Music in China: It is changing – slowly

Almost everything, including music ,in China is controlled by the government. However, after the liberalisation of the economy, the country has seen a surge in hip-hip and other such Western genres. However, the change is limited to big cities like Shanghai, Beijing and Chengdu.

According to Chinese mythology, the founder of music in the country was Ling Lun, who made bamboo pipes tuned to the sounds of birds. During the new culture movement of the 1910 and 1920, several musicians and music enthusiasts travelled to Western countries. They learnt Western classical music and experimented by merging it with traditional music.

Symphony orchestras became popular in major cities. The influence of Jazz was notable and instruments like saxophones, xylophones and violins were used widely. Some renowned musicians of this era were Lu Wen Cheng, Li Jinhui, Zhou Xuan, Qui Hechou and others. However, after the successful overthrow of the Kuomintang government under Chiang Kai Shek by Mao Tse Tung, Western music was more or less banned. 

The Maoists considered pop music as a denigrator of  traditional music. The Maoists, during the historic Cultural Revolution, emphasised revolutionary music, which were songs set to the tunes of traditional music and the praise of the Communist movement and Chairman Mao.

After the infamous Tiananmen Square massacre, this form was somewhat changed and the tempo of the songs was  increased. This saw a remarkable change in the type of songs, which were fast paced and were meant to instil a sense of patriotism and loyalty towards the Communist movement.

The death of Chairman Mao opened new avenues in the field of music. The Chinese  began  interacting with the West due to limited liberalisation of  the economy. Genres like rock, black metal, death metal, hip-hop and others became popular among youngsters. Cui Jian is considered the father of Chinese rock. 

China has changed and is growing at an amazing pace. The choice of music has also widened, yet, performers are not allowed to sing against the government or, in some cases, on love and other such popular issues.