The first stage of development: 1917-1936 (Shanghai period)
Starting from the musical activities of Mr. Lai Kam Fai, the pioneer of Chinese pop music, in the middle of which his anti-feudal Mingyue Opera Society was the clue, it first started with children's song and dance dramas such as Three Butterflies, Sparrow and Child song and dance performances such as Poor Qiuxiang and Cold Clothes Songs, followed by the creation of the first batch of Chinese family love songs, i.e. the popular songs "Hairy Rain", "I Love You, Sister", "Peach Blossom River" and "Special Express". This period ended with the dissolution of the musical group Mingyue Opera Society, and most of the singers entered the movie industry.
The second stage of development:
Preliminary stage: 1937-1949 (Shanghai period)
This stage begins with Zhou Xuan's entry into the movie industry, and the two interludes she sang in the movie "The Angel of the Road," "The Songstress at the End of the World" and "Song of the Four Seasons," which were widely sung throughout the country. She created a generation of songs that influenced the entire Chinese singing scene.
There were no singing or dancing groups in this period. The singers who sang exclusively on records and radio broadcasts were a minority, and most of them appeared in the form of movie singers who mainly made movies and sang movie interludes. After the establishment of **** and the country, most of the major representative singers were transferred to Hong Kong until the development.
Late Period: 1950-1969 (Hong Kong Period)
This period started with Yao Min and Yao Li, the siblings, and many of the major representative singers moved to Hong Kong. Initially it was still predominantly film and song, but over time the proportion of singers who relied on singing and recording increased. Instead of the actors themselves singing the interludes in the movie, there were more instances of professional singers being hired to sing back-up vocals, but there were still no clearly influential singing or dancing groups performing.
By the late 1960s, Mandarin pop songs were on the decline in Hong Kong, and Cantonese songs were on the rise, dominating the music scene. The main representative was Sam Hui.
The third stage of development: 1970-1981 (Taiwan period)
From the late 1960s, Taiwan's pop music gradually developed. It took the place of the Hong Kong singing scene where Mandarin pop songs were declining. It was marked by the popularity of Xie Lei's "Manly" in Southeast Asia, which established Taiwan's leading position in the pop music scene.
Before that, the songs sung in Taiwan included folk songs of the Han Chinese and various ethnic minorities (including Minnan songs); Mandarin pop songs from the Shanghai and Hong Kong eras; and Japanese-influenced compositions. Later on, they gradually created period songs with their own characteristics between Shanghai-period pop songs and modern urban pop songs. This style of song was not in decline until the early 1980s, when it was replaced by new urban pop songs.
In the mid-1970s, Taiwan had a famous campus folk song movement. First initiated by students to compose and sing, the influence was so far-reaching that it spread to Hong Kong and the mainland singing scene. It was not until the early 1980s that it merged into popular music, fused together and developed, injecting fresh blood into popular music.
The fourth stage of development: after 1982 (the period of diversification of the center of gravity)
The end of the 1970s, Taiwan's Mandarin pop songs began to decline, due to Luo Dayou a "Zi Zhixian" album, followed by Su Rui a "wrong train" album, changed the style of Taiwan's singing scene, laying the foundation of the new city of pop songs.
The style of songs in this period was far away from the original Chinese tradition, and was more y influenced by Europe and the United States, with the rapid development of Chinese pop music led by Taiwan. Because during this period with the continuous development of science, high-tech means applied to music production, coupled with the more obvious tendency of commercialization, which all played a role in promoting the development of pop music. Chinese pop songs blossomed all over the world. Coupled with the reform and opening up of the Mainland and the implementation of the market economy policy, pop music has also developed. In this way, its market became broader, forming a diversified pattern of center of gravity.
During this period, there was a clear polarization of the audience, with pop music almost becoming the preserve of the young and unacceptable to most older listeners. This is very different from the Shanghai period, when popular music had no strict boundaries with folk music and serious music, and formed a situation in which young and old enjoyed it, and the elegant and popular **** appreciated it.
Commercial Chinese pop music emerged in tandem with the gramophone, which was first brought to Shanghai's Xizang Road by the Frenchman Labansat. Bai Dai was one of the first record companies to create a Chinese pop music industry.
In the 1920s, Chinese pop music was known as songs of the times. They were seen as the prototype of Chinese pop music. Geographically, Shanghai was the center of Chinese pop music. Lai Jinhui, considered the "father of Chinese pop music", was the founder of the genre. His 1920s work "Hairy Rain" is considered the earliest Chinese pop music.
In the 1930s and 1940s, a large number of truly Chinese pop music works emerged in Shanghai, and many musicians grew up. With the help of records, movies, songs and dances, broadcasting and other communication media, a new style of songs and singing craze unprecedented in China and even in the Far East at that time was set off. Some experts believe that the old Shanghai songs of that era have manifested a modernity.
The original "Seven Great Singers" of the Republic of China established Chinese pop music in Asian society. These singers combined the techniques of traditional Chinese ditties and Japanese pop music to produce a style of singing that was unlike anything seen in Chinese music before. At this time, the infant Chinese film industry was growing and recruiting singers to act in movies or sing in movie songs.
Due to her successful singing and movie acting career, Zhou Xuan is considered one of the most iconic Chinese pop stars of the era. This generation has seen female singers make the leap from "songstress" to "star" in the eyes of the public. Their sweet voices were heard on radio stations in major cities, and their records were packaged by record labels as attractive entertainment products. The era was disrupted by the occupation of Shanghai by Japanese troops during China's war against Japan, but eventually continued into the late 1940s.
Expanded Information
The development of popular music in China is now more than 80 years old, counting from the time when the founder, Mr. Lai Kam Fai, was engaged in music activities. According to the changes in song styles and the shift in the center of gravity of development, it can be divided into four stages of development. The second development sub-phase in the middle of the shift in the center of gravity is divided into before and after the two periods, plus the history of the development of Chinese popular music before the school music songs, so that **** there are six parts.
Before the emergence of popular music, there were only school songs sung by students in schools. It was first sung among the students and later also widely circulated among the masses. It can be said to be the popular songs before the emergence of pop songs. The main lyricists and composers represented were Li Shutong (Venerable Hongyi), Zhao Yuanren and Shen Xinguo.
Reference Baidu Encyclopedia--Chinese Pop Music