The Birth of Yellow Music
Introduction
The reason I am including so much background information before discussing my main research topic is due to the vast amount of context needed to fully understand the reasoning behind "Yellow Music." The origin, evolution, and primary function of this genre is a direct reaction to the political and cultural changes that occurred in China over the past 100 years. The knowledge of China's wars, famines, cultural turmoil, and internal power struggles gives a window into the mindset of the Chinese people. When I began my research, my aim was to show the strong impact that the American Blues musical style made on Chinese music in the early parts of the 20th century, sparking an unprecedented era of musical experimentation in China. However, the deeper I researched, the more I began to realize that the musical form was not the main source of interest to these early musical pioneers, rather it was the philosophical and social ideas attached to the music. The music created during this time period was not so concerned with advancing and expanding the aesthetic of Chinese music as much as it was a vessel for ideological expression and political protest.
The fall of the Qing Dynasty in 1912 marked the first time in over 2000 years that China no longer had an emperor or lived under imperial rule. The emperor was always referred to as "The Son of Heaven," considered to be the appointed ruler of the world (appointed by the deities in heaven). With this figure of both political and religious importance removed, China was thrust into a period of instability. The revolution that collapsed the last dynasty was initiated mainly because the people had grown tired of the severe corruption within the Qing government. The Qing administration was also allowing foreign powers to influence actions within the country that directly affected the common people. Although the revolt successfully ended the imperial rule and established a republic rule, it lacked organization and clarity. Many armies originally organized to fight the empire now faced each other, fighting over who would lead the new republic and how the government would operate. The fighting and division within the country was reminiscent of the warring states period of ancient China. This period of political turmoil set the stage for the eventual war between the nationalists and the communists.
Due to the instability of the government at this time, the Chinese people had been given a unique opportunity. With no clear organized body to create or enforce laws, the people were free to operate without fear of interference or persecution. In particular, the intellectual class eagerly embraced this new era of free thought. Many young scholars and artists utilized this unstable period of time to study and explore topics previously deemed taboo in Chinese culture. This short period of time facilitated the outpour of an incredible amount of cultural and intellectual growth in China. It was during this period of time that a young man by the name of Li Jinhui revolutionized Chinese music and theater though his fearless pursuit of creating a new musical era in China.
The fall of the Qing Dynasty in 1912 marked the first time in over 2000 years that China no longer had an emperor or lived under imperial rule. The emperor was always referred to as "The Son of Heaven," considered to be the appointed ruler of the world (appointed by the deities in heaven). With this figure of both political and religious importance removed, China was thrust into a period of instability. The revolution that collapsed the last dynasty was initiated mainly because the people had grown tired of the severe corruption within the Qing government. The Qing administration was also allowing foreign powers to influence actions within the country that directly affected the common people. Although the revolt successfully ended the imperial rule and established a republic rule, it lacked organization and clarity. Many armies originally organized to fight the empire now faced each other, fighting over who would lead the new republic and how the government would operate. The fighting and division within the country was reminiscent of the warring states period of ancient China. This period of political turmoil set the stage for the eventual war between the nationalists and the communists.
Due to the instability of the government at this time, the Chinese people had been given a unique opportunity. With no clear organized body to create or enforce laws, the people were free to operate without fear of interference or persecution. In particular, the intellectual class eagerly embraced this new era of free thought. Many young scholars and artists utilized this unstable period of time to study and explore topics previously deemed taboo in Chinese culture. This short period of time facilitated the outpour of an incredible amount of cultural and intellectual growth in China. It was during this period of time that a young man by the name of Li Jinhui revolutionized Chinese music and theater though his fearless pursuit of creating a new musical era in China.
Li Jinhui: The Father of Yellow Music
Li Jinhui was born September 5th, 1891 in Xiangtan, Hunan, China. His family came from a long line of wealthy and well respected intellectuals. Having a very privileged upbringing, his interest in music and education was well nurtured from a young age. In addition to his excellent education received at the many prestigious schools he attended in his youth, Li studied ancient Chinese literature and music at home with his brothers and sisters. The first instrument he learned how to play was the guqin (a 7 stringed traditional Chinese instrument closely associated with philosophers and intellectuals). During his high school years, he developed a special interest in regional folk music. His interest was so passionate that he strived to study not only the regional folk music of China, but the folk music of as many foreign countries as he was able to. He even acquired a harmonium in order to better understand western folk music. By the time Li was in high school, his talents were widely recognized throughout Xiangtan. He stood out not only for his musical ability, but also for his knowledge and interest in politics. Li was eventually hired part-time by his school to help teach the youth music program. One of his duties as a music instructor was to lead the choir. Li arranged many pieces for the choir, several of which included intellectual topics advocating science and national regeneration. This fusion of intellectual material with children's choral music was a perfect hybrid of Li's intelligence mixed with his musical ability.
After graduating, Li began to develop his compositional style in Xiangtan. Having a great amount of experience with youth choirs, he began by writing choral music based on folk tunes. Eventually, he began to integrate his social and political views into his music. As his skills developed, he gained attention from a local newspaper who wanted to publish some of his lyrics. Some of his more popular works published were politically satirical pieces written for a children's choir. However, Li's work was not popular with everyone. One of the warlords satirized in a composition of Li's was so angry at the composer, that he ordered some of his men to physically assault him for the flagrant show of disrespect. Despite the attack, Li did not let the encounter dissuade him from continuing to compose uncensored.
In 1916, Li moved to Beijing to join the New Culture Movement. Organized by some of the brightest minds in China, this movement strived to reform Chinese culture in a way that would raise China up to global standards. Some of the goals of this movement included implementing democratic values, discouraging Confucian superiority (the view that China is superior to all other nations), and creating a unified language for China. Of all the goals set forth by this movement, Li felt that the first, and most important, step in this process was the unification of China through a common language. Not only would this help break down the ethnic language barriers dividing China, but it would also facilitate the creation of a better national education system. Shortly after moving to Beijing, Li's passion for music and the pedagogy of a unified language (Mandarin Chinese) found a home teaching at Peking University. In addition to the classes he taught, Li began composing music that strived to promote the use of Mandarin as a national language. He did this by arranging and adapting regional folk tunes to use Mandarin. His hope was that the common people would be able to unite under their familiar and beloved folk music. Although very successful, Li came under heavy scrutiny from his colleagues for using folk tunes to achieve this unification. His colleagues, concerned primarily with the Romantic style popular in Europe at the time, felt that the use of folk tunes in an academic setting was inappropriate and even vulgar. Ignoring the criticisms of his dissenters, Li focused on the success of his new compositions. However, Li felt that there had to be a better and more effective way to reach and unite the common people. In 1920, Li realized his goal with the formation of the Bright Moon Ensemble. The creation of this group gave Li the ability to travel and perform his compositions, reaching an all new audience of Chinese citizens.
After graduating, Li began to develop his compositional style in Xiangtan. Having a great amount of experience with youth choirs, he began by writing choral music based on folk tunes. Eventually, he began to integrate his social and political views into his music. As his skills developed, he gained attention from a local newspaper who wanted to publish some of his lyrics. Some of his more popular works published were politically satirical pieces written for a children's choir. However, Li's work was not popular with everyone. One of the warlords satirized in a composition of Li's was so angry at the composer, that he ordered some of his men to physically assault him for the flagrant show of disrespect. Despite the attack, Li did not let the encounter dissuade him from continuing to compose uncensored.
In 1916, Li moved to Beijing to join the New Culture Movement. Organized by some of the brightest minds in China, this movement strived to reform Chinese culture in a way that would raise China up to global standards. Some of the goals of this movement included implementing democratic values, discouraging Confucian superiority (the view that China is superior to all other nations), and creating a unified language for China. Of all the goals set forth by this movement, Li felt that the first, and most important, step in this process was the unification of China through a common language. Not only would this help break down the ethnic language barriers dividing China, but it would also facilitate the creation of a better national education system. Shortly after moving to Beijing, Li's passion for music and the pedagogy of a unified language (Mandarin Chinese) found a home teaching at Peking University. In addition to the classes he taught, Li began composing music that strived to promote the use of Mandarin as a national language. He did this by arranging and adapting regional folk tunes to use Mandarin. His hope was that the common people would be able to unite under their familiar and beloved folk music. Although very successful, Li came under heavy scrutiny from his colleagues for using folk tunes to achieve this unification. His colleagues, concerned primarily with the Romantic style popular in Europe at the time, felt that the use of folk tunes in an academic setting was inappropriate and even vulgar. Ignoring the criticisms of his dissenters, Li focused on the success of his new compositions. However, Li felt that there had to be a better and more effective way to reach and unite the common people. In 1920, Li realized his goal with the formation of the Bright Moon Ensemble. The creation of this group gave Li the ability to travel and perform his compositions, reaching an all new audience of Chinese citizens.
“...we raise a banner of a ‘music for the common people,’ like the bright moon in the sky, shining across the land for all the people to enjoy.”
-Li Jinhui describing the Bright Moon Ensemble, 1920
Songs of the Era: Shanghai and Shidaiqu
Li knew that for his music to reach the maximum number of people, he needed to base himself in the center of China's popular music scene; Shanghai. Once Li had settled himself in Shanghai, he began leading shows with the Bright Moon Ensemble. The group was very well received and quickly made Li a well known member of the Shanghai entertainment industry. Wanting to always expand and experiment, Li eventually opened up his own theater company and began performing his adaptations of operas and plays. During this time, the Chinese national education bureau named Mandarin as the official language of China, ensuring that the next generation of Chinese students would be united in language all across China. Shanghai University recognized Li's mastery of Mandarin as well as all of his contributions to the instillation of Mandarin in education. They offered him a teaching position as well as the position of editor within their school publishing company (China Book Bureau). Li's first and biggest project as an editor was the children's magazine Little Friend. Shortly after his involvement with the magazine, Little Friend became the best selling national periodical in China. Of the many things Li contributed to the magazine, the most popular additions were his nursery rhymes and simple children's operas that fused Mandarin with popular folk tunes. With the success of Little Friend, Li became a nationally known figure praised for both his music and his pedagogical approach to language. Despite his national acclaim, there were many critics who constantly belittled his work. They accused his work of being low class, again harping on their belief that folk music was crude and hindered the progress of Chinese culture. The most controversial aspect of his work in these critic's eyes, was his use of women on the stage. Up until Li broke this social taboo, women were never allowed to perform on stage. Traditionally, men and boys would dress up and sing falsetto in order to play the female roles. Ironically, Li's controversial decision to use women ended up being the primary reason why his shows became so wildly popular. People enjoyed seeing women perform on the stage. The female voice and dance style was very exciting to the majority of Chinese people. The addition of women to the stage also promoted Li's desire for better women's rights. Although in the minority and having no real effect on his popularity, many of the critics condemning Li would eventually become prominent members of the Communist Party.
In 1929, after many years of successful shows and compositions, Li's bold tone in his musical and theatrical works began to attract unwanted attention. Two years earlier, political and ideological tensions between the Kuomintang (Nationalist Party) and Communist Party erupted into military conflict. It was not long before China became polarized and the conflict evolved into civil war. Unfortunately for Li, his personal political views did not align him with either side of the war. Due to political pressure from the Kuomintang located in Shanghai, Li was forced to disband the Bright Moon Ensemble. Always being an opportunist, Li decided that this was the perfect opportunity to further explore his musical interests. This was when Li began to heavily focus on folk music of the West. Through the many years that Li worked in Shanghai, he had met and befriended numerous Western musicians. One of these traveling musicians who had become a close friend of Li's was stride pianist Teddy Weatherford. Weatherford, an American, spent much of his career traveling throughout Asia performing and leading Jazz ensembles. In addition to performing, Weatherford worked very hard to create a network of musicians and venues all over Asia in order to spread Jazz and encourage collaboration. Li approached Weatherford inquiring about bringing American musicians over to collaborate with him. Weatherford quickly arranged for the Harlem Gentlemen, an American Jazz ensemble, to sail to Shanghai. Leading this group was a young gifted trumpet player by the name of Buck Clayton. Li eagerly began his work with the Harlem gentlemen and set up shows in numerous popular venues around Shanghai. Although Li and Clayton only worked together for 2 short years, the musical fusion the created quickly became the most popular form of music in China. One of the the biggest reasons why this music was so wildly popular came from how unique this new genre was in comparison to all previous forms of Chinese music. Dubbed Shidaiqu, meaning "songs of the era," this new genre pulled from all of Li's previous musical styles and fused it with the American Jazz style. Many Chinese praised this new style for modernizing Chinese music, bringing it into the 20th century. However, many within the Communist party felt that this was Li's most vile bastardization of Chinese culture to date. One such critic wrote about Li's new genre (Shidaiqu) in a local newspaper calling it, "...vulgar and depraved beyond the hope of redemption." Li's Shidaiqu generated so much disgust within the Communist Party, that they deemed him the father of "Yellow Music." In China, the color yellow is often associated with sex and pornography. The Communist Party previously condemned Li for his use of women in theater, claiming that it was indecent and damaging to the reputation of Chinese theater. Titling Li's body of work as being "Yellow Music" was a huge insult. The Party was insinuating that Li's mission to unify China through a common language and further develop Chinese music was nothing more than cheap attempt to sell sex. Despite the viscous and unrelenting assault from the Communist Party, Li remained a highly respected musician in China. He continued his work for many more years, eventually joining the China Film Company and becoming China's first film scorer. Li's portrayal and promotion of women in films (as well as his shows) launched numerous female singing and acting careers. His female pupils were highly desired and comprised the majority of the "Big Eight", a nickname given to the eight most popular female stars/singers of the period.
In February of 1967, Li's long and inspiring musical career came to an end. Like so many others, Li was a casualty of the Cultural Revolution. Communist propaganda demonized him as a serious threat to the revolution. Although Li was able to successfully hide for many months, he was eventually captured by the Red Guard. While there are no records or accounts of how Li died, it is assumed that he shared a brutal fate similar to others who were deemed a threat to the revolution.
In 1929, after many years of successful shows and compositions, Li's bold tone in his musical and theatrical works began to attract unwanted attention. Two years earlier, political and ideological tensions between the Kuomintang (Nationalist Party) and Communist Party erupted into military conflict. It was not long before China became polarized and the conflict evolved into civil war. Unfortunately for Li, his personal political views did not align him with either side of the war. Due to political pressure from the Kuomintang located in Shanghai, Li was forced to disband the Bright Moon Ensemble. Always being an opportunist, Li decided that this was the perfect opportunity to further explore his musical interests. This was when Li began to heavily focus on folk music of the West. Through the many years that Li worked in Shanghai, he had met and befriended numerous Western musicians. One of these traveling musicians who had become a close friend of Li's was stride pianist Teddy Weatherford. Weatherford, an American, spent much of his career traveling throughout Asia performing and leading Jazz ensembles. In addition to performing, Weatherford worked very hard to create a network of musicians and venues all over Asia in order to spread Jazz and encourage collaboration. Li approached Weatherford inquiring about bringing American musicians over to collaborate with him. Weatherford quickly arranged for the Harlem Gentlemen, an American Jazz ensemble, to sail to Shanghai. Leading this group was a young gifted trumpet player by the name of Buck Clayton. Li eagerly began his work with the Harlem gentlemen and set up shows in numerous popular venues around Shanghai. Although Li and Clayton only worked together for 2 short years, the musical fusion the created quickly became the most popular form of music in China. One of the the biggest reasons why this music was so wildly popular came from how unique this new genre was in comparison to all previous forms of Chinese music. Dubbed Shidaiqu, meaning "songs of the era," this new genre pulled from all of Li's previous musical styles and fused it with the American Jazz style. Many Chinese praised this new style for modernizing Chinese music, bringing it into the 20th century. However, many within the Communist party felt that this was Li's most vile bastardization of Chinese culture to date. One such critic wrote about Li's new genre (Shidaiqu) in a local newspaper calling it, "...vulgar and depraved beyond the hope of redemption." Li's Shidaiqu generated so much disgust within the Communist Party, that they deemed him the father of "Yellow Music." In China, the color yellow is often associated with sex and pornography. The Communist Party previously condemned Li for his use of women in theater, claiming that it was indecent and damaging to the reputation of Chinese theater. Titling Li's body of work as being "Yellow Music" was a huge insult. The Party was insinuating that Li's mission to unify China through a common language and further develop Chinese music was nothing more than cheap attempt to sell sex. Despite the viscous and unrelenting assault from the Communist Party, Li remained a highly respected musician in China. He continued his work for many more years, eventually joining the China Film Company and becoming China's first film scorer. Li's portrayal and promotion of women in films (as well as his shows) launched numerous female singing and acting careers. His female pupils were highly desired and comprised the majority of the "Big Eight", a nickname given to the eight most popular female stars/singers of the period.
In February of 1967, Li's long and inspiring musical career came to an end. Like so many others, Li was a casualty of the Cultural Revolution. Communist propaganda demonized him as a serious threat to the revolution. Although Li was able to successfully hide for many months, he was eventually captured by the Red Guard. While there are no records or accounts of how Li died, it is assumed that he shared a brutal fate similar to others who were deemed a threat to the revolution.
往事如烟
(wǎngshìrúyān, Past Events Have Vanished Like Smoke)
Bai Hong, 1940's
This piece is an excellent example of the Shidaiqu sound, blending Chinese elements with Jazz
Legacy
Although Li was constantly surrounded by controversy in his lifetime, his musical contributions to China are now considered to be some of the most important of the 20th century. His fearless pioneering of folk fusion paved the way for many Chinese artists and composers. After the death of Mao Zedong and the eventual re-stabilization of China, many musicians picked up right where Li left off. Li's title as the father of "Yellow Music" has since been changed to the father of Chinese popular music. Chinese popular music, or C-pop, evolved from Li's original idea of fusing traditional Chinese music with foreign elements. Today, C-pop musicians continue to combine traditional Chinese elements with nearly everything from blues to electronica. Although C-pop is a title that encapsulates a massive amount of sub-genres, the cohesive element linking them together is the presence of fusion. The band Woodie Alan, pictured above, is an excellent example of C-pop musicians closely following in Li's tradition. Formed in 2008, Woodie Alan combines traditional American style blues with the newly developed Chinese style of blues. The fusion of the two creates a distinct new sound that sparked a sort of Blues boom in China. Shortly after forming, the Beijing based group was named 2008 best band of Beijing. Their debut album, Beijing Blues, was met with great success and have been regularly touring China since 2009.
"Beijing Blues"
Woodie Alan, 2008
Source
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