East Wind Breaks: Identification of Zhongguofeng Music as a Form of “Chinese Crossover” and “Hybrid Thinking” in Contemporary Mandopop
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15294/harmonia.v24i2.13253Keywords:
popular music, Mandopop, Zhongguofeng, crossover, hybridityAbstract
Since 2000, the phenomenal rise of Jay Chou, an iconic pop artist from Taiwan, has evoked discussions on Mandopop scene. This study aims to conduct a micro-analysis of selected music samples from Chou between 2000 and 2010 in order to identify Zhongguofeng music, which employs Phillip Tagg’s music analysis theory. The findings find out that Chou’s musical works demonstrate substantial Chinese elements in terms of lyrics, melody, and music cultural references. In addition, they reflect diversified musical styles, infusing Chinese-style hybridity into popular music. As a result, these musical works have formed a unique Zhongguofeng music standard that could play a defining role in contemporary Mandopop. It is anticipated that a discourse with a specific analytical setting could be established in this study. It can offer an insight into how the framework of hybridity in contemporary Mandopop is used to overcome the borders of genres, geopolitics, narratives, and negotiation of cultural identity between the “local” and the “global.”
References
Brown, A. R. (2008). Popular music cultures, media and youth consumption: Towards an integration of structure, culture and agency. Sociology Compass, 2(2), 388–408. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-9020.2008.00103.x.
Burns, G. (1987). A typology of ‘hooks’ in popular records. Popular music, 6(1), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261143000006577.
Cai, Y. Z. 蔡亚洲 (2011). 浅谈方文山中国风歌词中的解构主义及解构意义. [Discussing deconstruction and deconstructing meaning in Fang Wenshan’s zhongguofeng lyrics]. 《青年文学家》Youth Literator, 6, 186.
Chen, H. W. 陈訸玮 (2009). “中国风”音乐引发的研究与社会文化思考. [Studying and socio-cultural thinking reflected in “zhongguofeng” music]. 《东南学术》Southeast Academic Research, 4, 169–171.
Chow, Y. F. (2013). Blowing in the China wind: Engagements with Chineseness in Hong Kong’s zhongguofeng music videos. In K. B. Chan (ed.), Hybrid Hong Kong (pp. 87–104). Routledge.
Cohen, S. (1993). Ethnography and popular music studies. Popular Music, 12(2), 123–138. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261143000005511.
De Kloet, J. (2010). China with a cut: Globalisation, urban youth and popular music. Amsterdam University Press.
Forman, M. (2000). ‘Represent’: Race, space and place in rap music. Popular Music, 19(1), 65–90. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261143000000015.
Fung, A. (2008). Western style, Chinese pop: Jay Chou’s rap and hip-hop in China. Asian Music, 39(1), 69–80. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25501575.
Gold, T. B. (1993). Go with your feelings: Hong Kong and Taiwan popular culture in Greater China. The China Quarterly, 136, 907–925.
Ho, K. R. (2010). Narrative in the music of Jay Chou: A case study of music, globalisation and semantics. M.A. diss., University of Montreal.
Ho, W. C., & Law, W. W. (2012). The cultural politics of introducing popular music into China’s music education. Popular Music and Society, 35(3), 399–425. https://doi.org/10.1080/03007766.2011.567916.
Kotarba, J. A. (2013). Understanding society through popular music. Routledge.
Lin, C. Y. (2020). Multidimensionality of Chineseness in Taiwan’s Mandopop: Jay Chou’s China wind pop and the transnational audience. In E. Tsai, T. H. Ho & M. J. Jian (eds.), Made in Taiwan: Studies in popular music (pp. 189–200). Routledge.
Lin, C. Y., & Um, H. (2017). From ‘Blue and White Porcelain’ to ‘Island’s Sunrise’: Young audience perceptions of Chineseness and Taiwaneseness in Taiwan’s popular music. East Asian Journal of Popular Culture, 3(2), 153–167. https://doi.org/10.1386/eapc.3.2.153_1.
Lin, W. H. (2013). Jay Chou’s music and the shaping of popular culture in China. In L. Fitzsimmons & J. A. Lent (eds.), Popular Culture in Asia (pp. 206–219). Palgrave Macmillan.
Middleton, J., & Beebe, R. (2002). The racial politics of hybridity and ‘neo-eclecticism’ in contemporary popular music. Popular Music, 21(2), 159–172. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261143002002106.
Moskowitz, M. L. (2010). Cries of joy, songs of sorrow: Chinese pop music and its cultural connotations. University of Hawai'i Press.
Shuker, R. (2013). Understanding popular music. Routledge.
Sloboda, S. (2018). Chinoiserie: A global style. In C. Guth (ed.), Encyclopedia of Asian design: Transnational and global issues in Asian design (pp. 143–154). Bloomsbury Academic.
Sun, B. 孙滨 (2020). 论古风音乐与国风音乐的区别. [Discussing the difference between gufeng music and guofeng music]. 《艺术科技》Art Science and Technology, 33(2), 87–88.
Sun, W. B. 孙炜博 (2017). 文化批判视野下的网络古风音乐探析. [Exploring online gufeng music from the perspective of cultural criticism]. 《文艺争鸣》Literary and Artistic Contention, 8, 5.
Tagg, P. (1982). Analysing popular music: Theory, method and practice. Popular Music, 2, 37–67. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261143000001227.
Tsai, E., Ho, T. H., & Jian, M. (2020). Introduction: Problematising and contextualising taiwanese popular music. In E. Tsai, T. H. Ho & M. J. Jian (eds.), Made in Taiwan: Studies in popular music (pp. 1–20). Routledge.
Wang, G. (2012). The ABCs of Chinese pop: Wang Leehom and the marketing of a global Chinese celebrity. Journal of Transnational American Studies, 4(1), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.5070/T841012820.
Wang, Y. W. (2020). Homoeroticising archaic wind music: A rhizomatic return to ancient China. China Perspectives, 2, 15–23.
Wu, Z. Y., Borgerson, J. & Schroeder, J. (2013). Jay Chou, pop star: Chinese aesthetics and contemporary trends. In Z. Y. Wu, J. Borgerson & J. Schroeder (eds.), From Chinese Brand Culture to Global Brands (pp. 57–77). Palgrave Macmillan.
Yang, F. C. I. (1994). The history of popular music in Taiwan. Popular Music and Society, 18(3), 53–66. https://doi.org/10.1080/03007769408591563.
Zaborowska, K. (2012). Muzyka w Chinach. Od tradycji do współczesności. [Music in China. From tradition to modernity]. Gdańskie Studia Azji Wschodniej, 1, 123–137. https://doi.org/10.4467/23538724GS.12.010.2033.
