Evolution of Chinese Pop Music

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Chinese Pop Music: The Evolution
Introduction
Chinese popular music is music from the region of Greater China. This region includes the countries Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macau, and Mainland China. The majority of the music originates from Hing Kong and Taiwan, while a small percentage are from Mainland China, and even other countries specifically Malaysia and Singapore (China Educational Tours, n.d.). Nowadays, Chinese popular music is also called C-Pop, similar to how the terms K-Pop and J-pop are used for the modern music of Korea and Japan respectively. This paper aims to discuss the connection between the evolution of Chinese pop music and how it reflects the rich culture and history of a nation such as China.
Chinese pop music can be described as simple when looking at it from a musical perspective. It is usually structured as basic verse followed by the chorus then a bridge arrangement on some instances, but generally, it does not have long instrument solos or intro/outro that are extended. Even the speed is kept on a moderate level and very minimal parts that feature things such as heavy drums, raps, or distorted guitar riffs. The aspects of the music that are adjusted are the arrangements and tempo to make it sound more modern, and this can be likened to the music from Korea and Taiwan. In line with the simplicity, even the chords used in Chinese pop music are basic and can be easily classified as familiar to the ears of the listeners because the composers and musicians do not want to showcase too unique notes that will make the music sound strange to the audience. The main focus of Chinese pop music is harmony and it is showcased by the coming together of the different instruments to support the melody that is produced vocally. Also, it is worth noting that Chinese pop music is very easy to remember. Due to this, Chinese popular music is also considered trendy in karaoke among the people because it is said to be easier to learn and sing along to, fueling the popularity and progression of this type of music.
The main subgenres of Chinese popular music depend on the Chinese dialects that are used in each kind of music and these are Cantopop for Cantonese, Hokkien Popo for Taiwanese Hokkien, and Mando Popo for Mandarin. Similar to other pop music, Chinese pop music also has different music styles such as hip-hop and rock.
Father of Chinese Popular Music
During the 1920s, jazz music in America became really popular and a Chinese songwriter was influenced by this. By incorporating jazz music into Chinese folk songs that were already a staple to the music industry of China at the time, Li Junhui created a new era for the music of China. Li Junhui is known as the father of Chinese popular music but his musical journey was not very smooth-sailing as his musical works are bombarded with issues and controversies. Many critics call the music of Li Junhui as vulgar, common, and even termed it “yellow music” or pornographic music (china.usc.edu., n.d.). The communist government did not want the music of Li Junhui because these were folk songs that contain political comments, that the common people during that time have met with enthusiasm.
Li Junhui’s music heavily influenced the modern Mandopop and Cantopop which demonstrates the fusion of traditional Chinese music and Western music. During the introduction of Li Junhui’s music, it soon became very popular and was named “Chinese Jazz”. These musical pieces were often used and associated with nightclubs and the nightlife, in general, all over Southeast Asia. Unfortunately, the fame of the works of Li Junhui also cost him his life during the Cultural Revolution as music was considered immoral.
The Origin
Chinese pop culture is said to have originated from Shanghai, China where there were companies that recorded music. This was in the 1920s and as previously mentioned, American or western jazz music was the trend in other parts of the world. This western jazz was combined with the Chinese culture’s own folk music and Mandarin lyrics, creating shidaiqu which means “music of the time”.
Chinese pop music was still able to survive the Cultural Revolution despite the heavy surveillance and increased efforts of the communist party. The songwriters and artists were obliged to submit their works for approval because those in charge are very careful not to release unpatriotic and politically-sensitive statements, and if there are parts of the lyrics that are found to be unsuitable to be released, it is censored.
Chinese Pop Culture in the Greater China
The debut of shidaiqu compositions was in Mandarin or Mandopop. This was the initial subgenre that was really popular during the early years that Shanghai’s music industry was very famous and prosperous. However, this progress in China’s music industry was interrupted by the Second Sino-Japanese War and the emergence of the Communist Party of China (Sin et al., 2013). During this period, there were cases of strict filtration and censuring of what information can be found in the musical pieces depending on the judgment of the communists. These altercations led to the need for the music industry in China to flee Shanghai. After leaving Shanghai, the music indu...