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First Sino-Japanese War
The First Sino-Japanese War, or the First China–Japan War forced China to open its door to the foreign world. The war was declared in August, 1894. By March 1895 the Japanese successfully invaded the northeastern China. China ended up suing for peace. As a result, China agreed to pay a large indemnity and to give Japan trading privileges on Chinese territory. Music technology did not exist in the late 19th, early 20th century because of China's isolation from the rest of the world. -
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Boxer Rebellion
After China's defeat in the first China-Japan War, a reform movement that attempted to renovate the government was triggered, known as the Boxer Rebellion because many of its members practiced Chinese martial arts. The movement was an anti-foreign, anti-imperialist, and anti-Christian uprising in North China between 1899 and 1901. -
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First Record Company in China
The Moudeli Foreign Company was the first company that developed recorded music business during this early period in China. The Company was mainly engaged in the trade of phonographs, records and pianos in Shanghai and was owned by a British business man. -
Eight-Nation Alliance
China’s defeat in the China-Japan War also encouraged the Western powers to make further demands of the Chinese government. After Boxers had killed Chinese Christians and Westerners, an international relief force was dispatched to stop the attacks, knowns as the Eight-Nation Alliance. The allied forces consisting of about 45,000 troops from the eight nations of Germany, Japan, Russia, Britain, France, the United States, Italy, and Austria-Hungary invaded northern China in 1900. -
Open Door Policy
As a result of Boxer Rebellion's defeat by the Eight-Nation Alliance, a statement of U.S. foreign policy toward China, known as the Open Door Policy was issued by US secretary of state John Hay. The statement reaffirmed the principle that all countries should have equal access to any Chinese port open to trade. This policy was the initiative for China to open itself to the rest of the world, slowly introducing Western music and recording technology to China. -
The Earliest Gramophone Recording in China
The Victor Talking Machine Company (VTMC) in the U.S. sent Fred Gaisberg, one of the earliest recording experts to China, Japan, India, and other East-Southern Asian countries to record local music in 1902. During the Asian trip, he made 1,700 different records of regional and local music styles. In March 1903, Gaisberg came to Shanghai to make the first recordings of Chinese music, which marks the starting point of China’s recorded music industry. -
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Record Companies after 1910 in China
Two dominant record companies are ‘The Shanghai Eastern Pathé’ and ‘The Shanghai Victory’. Both were owned and managed by Western major music companies – ‘Pathé’ was a label of British Columbia Graphophone and ‘The Shanghai Victory’ of U.S. Victor Talking Machine. 'The Greater China', a local record company, also played a leading role in the recorded music industry in this period. Due to this rapid development, China’s recorded music industry boomed during the 1930s and 1940s. -
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First World War
World War I, an international conflict that in 1914–18 embroiled most of the nations of Europe along with Russia, the United States, the Middle East, and other regions. In 1912, China was a wobbly republican state led by military general Yuan Shikai replaced the imperial system of governance. During WWI, the Chinese people suffered political chaos, economic weakness, and social misery. -
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Shidaiqu
Mandopop, also known as shidaiqu "music of the time", was the most popular form of pop music throughout China in the 1920s, '30s and ‘40s. Shanghai remained the center of the pop music industry. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLq52hTwgLhvNHp4V6AsjmO19Es4slilR6 -
China's first radio station
In Winter 1922, American journalist E. G. Osborn established the first radio broadcast station in China, a 50 watt radio tower located on the rooftop of Robert Dollar Building on Guangdong Road, Shanghai. Osborn had a business partner Zeng Jun, a Chinese living in Japan, and they formed the Radio Corporation of China, registered as an American company to sell radio receivers in Shanghai. -
Drizzle
"Drizzle" 毛毛雨 was one of the earliest pop songs that was preserved using recording technology. The song is a jazzy 1927 composition by acclaimed composer and bandleader Li Jinhui (1891-1967), who is sometimes called the "father" of modern Chinese popular music. This recording by his daughter, Li Minghui (1901-2003), became a hit and made her a household name. Li Minghui, who also went by Dawn Li, was a singer, stage performer, musician, and film star. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79zF8rtPmIk -
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Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and the forces of the Chinese Communist Party, with armed conflict continuing intermittently from 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949, resulting in a Communist victory and control of mainland China in the Chinese Communist Revolution. -
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Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War, also known as the Second China–Japan War and the Chinese War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, was fought between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan from 1937 to 1945 as part of World War II. -
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Second World War
The Second World War had a huge and far-reaching impact on society and technology globally. As a part of the Second World War, the second China-Japan War slowed down the development of recording technology in China. -
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China's first official radio station
On Dec. 30th, 1940 Yan'an Xinhua radio station started broadcasting in Yan'an, Northwest China. Radio played an important role in the Chinese Civil War. Later, radio became a tool for entertainment in Chinese people's lives. -
The founding of the People's Republic of China
On October 1, 1949, Chinese Communist leader Mao Zedong declared the creation of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The announcement ended the costly full-scale civil war between the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the Nationalist Party, or Kuomintang (KMT). -
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Chinese pop music in 1950s
The Second Sino-Japanese War and the rise of the Chinese Communist Party in 1949 sent shockwaves through the Chinese entertainment industry. When the Communists began censuring pop music in 1950, the music business fled Shanghai for British-ruled Hong Kong. -
Drizzle in Mandopop on video
This is Drizzle, same song heard early in the timeline, but in '50s Mandopop style. The video was from the 1959 Hong Kong musical/film "Dragon and Phoenix Dance" in Mandarin, or "Calendar Girl" in English. Recording business and technology started to bloom outside of mainland China in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Macau. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Je-d_1zAxIE -
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Chinese Cultural Revolution
China's Cultural Revolution was a decade-long period of political and social chaos caused by Mao Zedong’s bid to use the Chinese masses to reassert his control over the Communist party. During this ten-year period—sometimes referred to as the decade of catastrophe—senior artists, especially ink painters, were subjected to public humiliation and sometimes torture, and their homes and artworks were seized and destroyed. Chinese musician was forced to cut ties with Western music influence. -
Nixon Visits China
President Nixon's trip to China in 1972 ended twenty-five years of isolation between the United States and the People's Republic of China (PRC) and resulted in establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 1979. Nikon also brought new technology to China. -
Yema YM-8501 Synthesizer
The Yema YM-8501 "Wild Horse" is one of the earliest synths made in China after a Moog synth was introduced to Chinese officials during Nixon’s exchange visits. It didn't have quite the functionality of the synthesizers of that era, but it’s an instrument manufactured for the masses in China. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oahqq9OEGvk&t=189s -
First Chinese Synth (Demonstration and Performance)
Tian Jinqin invented China's first electronic instrument in 1978 called Dan Zi Qin, which translates to Electronic Keyboard, an analog ribbon control string synthesizer. The following video shows the demonstration of the instruments and the kind of repertoire that the instrument is capable of playing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hH92-r7VwPY -
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China's Economic Reform
1978 marks the beginning of the Chinese economic reform, also known as reform and opening-up, which refers to a variety of economic reforms termed "socialism with Chinese characteristics" and "socialist market economy" in the People's Republic of China. The idea was to move toward opening even larger sections of the country to foreign trade and investment, which was accomplished with remarkable success over the next decades. Music industry in China started to bloom again. -
Sony Walkman
Walkman is a brand of portable audio players manufactured and marketed by Japanese company Sony since 1979. The original Walkman started out as a portable cassette player and the brand was later extended to serve most of Sony's portable audio devices; since 2011 it consists exclusively of digital flash memory players. -
'80s Chinese Cantopop Song - The Bund
The Bund is a Hong Kong drama television series, first broadcast on TVB in 1980.The theme song, which shares the same Chinese title as the series was performed by Frances Yip, also became a memorable Cantopop hit. Cantopop and Mandopop both use Western rock and pop instruments like electric guitars and keyboards. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unGT-enOrqw -
Medeli
Medeli is an electronic musical instrument developer and manufacturer founded in Hong Kong in 1983. They also set factories in mainland China and mass produced electronic keyboard that became accessible to most middle-class Chinese families. -
Journey to the West (1986 TV series)
Journey to the West is a Chinese television series adapted from the classic 16th-century novel of the same title. The first 11 episodes of the series were first broadcast on CCTV in China on 1 October 1986. The series became an instant classic in China and was praised for being one of the most original and faithful interpretations. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VGXMgXRWTE https://youtu.be/WGlMqCyBFd0?si=WBpxLMyqruOhxQjI&t=2122 -
Combined Stereo-speaker Unit
This speaker unit was my parents' wedding gift from my grandparents. It can play Cassette tapes and LP records in stereo. It was manufactured by a Chinese audio company called Shenle. -
Internet in China
Use of internet began in 1994 (year I was born) in China. Almost entirely in urban China. -
Portal Cassette Players
In the middle of '90s, portal cassette players started appearing in the Chinese market. They were mostly knockoffs of Sony's Walkman. -
BBK DVD Player
DVD players become popular in many households. Our DVD player was made by BBK Electronics. It was a leading Chinese consumer electronics brand specialized in audio and video equipment, home entertainment products. -
My First Electronic Keyboard
In 1999, I had my first electronic keyboard, branded Medeli, a Chinese Electronic Instrument Company. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADledms007w -
Online Music Business
‘9Sky’ and the ‘A8 Music Group’ were the first music companies that started their online music business in 1999 and mobile music business in 2000 respectively; these two years mark the emergence of the commercial online and mobile music business in China. Musicians were encouraged to record their original songs because of the flourishing business. -
Baidu Company
Baidu is a Chinese multinational technology company specializing in Internet-related services, products, and artificial intelligence (AI), headquartered in Beijing's Haidian District. It is one of the largest AI and Internet companies in the world. Baidu offers various services, including a Chinese search engine, as well as a music streaming service called Baidu Music that allows creators to upload their music to the server. It functions similarly to SoundCloud. -
Jay Chou
Actor, rapper, director, and singer Jay Chou has sold more than 30 million records worldwide, earning him the title “King of Mandopop.” His unique singing style—an under-enunciated drawl—and penchant for merging Eastern and Western influences and modern and ancient subjects in his recordings has made him a magnet for critical scrutiny and fan devotion. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-biOGdYiF-I -
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Modern Chinese Popular Music
Modern Chinese pop superstar like Jay Chou, GEM, and Xu Song all use electronic instruments like electric guitar, synths, mastering devices in the creative process of their music. -
MP3 Player
In 2005, I had my first MP3 player. -
Copyright against Baidu Music
The ‘Chinese Music Copyright Society’, the ‘Chinese Audio-Visual Copyright Society’, and the ‘International Federation of the Phonographic Industry’ issued a joint statement in 2008 to oppose Baidu’s operations. -
Apple in China
The first Apple store in China mainland opened in July 2008 in Sanlitun, Beijing. Apple began marketing the iPhone in China in late 2009. As of 2022, there were 43 Apple stores in mainland China, second most in the world. -
Electric Guqin with example videos
The electronic guqin was first developed in the late 20th century by adding electric guitar–style magnetic pickups to a regular acoustic guqin, allowing the instrument to be amplified through an instrument amplifier or PA system.
Eletric Guqin solo performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vh8tCtY0Wgk Electric Guqin Music Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEtr6JJJbz-8aSJCGfeFhGmVjMpg5TyYO Electric Guqin TedTalk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzET28FRE00 -
Xu Song
Xu Song (Chinese: 许嵩), English name "Vae", is a Chinese musician. He was born in Hefei, Anhui Province, on 14 May 1986.After graduating from college, Vae spent about half a year preparing his first personal CD. Jan 10th, 2009 a CD named Personalize (自定义) came out.[2] Vae did all of the work personally, including composing, writing, recording and so on. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWEWyewO3mg -
G.E.M.
A singing competition champion from an early age, G.E.M. parlayed her vocal talents into a successful music career, which began with three albums in her native Cantonese. A second-place win on the singing competition program Singer (formerly called I Am a Singer) in 2018 helped her gain widespread exposure in Greater China. Her Mandopop debut, Heartbeat, generated a slew of Top 10 singles on Chinese charts.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDR-e3W6ARc -
Donner
Founded in 2012, Donner Music is a Chinese musical instrument manufacturer that has gained significant popularity in recent years for producing inexpensive guitars, pedals, and other musical instruments. Silent Guitars - Hush-I and Hush-X. They are cool! -
Douyin/TikTok
TikTok, whose mainland Chinese counterpart is Douyin, is a short-form video hosting service owned by ByteDance. TikTok became a global phenomenal since the COVID pandemic. -
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COVID
China's Zero-Covid Policy began closing its door to the world.
