving all these "Worldly Injustices" behind, seek out her own lonely path to personal fulfillment and inner happiness -- 紛紛擾擾這人間缺個公道 ...我辭三界 別五行自顧去逍遙.
But, there is a price to be paid for her "conscientious endeavors", and the "price" is:-
此去必經年, 荒野寒暑換紅顏, (Note:- And here is where the Commentators diverge in their interpretations)
There appear to be 2 interpretations, (as I see it):-
Willingly change her "紅顏", (youthful good looks), to resemble / be similar or bear a likeness to the 荒野寒暑, (not necessarily to be "ugly", but take on the "toughness", "resilience", "survivability" to be in natural conformity with the wild environment, a "Me Tarzan, you Jane" situation)
Give up, discard, "sacrifice" her "紅顏", (over the years, 此去必經年), "in exchange" for the "opportunity" to live in a 荒野寒暑 environment which do not have the 而置身事外的君子在一旁冷笑, 紛紛擾擾這人間缺個公道 which she despised, and 十寸光陰換一錢 is a worthwhile exchange.
Which would I chose?
#2, I suppose.
此去必经年 荒野寒暑换红颜 - This trip will take years, and the weather(寒暑) in the wilderness will change(换/改變) my facial feature (skin becomes rougher and face looks older).
寒暑, here means everything anticipated in rough weather of the wildness - 冷热加上風吹雨打和日曬, all would contribute to the change of/affecting a female facial feature, especially exposed to such weather in a long period of time (经年 - year-long or several years).
红颜, female(女子), also mean "female's (young/pretty) face - 女子在年輕時皎好的容貌". Here, the author was talking about her facial feature that was about to suffer the attack of the severe weather on the year-long trip in the wilderness.
I think, on a surface level, 红颜 is just a way to say appearance. So 荒野寒暑换红颜 simply means the wilderness changes appearance over years. It's the same thing as 沧海桑田，conveying that a long time would have passed and things have changed.
But 红颜 may indeed serve as a double entendre, alluding to change of her own appearance. Not necessarily that she will become beautiful - probably quite the opposite, that she will lose her youthful beauty. Note that 红颜 can also refer to any youthful face, it's not strictly limited to beautiful women.
Side note, I would suggest you to take caution with this kind of lyrics. Sometimes they use flowery, ornate words even when not entirely appropriate. It's all in good fun, but they are not representations of fine literary craft, and might be misleading to language learners (or even native speakers for that matter).
Edit: @r13's answer is also a plausible interpretation. However, I find neither of our interpretations fit the overall context of the song very well.
Another interpretation
The entire song strongly hinting escapism
此去必经年 荒野寒暑换红颜
往事散云烟 十寸光阴换一钱
[寒暑 - time] 换红颜 [in exchange with youth]
[光阴 - time] 换一钱 [in exchange with wealth]
willing to exchange my youth and wealth for time to get away from it all.
此去必经年 - He wants to get away for years
荒野寒暑换红颜 - He wants 荒野(wildness) 寒暑(days) = days in the wildness (time to get away from it all) for the price of 红颜 (youthful face = youth)
