Chinese younger generation rediscovers ancient poems roots in music

Classics never go out of date.

A piece of ancient Chinese poetry， which was written about 1，200 years ago， has recently become an online sensation among teenagers， after two young musicians composed a song for it.

Two days after a namesake song of the household ancient Chinese poem Song of a Pipa Player was posted on Bilibili， a popular video sharing website among the younger generation， it has already earned over 20，000 hits and some 1，300 comments.

Many teenagers liked and shared the five-minute song， saying that they finally found the “correct way” to recite the ancient Chinese poems.

The poem Song of a Pipa Player was written by Bai Juyi， a Chinese poet of the Tang Dynasty （618—907）. Consisting of over 600 characters， the poem is on the high school syllabus across China and is a must for the students to recite.

The composers of the song， named Qiran and Shenmiren online， are both online musicians. Qiran said he has been thinking of composing songs based on ancient poems since high school years. “I hated reciting poems during that time， so I made up some melodies to help， and it really helped，” said Qiran.

Ancient Chinese poems musical roots

However， the Chinese peoples passion for the poems as lyrics of songs is by no means accidental. The ancient Chinese poems could find their roots in music.

Tracing its origin， the ancient Chinese poems evolved from folklore. The Book of Songs， which is considered as the oldest existing collection of Chinese poetry， is said to be comprised of folk songs dating from the 11th to the 6th centuries B.C.

The poem， Song of a Pipa Player， was written in a Yuefu style， the name of which is derived from an ancient organization named “Music Bureau”.

Poet Bai Juyis works were widely welcomed even in his age for their unaffected and rhythmical style. Many singers at that time preferred to compose music for his poems and sing them out.

China has seen a rising tendency in rediscovering its traditional culture in recent years， especially among the younger generation. Since the beginning of this year， many variety shows featuring traditional culture have gone viral on Chinas social networks.

A number of original songs， videos and animations based on the ancient culture have increasingly attracted peoples attention in recent years， and most of their composers were born in the 1980s and 1990s.

Qiran and Shenmiren， composers of the Song of a Pipa Player， said their studio is planning to compose songs for most of the ancient poems and prose selected on the high school textbooks.

“It is a great pleasure to see so many high school students enjoying the song. If it helps them learn and recite the poems， we will continue to compose for sure，” said Qiran. “We hope that after listening to the whole album， they will get full marks in the Chinese examination，” he joked.

中國的年輕一代再次發(fā)現(xiàn)了古詩在音樂中的根源

經(jīng)典永不過時。

最近，一首1200年前所寫的中國古詩，在由兩個年輕音樂人為其譜曲后，通過網(wǎng)絡在年輕人中引起了轟動。

在這首家喻戶曉的古詩《琵琶行》的同名歌曲發(fā)布到嗶哩嗶哩（一個在年輕人中很流行的視頻分享網(wǎng)站）上兩天后，它就有了20000點擊量和1300條評論。

很多青少年都為這個時長五分鐘的歌曲點贊和分享。他們稱，自己終于找到了背古詩的正確方式。

《琵琶行》這首詩是中國唐代（618年—907年）詩人白居易寫的。它全篇共有600個字，是一首在全中國的高中教學大綱中都有的一首詩，并被要求學生們?nèi)勘痴b。

這首歌的作曲人的網(wǎng)名叫奇然和沈謐仁，他們倆都是線上音樂人。奇然說他從高中就開始打算以古詩作為基礎來譜曲了。他說道：“我那個時候很討厭背詩，所以就編了一些曲調(diào)來幫助自己記憶，而這真的很有效?！?/p>

古詩在音樂中的根源

不過，中國人對于把古詩當作歌詞的熱忱絕不是偶然。古詩在音樂中是有根源可尋的。

古詩究其根源，是從民間發(fā)展出來的?，F(xiàn)存最古老的中國詩集《詩經(jīng)》據(jù)稱是由公元前11世紀到前6世紀的民歌組成的。

《琵琶行》這首詩是樂府風格的，“樂府風格”這個詞就是從古代機構(gòu)“樂府”起源的。

詩人白居易的作品即便是在他那時候也是廣受歡迎的，因為他的作品不做作而富有韻律。那時候，很多樂師都樂于為他的詩譜曲、傳唱。

近年來，在中國，重新發(fā)現(xiàn)傳統(tǒng)文化有了上升的趨勢，特別是在年輕人中。從今年年初開始，很多主打傳統(tǒng)文化的綜藝節(jié)目都在中國的社交平臺上走紅。

這幾年來，許多基于古典文化的原創(chuàng)歌曲、視頻、動畫越來越吸引人們的注意，而這些作品的創(chuàng)作人很多是80后、90后。

奇然和沈謐仁，作為《琵琶行》的作曲人，說他們的工作室打算從高中課本的詩詞中選一大部分來進行譜曲。

奇然說道：“看到那么多高中生喜歡這首歌，我感到很開心。如果這能夠幫他們學習和背誦這些詩，我們一定會繼續(xù)譜曲的?！彼_玩笑道：“我希望他們在聽完整張專輯后，能夠在語文考試中拿到滿分?！?