At 5 p.m. on April 12, Xu Guanjie, a 71-year-old "god of song", held a special concert. In order to cheer up Hong Kong under the epidemic, Xu Guanjie broadcast live on the Internet for the first time, and made an exception to leave a concert video for everyone to watch.
Hui Guanjie sang 20 classic Cantonese pop songs to the online audience of 2.25 million people, as if returning to the glorious era of Hong Kong Cantonese culture. This concert not only excited a group of parents, but also made the post-90s and post-00s who did not understand that era re-examine Cantonese pop songs:
01
Start the legend of the era of Cantonese song popularity
Before Hui Guanjie, there were no Cantonese pop songs.
The University of Hong Kong commented on Hui Guanjie in its centennial school song introduction: "Hui Guanjie boldly injected Cantonese into Western rock and pop music in the 1970s, literally creating a new language of pop music. His songs not only make an enterprising sound, but also compose the tribulations and trials of the general public with a keen perspective. Since then, they have become the musical imprint of a generation. “
Before the 1970s, the public listened to either English songs or Chinese songs, and if they wanted to listen to Cantonese songs, they also listened to Cantonese opera and Cantonese songs. The former is common in entertainment venues such as nightclubs, while the latter is mainly in tea houses and tea houses. Cantonese songs are unpopular and vulgar in the minds of the public, and they cannot be put on the table.
Young people in the 60s loved rock 'n' roll and were keen to "clip Bands", and their idols were the Beatles and Elvis Presley.
In 1964, the Beatles performed in Hong Kong in an advertisement, Picture Source Network
In 1974, the TV series "Laughing at marriage" can be said to be an important symbol of the popularity of Cantonese songs. This TVB TV series theme song, which integrates Cantonese opera, Classical Chinese lyrics and European and American pop songs, has begun a new school of music with Cantonese lyrics + popular tunes, promoting the popularity of Cantonese songs from the TV media, but it has not yet completely broken free from the shackles of Cantonese opera.
Laughing at the marriage of Xiandula - Gu Jiahui Master Classic Concert
Graph source network
It was not until the arrival of Xu Guanjie and his "Tower Over the Clouds" and "Ghost Horse Double Star" that Cantonese pop songs officially opened the mode of "sweeping" the song world.
"Tower Over the Clouds" makes the public know that Cantonese songs can also be very elegant, tearing off the label of "vulgar songs" in the hearts of the public, while "Ghost Horse Double Star" is very bold to use humorous vernacular filler words, and generously interprets and disseminates them through the mass media.
Ou Ruiqiang mentioned Xu Guanjie in the interview, and the source of the picture is green orange
A report once asked Xu Guanjie a question: "You have made so many lyrics, some people say that your lyrics seem to be a little too vulgar, what do you think?" ”
He replied: "In fact, Cantonese colloquialisms have many uses, and I admit that some of the lyrics seem to be too clichéd, but if they are not sung naturally, the crepe is not unusual." Therefore, the lyrics that could have been changed, I think singing in Cantonese colloquialisms, can increase the sense of intimacy. ”
Starting with Hui Guanjie, Cantonese pop songs really became popular. The Hong Kong music scene began to compose Cantonese songs in an all-round way, and a large number of Cantonese descendants with great influence in the future continued to grow. It can be said that without Xu Guanjie's bold and courageous attempts, the golden age of Cantonese culture would not have been able to begin.
The Kings of the 80s, The Source Network
Ge Yin Lin Zixiang said that he was most impressed by "Double Star Love Song", because he was still studying in foreign countries at that time, he had always sung in English, never knew what it was like to sing in Cantonese, and this song finally allowed him to sing in front of foreigners in his own language.
And Beyond's Huang Jiaju was also deeply influenced by "Half a Pound, Eight Two". Because of this song, he came into contact with the guitar and later formed Hong Kong's premier hall band.
Tam also often states that his only idol is Hui Guanjie. In this online concert, he even tried to "call" for his idol on Weibo.
"Song God" Jacky Cheung even said: "I don't think there is anyone superstar in front of Asam. “
It is precisely because of the emergence of The Founding Father Hui Guanjie that Hong Kong pop music will become a popular weather vane in the whole of Asia in the 1980s and 1990s, and Cantonese culture has also followed the output of songs, affecting the culture and life of many generations of young people in many countries in an all-round way.
02
Numerous classics that are still difficult to surpass
Hui Guanjie is known as the "god of song" by Hong Kong people. In addition to his outstanding singing skills, he is also an excellent lyricist. He composed 170 lyrics Chinese, of which 166 were considerable.
He has written a wide range of genres, ranging from elegantly worded lyrics containing allusions to Chinese literary allusions, to lyrics that are easy to understand and have a large number of Cantonese colloquialisms. The characteristics of this kind of lyricism are inseparable from his own growth process.
His father was an amateur musician and his mother was a Cantonese music lover. Born in Guangzhou and raised in Hong Kong, he immigrated to Hong Kong from a poor family in a slum village house, so he and his three older brothers struggled to study and eventually graduated from the University of Hong Kong. This life experience has enabled Hui Guanjie to have a good cultural heritage, but also to empathize with the lives of the general public in Hong Kong and write good works that resonate with people.
To say how much Xu Guanjie has contributed to Cantonese culture, it is necessary to elaborate.
Songs such as "Alone on the West Tower" have the shadow of Cantonese opera. Both the use of vocabulary and the grammar of sentences are clearly influenced by traditional Cantonese opera. On the basis of Cantonese, Xu Guanjie added authentic Cantonese to make the style unique. In this way, the allusion is popularized to make the public acceptable, and the pop music is not superficial.
Alone on the West Building Xu Guanjie - genius and idiot
Wordlessly go up to the West Building The remnant moon is right on the head
When to return to the Qingqing tour the intestines are worried
Just broke up with you, and in the blink of an eye it's late autumn
Tears of nostalgia for old feelings empty of sorrow And the fate is too temporary
Speechlessly going up to the West Building (heartbroken) The moon is just right
When to return to Qingyou (empty guilt) The intestines are broken
Lao Yan has divided the west and the east, and the love is still in mind
The passionate dreams of the past have been shattered, and it is difficult for Mandarin ducks and ducks to reunite
In addition, more than 65 of the Cantonese songs he composed incorporated a large number of Cantonese dialects and spoken Hong Kong. For example, "Half a Pound Eight Two", "Student Brother", "The Legend of the Hero who Fights Birds" and so on. It is precisely because of the use of colloquial slang and the words and phrases circulating in daily dialogue that the social reality of "migrant workers" is more symbolic and real, and it is more sad in addition to being funny.
Some people think that Xu Guanjie's creative methods are too vulgar and flow in the market. But in terms of documenting Cantonese, it is actually a big contribution. These songs are like living dictionaries, with a large number of interesting records of allusions, afterwords, and their actual usage and usage.
Half a pound eight two Xu Guanjie - half a pound eight two
Half a pound and eight two to achieve only accumulation of smacks
Half a pound eight two Wet water cannon battle point will sound
Half a pound, eight or two enough ginger to grab the gun and go to grab it
Out of the half pound of strength want to talk back to the eight two
Half a pound eight two Even if there is a blessing, you can enjoy it
Half a pound of eight two miserable over the boiling water of the pig intestines
Half a pound of eight or two chickens must be pecked
"Do only accumulate like", "wet water cannon fight", "boiling water pig intestines", "chicken crushed more" this type of afterword, many post-90s, post-00s in life has rarely used, but also rarely heard. But by listening to songs and mastering dozens of Cantonese after-a-breaks, young people will neither feel bored nor unable to remember.
Of course, Xu Guanjie's contribution is more to use songs to reveal the normal life at that time and people's spiritual outlook, to record the true sorrows and joys of ordinary people in a relaxed and ghostly way, and to express the voice of the grassroots. Abstract the faces, spirits and thoughts of Hong Kong people into Cantonese songs, so that everyone can remember those people of that era in the sound of music.
03
Can Cantonese pop music return to its former glory?
Hui Guanjie's 2020 "In the Same Boat" online concert has come to a successful end, setting off a wave of Cantonese classic golden songs, and Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor praised "Cantonese pop songs are still promising" after taking time off on the Internet to watch this unprecedented concert.
But will Cantonese pop still have a chance to return to the glory of the 1980s and 1990s?
First, as Hong Kong's economic status towards the whole of China declines, it has led to a decline in cultural influence; second, Hong Kong's creative talents have withered, and even many singers and songwriters are busy digging for gold in the north, mostly creating Chinese songs for the mainland market; third, the popularity of the Internet has made it easier to spread various popular cultures, thus making people's attention more fragmented, forming a small circle after another, you don't know me, I don't know you.
Now competing with Cantonese pop songs is far more than just Chinese songs, but more likely English songs, Japanese songs, Korean songs, and even Thai songs...
However, we still believe that Cantonese pop songs do not die – only because of our group of loved ones!
Dear ones,
Which Cantonese song has impressed you in recent years?
Feel free to share your playlist in the comments section!
bibliography:
"Night Talk Gang Le 2" He Yan
"Xu Guanjie - The Originator of Guangdong Song, the Wonderful Combination of Life and Art"
"The History of the Demise of the King of Hong Kong" Bundi Banchang
"On the Linguistic Characteristics of Hui Guanjie's Lyrics", Hong Kong Lyrics Research Group
"Zhiyin Words Lixun - Xu Guanjie Composed Chinese Lyrics" Yang Hanqun
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