Music has been an instrumental part of Chinese culture. In fact, traditional Chinese music was played as early as 7000-8000 years ago in the Neolithic Age, when the bone flute was discovered! Initially, during the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, music was a privilege and only royalty were allowed to listen to music. However, from the era of the Tang dynasty and henceforth, music started to become more common. Thus, the popularity of folk songs greatly increased over time. Three popular Chinese folk songs are Nothing to My Name (一无所有, Yīwúsuǒyǒu), After the Rain There’s Always Sunshine (阳光总在风雨后, Yángguāng zǒng zài fēngyǔ hòu), and Jasmine Flower (茉莉花, Mòlìhuā).
- Nothing to My Name (一无所有, Yīwúsuǒyǒu)
Nothing to My Name was written in 1986 by Cui Jian(崔健), who was considered the “father of Chinese rock ‘n’ roll.” The song was intended to symbolize the confusion and spuriousness behind the rapid economic changes in China. Primarily written for entertainment purposes, it was made for Cui Jian’s girlfriend. Cui Jian first publicly sang the song at the Beijing Worker’s Stadium, and it was an instant hit. In 2007, the Danish band “Michael Learns To Rock” translated the song into English in order to honor Cui Jian.
2. After the Rain There’s Always Sunshine (阳光总在风雨后, Yángguāng zǒng zài fēngyǔ hòu)
After the Rain There’s Always Sunshine was written by Singaporean singer Marivs Hee. The song skyrocketed to popularity when it was utilized by the Chinese female national volleyball team. It is an optimistic song which exemplifies the moral of omnipresent hope. The song stated that there was always sunshine and rainbows after the rain, and that was why one should never lose hope or confidence.
3. Jasmine Flower(茉莉花, Mòlìhuā)
Jasmine Flower was originally written in Jiangsu Province during the era of the Qing dynasty under emperor Qianlong’s reign. The song metaphorically symbolized the purity of love between young lovers by comparing it to the beauty of a jasmine flower. This song is so popular that it is recognized internationally, and has been used to represent Chinese people. Zhang Yimou utilized the song as background music in a promotional film where he intended to sponsor Beijing’s participation in the 2008 Olympic Games. The song’s international fame is best illustrated by Giacomo Puccini, a famous Italian composer, who utilized the song in his opera Turandot which told the story of a beautiful and cold Chinese princess of the Yuan dynasty. In fact, Giacomo’s usage of the song played a big role in spreading its popularity worldwide.
To sum it all up, folk songs are very popular in China. Three very popular Chinese folk songs are Nothing to My Name (一无所有, Yīwúsuǒyǒu), After the Rain There’s Always Sunshine (阳光总在风雨后, Yángguāng zǒng zài fēngyǔ hòu), and Jasmine Flower (茉莉花, Mòlìhuā). Each of these songs have hidden symbolic meanings and morals, and they continue to be enjoyed by Chinese and potential foreign audiences to this day.
Sources:
https://theculturetrip.com/asia/china/articles/the-7-old-school-songs-that-everyone-in-china-knows/
https://www.travelchinaguide.com/intro/arts/chinese-music.htm
https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/regional/2016-08/16/content_26493527.htm#:~:text=The%20folk%20song%20Jasmine%20Flower,the%20beauty%20of%20jasmine%20flowers.
https://www.openhorizons.org/cui-jian-the-beginning-of-chinese-rock-music.html
I really love music, so this article was very interesting for me to read! I think its really cool that all of these songs have backstories as to how they became popular. I will definetly try listening to these songs soon. Thanks for sharing!!
Our middle school Chinese teacher once played Mòlìhuā for us to listen to. However, I never heard of the other songs you mentioned. I will definitely give these a listen soon!
Nice article. Out of these songs, I only know one so it was interesting to learn about the other two. I will try to listen to the other songs.
I don’t know a lot of Chinese songs, so it’s no surprise that I haven’t heard of these three songs before. Reading the background information about these songs makes me want to check them out. Thanks for introducing these songs!
These songs seem really interesting and I enjoyed reading about them. I’ve only heard few Chinese songs and I also haven’t analyzed it but wow it’s so cool to read about it.
Wow, what a great article! I love listening to music, but I don’t think I have heard these songs before! I love that you explained the significance and the symbolism in each of the songs! I will definitely listen to these songs in the future. Thank you for sharing!
这三首歌其实都是很久之前的歌了,但是这几首歌依然好听,我对于茉莉花这首歌的映像最深,我觉得这首歌可以仅仅通过歌词就能干后到茉莉花的美丽
Thank you for sharing about these folk songs! Your descriptions were very insightful and taught me a lot about their deeper meanings. I’ve never heard of the first two, but I have in fact heard of the Jasmine Flower song in the past. I will definetely be sure to check out these songs soon!
Great article! The symbolism of these songs is very interesting and I will need to check them out.
thank you for enlightening me with this wonderful music. i personally like 一无所有 the most. I will listen to these songs in my sleep now, thanks so much.
Interesting. I often enjoy learning about new cultures, and music is a great way to be introduced to new cultures. I’ve never heard these songs before, but I listened to them and they were really good. Thanks for the suggestions!
这些歌曲在中国特别流行。很多人都会唱
I’ve never heard of any of these songs, but it’s nice to hear something new. I’ll definitely give these a listen later!
Great article!! I haven’t heard any of these Chinese songs and it was nice learning about them. I will definitely be listening to these songs sometime soon!!
I’ve never heard any of these songs but reading these descriptions surely convinced me that I missed out on some great songs. I’ll be listening to these songs on repeat very soon.