International Journal of Music and Performing Arts

The Political Influence on the Chinese Song Composition of 1930s-1940s
Dr. Zhao Xiaoyang

Abstract
Anti-Japanese patriotic songs that referred to saving the Chinese nation had been widely composed and sung during the period of 1930s-1940s. Many patriotic Chinese composers were forced to replace the romantic poetic texts of their songs with patriotic texts in order to cater to the taste of the masses. A minimum of one thousand patriotic songs were composed during the period. At the same time, some commercial popular songs in jazz style were also composed. But it seemed that they were not useful for the needs of the Chinese society to enhance the cohesion of the nation at the time. Some popular song writers were even criticized by other Chinese composers because their compositional styles were not patriotic and revolutionary. The genre soon lost its place in twentieth century Chinese society and was replaced by patriotic songs. This article is mainly describes the manner in which politics influenced the Chinese song composition style and Chinese people’s musical lives during the period of 1930s-1940s.

Full Text: PDF     DOI: 10.15640/ijmpa.v3n1a6