Music of China
)[15][page needed] Through succeeding dynasties over thousands of years, Chinese musicians developed a large assortment of different instruments and playing styles.
The presence of European music in China appeared as early as 1601 when the Jesuit priest Matteo Ricci presented a Harpsichord to the Ming imperial court, and trained four eunuchs to play it.
Twentieth-century cultural philosophers like Xiao Youmei, Cai Yuanpei, Feng Zikai and Wang Guangqi wanted to see Chinese music adopted to the best standard possible.
After the 1942 Yan'an Forum on Literature and Art, a large-scale campaign was launched in Chinese Communist Party-controlled areas to adapt folk music to create revolutionary songs to educate the largely illiterate rural population on party goals.
[citation needed] Today, rock music is centered on almost exclusively in Beijing and Shanghai, and has very limited influence over Chinese society.
While rock has existed in China for decades, the milestone that put the genre on the international map is when Cui Jian played with The Rolling Stones in 2003, at the age of 42.
Under Xi Jinping, the current General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, traditional musical instruments have enjoyed a state-backed revival.
The basic skills are chang (唱; chàng; 'to sing'), nian (念; niàn; 'to read'), zuo (做; zuò; 'to do', and da (打; dǎ; 'to fight').
Sizhu ensembles use flutes and bowed or plucked string instruments to make harmonious and melodious music that has become popular in the West among some listeners.
The most specialized form of chanting is called yang, which is without metrical timing and is dominated by resonant drums and sustained, low syllables.
Other secular genres include nangma and toshe, which are often linked and are accompanied by a variety of instruments designed for highly rhythmic dance music.
A classical form called gar is very popular, and is distinguished by ornate, elegant and ceremonial music honoring dignitaries or other respected persons.
Tibetan folk music includes a cappella lu songs, which are distinctively high in pitch with glottal vibrations, as well as now rare epic bards who sing the tales of Gesar, Tibet's most popular hero.
The Nakhi of Lijiang play a type of song and dance suite called baisha xiyue, which was supposedly brought by Kublai Khan in 1253.
In the early 20th century after the end of Imperial China, there were major changes to traditional Chinese music as part of the New Culture Movement.
In mainland China a new term minyue (民乐, short for minzu yinyue or "people's music") was coined post-1949 in place of guoyue to encompass all compositions and genres for traditional instruments.
In order to accommodate Western system, changes were made to the instruments, for example in the pipa the number of frets was increased to 24, based on the 12 tone equal temperament scale, with all the intervals being semitones.
[44] The beginning of the 21st century has seen an increasing number of mainland Chinese artists who produced a wide range of Mandarin pop songs and the release of many new albums.
Mandarin rap music gradually became popular in mainland China, especially in Shanghai, Beijing, Chongqing and Sichuan where pop culture is very diverse and modern.
[46] Reality talent shows and competition programs such as Rave Now and E-Pop of China contributed to promote electronic music towards the mainstream audience.
[47] In recent years, numerous of local Chinese electronic music producers have emerged and got signed by international major labels.
Local electronic music producer Zight collaborated with American singer Chris Willis and Italian DJ duo Maximals to release single "Work It Harder".
[50] At the meantime, local electronic singer-songwriter CORSAK [zh] has teamed up with Swedish DJ Alesso, releasing their global hit Going Dumb.
Its first CD "A Dream Return to Tang Dynasty" combines elements of traditional Chinese opera and old school heavy metal.
[52][53] UnderBaby rose to fame underground in the mid-1990s, laying the foundation for Beijing punk music in the 1990s along with two garage bands, Flies and Catchers of the Rye.
In 1996, UnderBaby's song "All the Same" - "All One Yang" was included in the Chinese indie rock album "China Fire II", thus gaining national recognition.
[54] Since the early 2000s, Chinese indie music has grown considerably, with homegrown bands such as Carsick Cars, Birdstriking, Re-TROS, Brain Failure, Demerit, Tookoo, AV Okubo, Lonely Leary, Hang on the Box and Fanzui Xiangfa all embarking on international tours.
Whereas orchestras organised by, run solely by and nearly always exclusive to the expatriate community in China are recorded from the early days of the International Settlement in Shanghai (i.e. 1850s) and a Russian orchestra was in operation in Harbin from the early 20th century,[55] the beginnings of a unique classical music tradition in China lie with the first foreign trained Chinese conductor, Zheng Zhisheng AKA (romanized) Yin Zizhong.
[56] The revolutionary spirit of Yin Zizhong's (or romanized Wan-Chi Chung's) style has been continued by the first generation of composers immediately following the accession of the CCP to power, namely Li Delun and Cao Peng.
[citation needed] Some of the more widely known political songs are Military Anthem of the People's Liberation Army,[59] The East is Red, and the Internationale.
