CATS Chinese Music Collections PODCAST SERIES

Today Odila Schröder will take us on a different “journey”, exploring the edges of what can be considered “Chinese” music. Since 2020 Odila has been part of a project, the China-School-Academy, writing teaching modules and providing trainings for German high school teachers. As part of that project she developed a module on Chinese music, essentially a “listening journey“, meant to engage students in the question what “Chinese music” is.  In this podcast Odila will give us a a short introduction to the module.

The songs and sounds mentioned in this podcast can be found in an accompanying playlist. A longer playlist with a broader range of Chinese music can be found here. The full teaching module (in German) and more information on the individual pieces is available on the homepage of the China-Schul-Akademie: https://www.china-schul-akademie.de/lernmodule/musik/.

"Socialism is Good” 社会主义好, a Chinese Communist propaganda song from the 1950s was one of the most iconic and recognisable tunes before the Cultural Revolution. Welcome to the second episode of a two-part podcast with Tilen Zupan, a master's student in Transcultural Studies at the Center for Asian and Transcultural Studies in Heidelberg. Exploring the intricacies of the song's reception and production histories, and its parodies, Tilen examines the multifaceted processes of its signification during the turbulent era of Mao’s China.

Links to the songs that are referred to in this podcast: 

"Socialism is Good" 社会主义好 https://youtu.be/McI8hOGTJb0

“侯牧人 (Hou Muren) - 紅色搖滾 (Red Rock)” https://youtu.be/Vgm1aXWEY0o?t=1136.

“李志 2015年‘看见’重庆站 山阴路的夏天 社会主义好.” https://youtu.be/HnczI3uuzR8?t=498.

“Blind Shaft 盲井.“ https://youtu.be/AmShvrAe9Fw?t=1288. “durian durian 2000 eng sub.” https://youtu.be/vv53fPS7N6I?t=4932.

“庆祝中国共产党成立100周年.” https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1D64y197XE?p=9.

社会主义好，社会主义好！” https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1hh411h7mX?share_source=copy_web.

"Socialism is Good” 社会主义好, a Chinese Communist propaganda song from the 1950s was one of the most iconic and recognisable tunes before the Cultural Revolution. Welcome to the first episode of a two-part podcast with Tilen Zupan, a master's student in Transcultural Studies at the Center for Asian and Transcultural Studies in Heidelberg. Exploring the intricacies of the song's reception and production histories, and its parodies, Tilen examines the multifaceted processes of its signification during the turbulent era of Mao’s China. At the beginning of the podcast, we hear a 1:15 min version of the song, recorded on a 7” flexi disc in 1982.

Socialism is good, socialism is good! /People of socialist countries have high social status. /Reactionaries are overthrown, Imperialism tucks its tail and flees./The entire country is united in setting a tide of socialist construction.

The Communist Party is good! The Communist Party is good!/The Communist Party is a good leader for the people./It keeps its promises and works wholeheartedly for the people./Firmly adhere to the Communist Party in the assured construction, the assured construction, of our great motherland!

Socialism is good, socialism is good! /The people protect the socialist system./The power of people is invincible, the resistance of reactionary cliques is destined to fail./The cause of socialism will definitely be victorious, a communist society will definitely come true, will definitely come true!

The Communist Party is good! /The Communist Party is good!/The Communist Party guides China on the way to power and wealth./The power of people is invincible, the resistance of reactionary cliques is destined to fail./The cause of socialism will definitely be victorious, a Communist society will definitely come true, will definitely come true!    

社会主义好，社会主义好！

社会主义国家人民地位高。

反动派被打倒，帝国主义夹着尾巴逃跑了。

全国人民大团结，掀起了社会主义建设高潮，建设高潮。

共产党好！共产党好！

共产党是人民的好领导。

说得到，作得到，全心全意为人民立功劳。

坚决跟着共产党，要把伟大祖国建设好，建设好！

社会主义好，社会主义好！

社会主义江山人民保。

人民江山坐得牢，反动分子想反也反不了。

社会主义社会一定胜利，共产主义社会一定来到，一定来到！

共产党好！共产党好！

共产党领导中国富强了。

人民江山坐得牢，反动分子想反也反 不了。

社会主义社会一定胜利，共产主义社会一定来到，一定来到！

Links to the songs that are referred to in this podcast: 

"Socialism is Good" 社会主义好 https://youtu.be/McI8hOGTJb0

"Rice Sprout Dance" 米脂海盛传媒秧歌队过街表演，这样的春节你喜欢吗？#米脂秧歌#热热闹闹过春节#陕北秧歌. 03. June, 2023. https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1ER4y187Ds/. Bilibili.com (user 黄土苍景). 2023.

Yuri Sasaki is a Master student enrolled in Transcultural Studies at CATS Heidelberg and also in the Joint Degree Program with Kyoto University in Japan. This podcast is about the song “The East Is Red” which was a highly popular communist propaganda song. The four minute version played at the beginning of the podcast is from a 1964 7" vinyl (see link below).

Links to the songs that are referred to in this podcast:

“DONGFANG HONG” 東方紅

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xfmc8rT2AI4

“DONGFANG HONG” BY ZHAO DADI

https://projects.zo.uni-heidelberg.de/continuousrevolution/main.php?part=1&chapter=2&media=9#

“THE RED SUN”

https://projects.zo.uni-heidelberg.de/continuousrevolution/main.php?part=1&chapter=2&media=8

Podcast by Odila Schröder, a postdoctoral researcher at Heidelberg University, on the music produced in support of collaboration during the Second Sino-Japanese war. Odila wrote her PhD thesis, entitled “Treasonous Repertoires: Performing Collaboration and Musical Life in Japanese-Occupied Beijing” under the umbrella of the ERC project “Cultures of Occupation in Twentieth Century Asia” led by Jeremy Taylor.

Link to "East Asian Nations March" 東亞民族進行曲 :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4JcxHgvWlg

The lyrics of the East Asian Nations March are typical for these collaborationist songs in their propagation of ideologies of the occupation regime, including Wang Jingwei’s claim to defend peace, a call for all East Asian nations to unite in a struggle for independence from Western colonization and against Communist forces. The first stanza of the East Asian Nation March reads:

大地湧起和平的呼聲

激動了萬里的大進行

東亞民族聯合起來

和尊獨立共同防共

我們是開關荒野的先鋒

我們是創造文明的英雄

大衆齊醒大衆齊醒

擔負復興東亞的使命

The earth is flooded with cries for peace.

Stirring up a march of thousand miles.

The East Asian nations are united

in their peaceful strive for independence and joint defence against the Communists.

We are the pioneers who open up the wilderness.

We are the heroes who create civilisation

The masses are awakening! The masses are awakening!

Taking on the mission of reviving East Asia.

CATS Chinese Music Collections PODCAST SERIES

The Library of the Centre for Asian and Transcultural Studies at Heidelberg University holds an extensive collection of musical treasures—recordings, scores, ephemera, and secondary literature on Chinese music. The CATS library brings together the CHIME Collection for Chinese Music Research—a large collection comprising everything from ethnographic to contemporary musical records—field video recording, scores, books, and more, the C.C. Liu Collection of Modern and Contemporary Chinese Music—an extensive collection of scores of contemporary musics from Hong Kong, Taiwan and the People’s Republic of China; the Liu Yuan Collection of Chinese Music—a collection of more than 2000 records reflecting the variety of musics available in mainland China throughout the 1950s and into the 1990s and finally the Steen Collection of PRC Rock and Pop music since the 1980s—and more: the music collections are growing by the day. This PODCAST is set out to introduce you to some of the jewels of these music collections and enjoy the intricacies and beauties of musicking in China …. We begin with a series of 5 podcasts accompanying this year’s CHIME conference in Heidelberg, from October 1-4, entitled Barbarian Pipes and Strings Reconsidered: Negotiating Authenticity in the Musics of China: Transcultural Perspectives.

LINKS

25th International CHIME Conference: Barbarian Pipes and Strings Reconsidered: Negotiating Authenticity in the Musics of China: Transcultural Perspectives

https://www.cats.uni-heidelberg.de/medien/chime2023.html

CHIME Collection for Chinese Music Research

https://www.cats.uni-heidelberg.de/bibliothek/sammlungen/chime.html

C.C. Liu Collection of Modern and Contemporary Chinese Music

https://www.cats.uni-heidelberg.de/bibliothek/sammlungen/c.c.liu.html

Liu Yuan Collection of Chinese Music

https://www.cats.uni-heidelberg.de/bibliothek/sammlungen/liuyuan.html

Steen Collection of PRC Rock and Pop Music

https://www.cats.uni-heidelberg.de/bibliothek/sammlungen/steen.html