Zhou Xuan, also known as "Zhou Yongxuan", is a young soprano singer, a national first-class actor, a new top ten soprano singer in China, a director of the China Overseas Friendship Association, the president of the Hong Kong International Music Exchange Promotion Association, the honorary president of the Hong Kong Women's United Association from all walks of life, and the vice chairman of the Hong Kong Cultural Promotion Association. In the music industry, Zhou Xuan is known as the "new generation of golden voice" with its sweet voice, wide range and infectious emotional singing. Recently, the reporter interviewed Zhou Xuan in Beijing and conducted in-depth exchanges on her efforts to go from the mainland to Hong Kong and devote herself to promoting the internationalization and popularity of folk songs and the exchange of national music. "As a literary and art worker who came to Hong Kong from the mainland, I am very willing to work hard to promote the exchange of national music between the two places, and I hope to use this to promote the realization of 'a hundred flowers' in the field of music culture in our country." Talking about his musical dreams, Zhou Xuan said seriously and firmly.
CiRcling performed at her special concert (image courtesy of interviewee)
The combination of East and West and the collision of ancient and modern make national music refreshing
Reporter: One of the characteristics of your artistic career is that you have made bold attempts at folk song innovation and achieved excellent results. Can you talk about how you introduced today's popular elements into traditional folk songs, and what you did in terms of transforming and innovating folk songs?
Zhou Xuan: After thousands of years of development, traditional Chinese music has accumulated the artistic wisdom and creative ability of various ethnic groups, and it can be said that it has a distinct national color and personality. I have to admit that young people nowadays prefer pop music. Therefore, in order to let more people understand and love national music, I have made a lot of bold attempts and innovations over the years. My masterpiece "Jasmine Tonight" is an adaptation of the familiar "Jasmine", combining this Chinese folk song with the classic singing section of the Italian opera "Turandot", so that this traditional Chinese folk song has a little more charm and collides with a different spark. When I brought this song to Hong Kong, Macao, Europe, the United States and other parts of the world, many friends and listeners expressed their liking after listening to it, and involuntarily sang it. In private conversations, they also sincerely lamented how beautiful Chinese national music was. These praises are a great encouragement to me, and even more a great encouragement.
Although I am engaged in the career of singing, I also have a unique love for our opera national essence, and have tried Huangmei opera, Yue opera, Peking Opera and other dramas on some TV programs, and also tried to combine different dramas and songs. "Pear Blossoms Open Again" is a popular song that has been re-adapted and incorporated with some Elements of Peking Opera, making this song refreshing again. This fusion of traditional and innovative music creation can not only meet the understanding of songs by listeners of multiple ages, but also help to deepen the understanding of traditional Chinese culture among foreign friends.
Mentor Jin Tielin helped Zhou Xuan to become more determined and confident in his art
Reporter: It is reported that you studied under the famous music educator Mr. Jin Tielin, what guidance and help did Mr. Jin give you on your growth path?
Zhou Xuan: I was born on the shore of Xizi Lake in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, and my mother is a music teacher, so I grew up in a family surrounded by a musical atmosphere. My mother once told me that when I was very young, I liked to hum songs with her. Influenced by my mother, I sang on stage at the age of three or four, and since then I have been especially enjoying the feeling of performing on stage.
I had the privilege of meeting Mr. Jin Tielin in 2003, and when I was a master's student at the China Conservatory of Music, my mentor was also Jin Tielin. In the industry, Mr. Jin is highly respected and tireless, and he has cultivated many excellent singers in his years of hard work, and Mr. Jin is both my mentor and friend.
Mr. Jin's teaching is a process of oral teaching, he can not only discover my voice characteristics, but also grasp the characteristics to make it my strengths and characteristics, helping me to gradually become more confident and determined in the process of learning. Not only that, he often taught us that in the end, to engage in art, we must first learn to be human, and then we can sing well. Now I am also fortunate to be a teacher, because I am also a visiting professor at the School of Media and International Culture of Zhejiang University, or a visiting professor at Hangzhou Dianzi University, including the ZhouXuan Art Center established in Hong Kong, and I have also taught many young people and children in Hong Kong who love music, hoping that I can pass on what I have learned to more people, so that more people can learn and love music and art.
From reading to now, I feel very happy to be able to do my favorite singing work. I have always been very grateful and grateful to my mentor, Mr. Jin Tielin, for my artistic achievements today.
Efforts were made to promote national music exchanges between the Mainland and Hong Kong
Reporter: As a well-known young singer in China or the president of the Hong Kong International Music Exchange Promotion Association, what do you think are the characteristics of the performance markets in the two places?
Zhou Xuan: In fact, no matter what kind of musical form of performance, it is to bring beautiful artistic enjoyment to the audience. "Scientific, national, artistic, and epochal" are the characteristics of national music. National music creation requires both retaining commonality and creating individuality, keeping pace with the times while conforming to the aesthetics of the big cockroach, and integrating emotions into music. Most folk songs are created by the people in their daily lives and labor, like "Tea Picking Dance" is sung by the tea picking girls who are working, which can be said to be the crystallization of collective wisdom. Hong Kong pop songs have obvious regional cultural characteristics, which is a beautiful color on this "Pearl of the Orient". Hong Kong is a multicultural city, inclusive and rich in foreign cultures. In the Hong Kong performance market, you can often see some foreign song and dance performances, but there are not many mainland cultural performances, and I feel that there is a lot of artistic space for promoting Chinese music in Hong Kong, and I am willing to make personal efforts for this.
Reporter: Your first solo concert was held in Hong Kong, how do you think more Hong Kong citizens can accept and love China's national music?
Zhou Xuan: I founded the Zhou Xuan Art Center in Hong Kong, and later the Hong Kong International Music Exchange Promotion Association. Over the years, I have been actively working to bring together many famous artists and educators at home and abroad, hoping to create a high-quality platform to disseminate Chinese music. I have given a number of solo concerts in Hong Kong, and in recent years I have led students to give teacher-student concerts in Hong Kong. I hope that through holding performances, competitions, various forms of lectures, etc., more young people in Hong Kong can understand Chinese national music, so that they can feel the charm of art, feel the cultural cohesion and the profundity of traditional Chinese culture. As a literary and art worker who has come from the mainland to Hong Kong, I am very willing to work hard to promote the exchange of national music between the mainland and Hong Kong, and I hope to promote the "blossoming of a hundred flowers" in the field of music culture in China.
Walking around into poor areas to teach children to play musical instruments (Image courtesy of interviewees)
Use the power of music to convey the warmth of public welfare
Reporter: Over the years, whether in the mainland or Hong Kong, you have participated in a large number of public welfare and charity activities.
Zhou Xuan: All along, I have been doing some of my own best, hoping to do my part in public welfare and charity.
One of my representative works is "Stars Without the Sky", the background of this song is that when I performed in poor areas such as Guizhou and Gansu, I learned that there are many left-behind children in the local area, most of whom are accompanied by grandparents, lacking the complete childhood of their parents, and many children do not even have the conditions to go to school. Therefore, in order to make the society pay attention to the people in these poor areas, focus on rural public welfare and the education of children in poor areas, I co-songwriters created this song "Stars Without Sky". With this song, we have walked into welfare homes and autistic children's groups many times to convey warmth, hoping to use the power of music to help them face life positively and bravely ride the wind and waves.
At the same time, I am also doing natural welfare, serving as the image ambassador of "Green China", leading by example to practice the concept of environmental protection in life. During the special period of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, in addition to donating donations, donating ventilators, etc., I also led my students to sing many songs online, hoping to add spiritual strength to the fight against the epidemic.
Reporter: In the next period of time, what are your work arrangements? If you were to send a message to young readers, what would you most like to say?
Zhou Xuan: Recently, I have been working intensely with directors Mr. Gao Zhisen and Mr. Huang Baiming to prepare the musical "Tianya Song Girl". Since I started my career as an artist, many people who mention my name will think of Zhou Xuan, a movie star and singer who was very popular in the 1930s and 1940s. In the musical "Tianya Song Girl", I really had the honor of playing Zhou Xuan and interpreting her legendary life for everyone. This is a very highly anticipated play, and I hope to be able to present it to you as soon as possible.
The current young generation has a very high comprehensive quality and a wide range of knowledge, and will certainly be able to have a more brilliant future. As for the message, this is an era of developed networks, and I think as long as a person has a dream, he must adhere to it. Whether it is a young person who likes to sing, or loves dance and rap, try to create good works and display them through the Internet, maybe the opportunity will come. I wish everyone that they can achieve what they want, fly higher and higher, and go farther and farther.
Zhou Xuan and her students participated in the "Beautiful China" Hong Kong charity performance (Image courtesy of interviewee)
Interview afterword
In the interview, Zhou Xuan's persistent pursuit and love of national music made people moved. Although her artistic path has blossomed, she still maintains high requirements for her spiritual world and acting career. Zhou Xuan held a total of 8 personal concerts, published "Colorful", "On the Side of the Water", "Lotus", "My Heart is Flying", "West Lake on Earth", "Sail" and other 10 solo albums, representative works include "West Lake on Earth", "More want to sing a song for you", "People's Wishes", "Tonight Jasmine" and so on. She strives for every show, every album, every concert. In addition to her innate musical talent and acquired musical achievements, she also has the intrinsic qualities of humility, rigor and sincerity. This is an important reason why Zhou Xuan has not only won high recognition from the mainland and Hong Kong performing arts circles, but also been loved and respected by fans at home and abroad.
Blessings swirl around, all the way to the song, and constantly climb new artistic peaks! (Wen | Bauhinia magazine reporter Wei Dongsheng)