Waves of Gulangyu
(Video 1)
"What do you feel about this song?"
Gulangyu is a island which belongs to Xiamen in Fujian Province, my hometown.
Because of the resemblances between Taiwan and Fujian , we value the life in Taiwan in the same way we value in Fujian. I always heard the music during my childhood when my parents usually sang the song. And my father even used this song as his mobile phone ringtone for more than 10 years.
Because of the resemblances between Taiwan and Fujian , we value the life in Taiwan in the same way we value in Fujian. I always heard the music during my childhood when my parents usually sang the song. And my father even used this song as his mobile phone ringtone for more than 10 years.
Actually, Gulangyu was once a famous place in China. In Qing Dynasty, about 150 years ago, Gulangyu used to be a place for all the embassies of foreign countries. Many people lived in Gulangyu. Then, part of the original people in Gulangyu went to Taiwan after WWII, when the Chinese Civil War just began. The Chinese National party, also called KMT, brought millions of people from Mainland China, which included a large number of people from Fujian Province. So, when this song came out in 1981, it suddenly aroused a kind of atmosphere that people were hoping the unity between Taiwan and Main Land China. And people in Fujian missed their families and friends separated in Taiwan. Every time my parents talk about the history and become melancholy, they will sing. The reason is that Taiwan and Mainland China are still politically separated. Many people in the area of my hometown, especially the generation after 1950, can sing this song easily. They all have one kind of mixed feeling about Taiwan. Sadness, but hope at the same time.
(Picture 1)
This song still contains a part of hope itself. A
part of the lyrics is the repetition of “I hope, I hope, I will see you soon,
the beautiful port of Keelung (Famous port in north of Taiwan) ”. And when you hear this beautiful song without thinking of the lyrics and background, you probably feels the peace and flow of ocean. The melody is light and warm.
In my opinion, when this song came out at first, people used the symbol of this song --- the lyrics, to get to the object deep inside of their hearts --- the miss of Taiwan. Then, after few generations, young people like me makes connections between the song and the emotion of miss, using the indexical way we call in this class. We hear it from last generation of people when they talk about the stories and history of Taiwan. In fact, when you walk in Gulangyu island, you will probably have the chance to hear the waves of Gulangyu from public radio station.
Will Taiwanese embrace with people in the Mainland one day? I hope so. And all the emotions I have can simply conclude in one sentence like the song sings "I hope, I hope, I will see you soon, the beautiful port of Keelung."
The March
Although I made a statement that I am not a traditional Asian student, I am still a Chinese who had immersed the traditional culture for most part of my life. In China, many cultural things are deeply connected to the government or the Chinese Communist Party. The government did a lot of jobs in helping people define the real culture of this country. They made a great success when the huge price was also paid off --- many people were forced to leave the country if they did not agree with the government. Fortunately, I did not need to suffer this kind of life, though my parents did. However, the legacy of shaping the culture from the government impacts on every Chinese students after 1980.
In this kind of atmosphere, the March was definitely an unique and remarkable master piece in China's music history. To me, the first time I listened this song was in kindergarten. Then I kept listening it everyday unless I was in holiday, which meant that I was not in school. Even now, I can still listen it every day morning during sometimes between 7 am to 8 am in my home, since there is exactly a primary school 100 meters away from my home.
Why I need to listen this music so many times? I don't know actually. However, I do know what I should do when I hear the music just like people hear the air defense warning. I will do my morning exercise when I hear the music. This song was first used for holding a international Ping Pong game in 1981 in Beijing. And the government asked the department of publicity to make this song familiar to all citizens in this country. After that, the communist party realized that people liked this songs and its tuning could activate people. So they once again asked the department of education to use this song in all schools in the nation. The leaders of the government believed that this song can also make people more united with each other.
Teachers did not tell me about the March and I finally found out myself. They just told us to go out from the classroom and walked to the sports ground when we heard the march. And we had no choice but did what the teachers said. (Seriously, what you can expect for a kindergarten kid about politics view or critical thinking?)
There are many songs in China, which people all listen to. I grow up in a culture rooted by these kind of songs. They influence my daily life and I have already got used to them. The March will continue to do its duty for a long time. As an indexical sign here for most people, it does not necessary need any language for definition. However, the very future generation of this century in China probably will consider whether the song is worth to be an indexical sign. And maybe the result is that they will prefer the song to be an icon of those music their parents or grandparents listen rather than just follow the "instruction" to go for a morning exercise.
When we pay attention to the tuning of this music, the part of flute is beautiful in peace.
Citation:
Video 1:鼓浪嶼之波
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcFQrX2TUJ4
Video 2:中国礼仪大全—运动员进行曲
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3W7zps2S9E
Video 3:The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Soundtrack - 17. The Breaking of the Fellowship
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldEM3h93Mfg
Picture 1: Pictures from Google Earth
Picture 2: Chinese school Morning Exercise
http://upfile.chinaschool.org.cn/image/2013/04/09/072915_265.jpg
Picture 3: Lord of the Ring
http://aresmen.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Lord-of-the-Rings-Fellowship-of-the-Ring-Drinking-Game-610x225.jpg
In my opinion, when this song came out at first, people used the symbol of this song --- the lyrics, to get to the object deep inside of their hearts --- the miss of Taiwan. Then, after few generations, young people like me makes connections between the song and the emotion of miss, using the indexical way we call in this class. We hear it from last generation of people when they talk about the stories and history of Taiwan. In fact, when you walk in Gulangyu island, you will probably have the chance to hear the waves of Gulangyu from public radio station.
Will Taiwanese embrace with people in the Mainland one day? I hope so. And all the emotions I have can simply conclude in one sentence like the song sings "I hope, I hope, I will see you soon, the beautiful port of Keelung."
The March
(Video 2)
Although I made a statement that I am not a traditional Asian student, I am still a Chinese who had immersed the traditional culture for most part of my life. In China, many cultural things are deeply connected to the government or the Chinese Communist Party. The government did a lot of jobs in helping people define the real culture of this country. They made a great success when the huge price was also paid off --- many people were forced to leave the country if they did not agree with the government. Fortunately, I did not need to suffer this kind of life, though my parents did. However, the legacy of shaping the culture from the government impacts on every Chinese students after 1980.
In this kind of atmosphere, the March was definitely an unique and remarkable master piece in China's music history. To me, the first time I listened this song was in kindergarten. Then I kept listening it everyday unless I was in holiday, which meant that I was not in school. Even now, I can still listen it every day morning during sometimes between 7 am to 8 am in my home, since there is exactly a primary school 100 meters away from my home.
Why I need to listen this music so many times? I don't know actually. However, I do know what I should do when I hear the music just like people hear the air defense warning. I will do my morning exercise when I hear the music. This song was first used for holding a international Ping Pong game in 1981 in Beijing. And the government asked the department of publicity to make this song familiar to all citizens in this country. After that, the communist party realized that people liked this songs and its tuning could activate people. So they once again asked the department of education to use this song in all schools in the nation. The leaders of the government believed that this song can also make people more united with each other.
(Picture 2)
There are many songs in China, which people all listen to. I grow up in a culture rooted by these kind of songs. They influence my daily life and I have already got used to them. The March will continue to do its duty for a long time. As an indexical sign here for most people, it does not necessary need any language for definition. However, the very future generation of this century in China probably will consider whether the song is worth to be an indexical sign. And maybe the result is that they will prefer the song to be an icon of those music their parents or grandparents listen rather than just follow the "instruction" to go for a morning exercise.
Lord of Rings the Main Theme:
The breaking of the Fellowship
(Video 3)
As a incoming freshman in United States, I consider myself as an adventurous person. However, what I really get from this piece of music are not only the courageous stories but also the basic relationship between people from different background. Although the title is called the breaking of the fellowship,
it does not just mean the breaking part. I also hear the unity of the
fellowship. My personal idea is that the fellowship they have in the movie is in a high level of touch in spirit, which every person can have a common ground to cooperate well both in physics activities and the way they are thinking. This kind of fellowship is the perfect instance I am trying to achieve with my daily friends.
(Picture 3)
Then it comes to a part of quiet music before it starts to
rise.
When the music rises, this part seems like the unity of the
fellowship in the spirit level. All of these kind of feeling come from my personal experience to the knowledge of the instruments this music uses for playing. The flute is usually used for performed peaceful and light music. And the rising part is a symphony with a single clear and strong melody. So we can feel the power because we have the similar experience when we hear another symphony like Beethoven's Symphony 9 "Choral". It is actually an iconic sign to the feeling of power in something. Then, I use the indexical sign to refer to the fellowship due to the reason that this music is the theme of the movie which is played many times in different ways.
This song actually reminds me of the fellowship I have. In real
world, basically, friendship doesn’t appear in that way. Because we never have a
chance to go for a adventure like the man in the Lord of Ring. Consequently, the fellowship in the movie is so hard to achieve that sometimes I dream about it and value it as the most fabulous thing in human's life.
Listening this kind of music always makes me inspired and appreciate the good relationship I have with my friends.
Citation:
Video 1:鼓浪嶼之波
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcFQrX2TUJ4
Video 2:中国礼仪大全—运动员进行曲
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3W7zps2S9E
Video 3:The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Soundtrack - 17. The Breaking of the Fellowship
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldEM3h93Mfg
Picture 1: Pictures from Google Earth
Picture 2: Chinese school Morning Exercise
http://upfile.chinaschool.org.cn/image/2013/04/09/072915_265.jpg
Picture 3: Lord of the Ring
http://aresmen.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Lord-of-the-Rings-Fellowship-of-the-Ring-Drinking-Game-610x225.jpg
Hey Deling!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your blog! I loved the way you incorporrated the history into your first song. It was really nice to be able to listen to the song and think about the hope that others feel while listening to it. I also really enjoyed your second song. It is intriguing to be able to hear exactly what you think when you hear that song. We had the same kind of thing through all of elementary and high school which I am sure you are aware of. Every morning we all stand and say the Pledge of Allegiance. We all just knew exactly what to do when the second bell would ring. It is really neat to be able to hear similiar things that happen in other countries. It must be such a great experience getting to come here from China. I really like how you still incorporate your home town into all of your writing. Overall I really enjoyed your blog and getting to hear about some of your countries traditions!
See you in class!
Haley Cook
Deling,
ReplyDeleteI have travelled all around the world with my father who is a photographer. Although I've always thought China would be an interesting place to visit, it's never been at the top of my list... until now. Our hometowns are extremely different and your description of China makes me want to visit and see it for myself! When you talked about the March, I thought it was interesting and intelligent how you compared it to the air defense warning. Your blog is extremely interesting to me, as I'm sure it is to the rest of the class, because our cultures are so different.
Maggie Katzman