A Tour of the Mountain and Folk Music

Every spring and summer, farmers and herders, the old and young in Gansu, Qinghai, and other provinces in northwest China look forward to their grand folk music fair. In those areas, taking a tour of the mountain is called langshan and singing traditional folk songs is called man huar. Touring the mountain to the music fair is ＂a must see＂ for all the local people!     

TheMany Sounds of Civilization

<正>British-American historian Bernard Lewis famously condemned Arab and Islamic civilization for not having a polyphonic sense of music,even accusing them of accepting totalitarian ideologies and regimes because of their taste for"monophonic"music.That is,having one single singer with all the music following the ups and downs of his or her voice.Polyphonic music,by contrast,is when a piece of music has two or more independent melodies in it.As for the related notion of counterpoint,this is from many voices present in the chorus of a classical Greek drama and a reference to the coordination evident in choir singing.     

THE ELE GANCE OF QUYI——The Fourth Quyi Showcase of Chinese Ethnic Minority Groups

The history and tradition of Quyi （storytelling with music and periormance） are among the longest and most profound of China＇s folk art forms. Having evolved over centuries and centuries from folk oral literature and singing, Quyi is the catch-all name of various ＂art forms of talking and singing＂ in China. For millennia Quyi has been the vehicle by which Chinese people of whatever ethnic group have expressed their way of life and revealed their inner feelings.     

彝人制造:来自大凉山的声音（英文）

正Yiren Zhizao(Made by Nuosu Yi)is the earliest,most accomplished band of the Yi from Liangshan.Their original,direct melodies led the music parade of their era.A minority singing group from the mountains that formed shortly after China’s reform and opening up,the band produced on stage a cool Yi style that will be dif?cult for successors to surpass.     

夜郎布依演唱组合:因爱而聚（英文）

正A high-level singing group is devoted to a type of traditional performance art of the Bouyei ethnic group in Guizhou Province.Their sound has nourished the love of traditional music among this minzu group,and now they are bringing Bouyei music to others.——Editor"Performing Bayin by Sitting"is a Bouyei traditional music form so honored as a"living fossil of song"     

Reinventing Culture

Singer puts a modern musical face on ancient cultural classics In traditional loose sleeved Chinese costume and a hairstyle straight from ancient China, a slim female singer stepped onto the stage, singing a wistful song called Li. "Li is respect, Li is elegance, Li is purity, Li is tranquility; Li comes from a smile, Li comes from love, Li comes from the heart," she sings, accompanied by a melody of haunting court music. The singer is appearing on CCTV, China's National TV station, in a music program aired during the 2008 Olympic Games.     

Carry on the Tradition of Chinese Music

ON a freezing Saturday morning,nine-year-old Tongtong and her mother made their way to flute class at the Orange Tree,an art training company in central Beijing.She has attended it every week for over a year,and has never missed a lesson.As the gale howled outside,the training center filled with students preparing for their music classes.Traditional Musical Instruments:a New Trend When the Orange Tree was founded in 2011,traditional Chinese instruments were not part of the curriculum.Instead it offered classes in singing and Western instruments.As more and more parents requested classes in Chinese instruments,the company opened courses on     

Dolan Muqam and Dolan Meshref：Dolan People＇s Romantic Ideals

Dolan Muqam and Dolan Meshref music and dance seem to have brought people back to the Bronze Age because what happened to Dolan ancestors seems to have resurfaced. Dolan people＇s struggles and aspirations to conquer nature and change the environment, as well as their romantic thoughts and feelings are freeze-framed at the very beginning of the music and dance.     

PEOPLE & POINTS

Super Girl in Taiwan Li Yuchun, winner of the 2005 Super Girl singing contest, an American Idol-like competition for young women, finally saw her super powers, which had captured hearts of millions of teenage girls across China, reach their limit. During a recent five-day trip to perform in Taiwan, Li, who enjoys great popularity among Taiwan's young people with her notably boyish appearance, masculine stage presence and bold personality, was permitted to sing, but not talk, in public. In     

Font of Music Prodigies

The credit for the success of budding Chinese virtuosos goes to both music educators and the parents that encourage their talented offspring to excel.     

Incidentals

The Master-of-Nets Garden has characteristic night scenery. From March 15 to November 20, it is open to visitors in the evenings. Apart from viewing the garden by night, visitors can also enjoy performances full of local color, such as pingtan (story telling and ballad singing in Suzhou dialect), music played on the guzheng (zither-like musical instruments), and Kunqu Opera.     

Dolan Harvest Festival Rages in the Oasis

A vast desert surrounds and an endless sea of Euphrates poplars decorates the Dolan＇s hometown of Makit. The terrain reflects the character of its inhabitants, straightforward, passionate and bold. When times get tough, singing and dancing become an essential form of coping in Dolan people＇s lives and an event called Meshref or ＂harvest festival＂ takes place featuring music, poetry and dance. When Dolan Muqam arises at the event, the oasis transforms to the hottest spot in the desert.     

Ancient Chinese Beauty-Blessings and Curses

CHINA has been home to a myriad of beautiful women throughout the ages, and differing standards of beauty account for its wide aesthetic scope. Some women were lauded for their dancing or singing skills, others for their virtuous nature, and still others for their involvement in political intrigue.     

Pitch Perfect

Reality show hits the highest notes of traditional Chinese music It was percussionist Li Zhuowen’s first appearance on Guoyue Dadian,a reality competition and grand celebration of China’s national music scene.The show’s hashtag has garnered nearly 300 million views on social media platform Weibo.And Li chose to make the most of its engulfing popularity—by making a bold statement.     

ENTERTAINMENT GENERATION

China has the largest population of young netizens in the world, but they turn to the Internet mostly to play games Step into any Internet cafe in China and you are bound to see this sight: rows of young faces, their eyes fixed on computer screens, earphones over their heads, their fingers moving rapidly on the keyboards. A chorus of mouse clicks provides the background music. Take a closer look and you will see guns shooting, grenades exploding, monsters     

From Lullaby to Requiem

The Kirghiz love folk songs. As infants, they listen to their mothers singing lullabies and learn to sing folk songs as they themselves get a little older. They use songs to express their feelings to their sweethearts, to sing their joys and sorrows, their loves and hates, to say goodbye to the living and a final farewell to the dead. When someone dies,     

Two Sisters Visit“Mother”

On the early morning of 2003 New Year's Day, Li Daolei and his wife got breakfast ready and then woke up their two daughters from a deep sleep. After the breakfast, the family of four went aboard a coach traveling from Jiaozuo in central China's Henan Province to the provincial capital Zhengzhou. Li and his wife would help their two daughters fulfill their wish—to visit their "mother" at the Zhengzhou Center for Street Urchin Protection. As the coach was speeding along the highway against the cold wind. thonghts and emotions surged through the couple's minds like the tides. Watching their simple and lovely daughters who appeared eager to see "mother", they recalled what happened six months ago. Years passed since Li's ex-wife died. She left him a daughter, Caixia, who is now 14 years old. On the evening of July 27, 2002, Caixia talked back to her stepmother because of a trifle. The father blamed the daughter: So, Caixia harbored a grudge against the couple and vowed to "teach them a lesson".     

Special Basketball Player

Li Qing, the Beijing Mentally Challcngcd Basketball Tcam guard, plays under the same number as NBA star Kobe - eight. Li and his team enjoy their lives to the full, particularly playing basketball. Their favorite topics of conversation are computer games and NBA stars. Studying and playing basketball are the epicenter of Li Qing's life. At the training ground, a two hour drive from his home, demands on Li and the rest of the team are as strict as for any sports team. The     

BEYOND BEYOND BEYOND

IN 1983, a band in Hong Kong named itself Beyond, and along with hundreds of other newly formed bands, tried to make their name in the world of music. Two decades later, in August 2003, they came to Beijing, on their BEYOND BEYOND BEYOND tour, marking the first stadium concert on China's mainland since SARS.     

Resounding Music Within the High Walls

The No. 4 Prison in Yunnan Province is resounded with beautiful music every day, striking the note of the care about the cultural life among the inmates inside the high walls. The prison organized the orchestra in October 1999. Despite the tight pocket of the prison, it spent nearly 20,000 yuan buying electronic organs, guitars, drums, violins, saxophones and trumpets and later to the orchestra were added such Chinese musical instruments as Sheng, Gu Zheng, Piba and clarinet. Now the orchestra boasts 53 pieces of musical instruments in 22 categories. The members of the orchestra have increased from the original 23 to 29. The name of the orchestra "Concern" signifies that the prison needs the understanding and support from the society and prison inmate needs social care and assistance in their correction. At the beginning, few of the members knew anything about music. The prison