Campus Ballads

Since the 1990s, under the influence of outside cultures, there has existed a new turn of cultural transformation in the Chinese mainland.

Among them the big changes in populace art has been the most attractive. From the appearance of campus ballads in the initial stage to the beginning of the present independent movie movement, people's desire and absorption for different foreign cultures have been manifested.

This article aims to demonstrate those changes to you, and show a ladder drawing of modern China's populace art development.

The Birth of Campus Ballads in Chinese Mainland

Campus ballads originated in Taiwan in the 1970s. Since the mid 1980s, it has existed on the mainland and has gradually become a special music phenomenon that at one point was immensely popular. In the beginning, campus ballads were prevalent at China's colleges; then following commercial successful commercial, the ballads became fashionable in the
whole society and inspired an impassioned resonance.

Campus ballads are a special kind of music phenomenon whose birth was closely related with the prevailing original mainland music and the influence of outside music. In the influence of the outside music, Taiwan campus songs have been the most direct and far-reaching one. Concerning the influence of the original music of the mainland, rock music has played an important role in the promotion of campus ballads. In addition, American-European pop music and China's folk music all have had a degree of influence on it.

Taiwan: Cradle of China Campus Ballads

A singer once said that Taiwan campus ballads are the mold for mainland campus ballads. Indeed, people can see the glamour and influential power of the Taiwan campus ballads. From Liu Wenzheng's "A Small Country Road" and "Penghuwan, My Grandmother's Home" to Luo Dayou's " Childhood," "Love Song 1980," and "Love Song 1990" and Li Zongsheng's " Spirit of life," Taiwan musicians and their works not only make valuable contributions to Taiwan's pop scene, but also have a great impact on campus ballads produced on the mainland.

Even today, large quantities of Taiwan campus ballads, which are so simple, fresh, and full of childish playfulness, are still echoing indistinctly in the heart of university students who grew up in the 1980s and 1990s.

The Promotional Power from Mainland Original Music

In 1986, Guo Feng, a famous music creator, introduced his song "Fill the World with Love," which marked the maturity of the mainland pop music. Later, two kinds of music emerged in the Chinese pop scene. One was folk-style music called "Northwestern Wind" (this kind of music consisted of musical verses from Northwest China). Another was Chinese rock, which made the pop circle find everything fresh and new.

In the late 1980s, Cui Jian (Chinese rock pioneer) released his fire album --"Rock and Roll on the Road of a New Long March" and held tour concerts by the same name, which ignited rock and roll in China. Cui's appearance was a milestone in Chinese rock and the whole Chinese pop music history.

Cui Jian conquered the heart of young people with his own works, and the most important influence he brought to mainland campus ballads was a kind of spirit.

Someone said, "Cui Jian is a scar of the 1960's, and a bleeding of the 1990s." With Cui's appearance, for the first time we heard the radical guitar sound on the campus, and the campus ballads entered a brand-new stage.

The Influence of American and European Music

The campus ballads have been also influenced by American and European pop music, including western folk rhymes in the 1960s; songs by the "Carpenters in the 1970s; songs by Michael Jackson, Madonna, and Paul Simon in the 1980s; and music by the "Beatles" in the early 1990s

Among them, what really have influenced the campus ballad creators are probably still some classical, lyrical old songs and slow songs, like "Sound Of Silence," "Country Road," "Five Hundred Miles," and "Yesterday Once More," and so on. This is because these classical songs are easy to sing and their melodies are easy to accept. Even now, some of these songs can still be heard on the campus radio of universities.

As for the Chinese folk music, because it is a kind of deep accumulation, it is very difficult to find any direct influence by it in songs. But the impact of Chinese folk music exists and hides in the deepest level of the songs.

Development of Campus Ballads in Mainland

Campus ballads first boarded on the mainland in the mid 1980's when, for the first time, guitarists who could both write and sing music began to appear on the campus of two of China's colleges. As this group grew in number, it became a common spectacle for college students then to spend their weekend nights sitting on the grass and singing campus ballads together.

In the beginning, mainland schools songs were usually written by boys to girls they admired, as way of expressing their love. Gradually, with also performing ballads, the recipients and topics of campus ballads have become wider and wider. The students not only sing to their classmates, but also to their teachers and families about not only love, but also their campus life.

In 1994, a tape named "Campus Ballads" became popular among university students. The songs on the tape were created by students from universities in Beijing and had soft and gentle melodies that left listeners with a leisurely and fresh mood.
The tape caused a strong sympathetic response among university students.

In the same year, another tape "Campus Without Enclosure" emerged. All of its songs were created and sung by the students of Beijing University . Soon, some of the tape's songs like "My Desk Mate," "White Dress Dancing," and "No Regret for My Youth" created a big influence on both the campus and society.

In Mainland China, campus ballads were once a part of school culture and were imbued with the dreams and passions of young people. However, this particular new culture phenomenon of campus ballads did not develope alongside people's preconception, which always develop new tastes over time. The popularity of campus ballads lasted only two years before succumbing to its superficiality.

In recent years, there haven't been too many campus ballads heard, nor have any more popular campus singers emerged. It seems like the campus ballads -- a music spirit in university students' mind, are already farther and farther from people.

Taiwan artist Li Zongsheng, who is called the Godfather of Taiwan music, said: "A beautiful song is easy to write, because the method, technology, and skill can be gotten easily. But the sincere song is rare." In such a commercially driven society, this sincerity is really estimable.

Important Figures for Chinese Mainland Campus Ballads

Gao Xiaosong

When talking about campus ballads, there are two soul-personas we cannot leave without mentioning: Gao Xiaosong and Lao Lang (old wolf). The former played an important role in the development of mainland campus ballads. He wrote many campus ballads and released his own created albums one after another: Campus Ballads Volume One and Campus Ballads Volume Two. Among them the most famous song was "My Desk Mate," which was a great hit single in the 1990s. Lao Lang was a famous campus ballads singer who sung many of Gao's songs. During those years, this golden pair produced several famous works of these kinds.

As for female singers, Ye Pei is typical. She was a vocal major who graduated from the Music Academy of China. By chance, she met Gao Xiaosong and began to cooperate with him in music.

Another notable figure in this field is Huang Xiaomao, a senior music producer and now the deputy president of Warner's Music in China. He first introduced "Campus Derry" to the mainland.

Huang Xiaomao

Instead of purely pursuing commercial profit, campus ballads musicians make the quality of the song their priority. They won't blindly cater to passing trends, and are reluctant to add commercially appeal to their creations. Just as Ye Pei once said, what she really wants is to produce more songs that are pleasant to the ears.

Nowadays, although the glory days of campus ballads have passed, the brief flame of the songs has left something to us. For one thing, it has encouraged more and more students to write original songs; for another thing, Gao Xiaosong's commercial success has helped promote the commercialization and industrialization of campus music.