Entering the 20th century, Chinese music started a new era.
With the implementation of "rescinding keju (old education and talent-selection system of ancient China) and promoting schools" and other "new political measures" and the"Suggestions on School Music,"the new education system was gradually rolled out across China. After 1912, the education administration of the Republic of China was concerned with the development of new school musiceducation,and its main purpose was to inspire patriotism in the people to realize “enriching the country and enhancing military force." Therefore, the main contents of the School Songs praised the victory of overthrowing the monarchy; calling for women's liberation,equality between men and women;military songs about"military and public education"; loving life and nature;advocating learning new culture and establishing a new vogue. In terms of professional music creation in China in the 20th century,the School Songs were the budding of modern song creation,also the embryo of modern professional music creation.
In 1919 with the emergence of the tide of the "May 4h” New Culture Movement, some music societies appeared in some large coastal cities and the influential new folk music communities were: the China Music Society established in Shanghai in 1919 and the Datong Music Society established in Shanghai in 1929. These societies mainly studied and performed Chinese xiqu and Chinese folk music,and at the same time also learn some western musical instruments and theories. The Datong Music Society proposed the idea of organizing a new type of folk band in their performance of ancient music and the experiment of folk music concerts,and created Chun Jiang Hua Yue Ye,Jiang Junling and other folk music concert pieces according to traditional folk music albums.In 1919 Peking University established a music institute,and hired LiuTianhua,Xiao Youmei,Chen Zhongzi,Wu Zhuosheng,Niu Lun(from the UK) and other famous musicians to provide guidance to members of the society, and the president Cai Yuanpei acted directly as the head.They compiled and published 15 issues of Music Magazine, which was the earliest music magazine formally published and issued in China. As a result,the creation of new types of music in China began, and various types of songs developed quickly.
A group of intellectuals who received western music education came back to China, disseminated music knowledge through music education, published books and conducted theoretical research on a new variety of music. Among them,Xiao Youmei, Wang Guangqi,and Zhao Yuanren made significant contributions to music creation and music theory research.
Xiao Youmei came back to Peking from San Francisco in March 1920, teaching and leading at the Music Practice and Teaching Institute of Peking University and the Music Department of the Peking Art Professional School.In 1927,he and Cai Yuanpei and others established the first formal higher professional music institute at Shanghai-the Shanghai National Music Academy. Xiao Youmei not only made important contributions to professional music education of China in the near-modern period, but also significant achievements in music creation and music science, and his main compositions were String Quartet, Serenade (written in 1916 as China's first ensemble work), piano piece Mourning March,orchestral piece New Nishang Yuyi Dance (the first piece of orchestra music written according to a western format in China), a cello piece Thoughts in Autumn,Questions, and Patriotic Songs to Memorize May 4",altogether more than 100 musical works. His main musicological works include Schedule of Harmonics,Ordinary Music School,A Comparative Study of Chinese and Western Music,and so on.
During his life,Wang Guangqi wrote a lot of introductory and research works about Chinese and foreign music.His representative works are: Music Life of the Germans,Western Music and Opera,Music of Oriental Nations,On Classical Chinese Opera, and so forth. Many of his books have an initiative and creative nature,expressing his musical thoughts to give way to the social function of music, educate human minds and carry forward a patriotic spirit.
Zhao Yuanren was a world-renowned linguist and composer, creating a new epoch of China's near-modern music.During his career he composed more than 100 pieces of music compiled in Collection of New Poetry, Collection of Songs for Children's Day and Collection of Public Education Songs,among others.He combined wester traditional harmonics with the Chinese national style very well,and utilized them into piano accompaniment,and paid attention to the depiction of music images and moods as well as toes,and tunes of lyrics.His representative works are:Selling-cloth Song,Song of Labor,Weaving,How Can I Not Miss Him,Going up the Mountain,Listening to the Rain,Punting on the River Song and the choral work,Tunes of Sea,which became a lasting popular music repertoire in concerts.
