On Xiao Youmei

Sun ai

Abstract： Xiao Youmei is a famous music theorist， composer and music educator in modern China.Through the analysis of Xiao Youmei's view of traditional Chinese music， this paper explains the definition of traditional chinese music， the backwardness of national music and the method of reviving national music， this paper takes Xiao Youmei's article "My View on Reviving traditional Chinese Music" as an example， so as to comprehensively and objectively understand Xiao Youmei and his thoughts on traditional Chinese music， in order to study and understand Xiao Youmei and traditional Chinese music in modern Chinese music history， which has a certain practical significance.

Key words： Xiao Youmei; traditional Chinese music; musical thought

Xiao Youmei is a famous music theorist and composer in modern China. Xiao Youmei published more than 50 music papers in her life， mostly focusing on the direction of development of Chinese music. Among them， his concern and Research on " traditional Chinese Music " showed his unique views on traditional Chinese music， which reflecting his pioneering and innovative spirit.

1.The definition of traditional Chinese music.

Xiao Youmei believes that in order to rejuvenate the traditional Chinese music， we must first thoroughly understand the definition of traditional Chinese music.

Xiao Youmei mentioned in "My View on Reviving traditional Chinese Music "that music has three factors： the content of music， the form of music and the performance of music.Among them， the content of music is most important like the soul of music， followed by the form of music， and lastly， the performance of music is only a tool for musical performance.Musical instruments and performing techniques are only the performance tools of music. Although their performance will affect the form of music slightly， the content of music will not be affected. It can be seen that the soul of music is only related to the content of music， but has nothing to do with form and performance of instrumental music.Therefore， the only criterion for distinguishing between traditional Chinese music and non-traditional Chinese music is the content of music.

So， what is traditional Chinese music？ Xiao Youmei said in "My View on Reviving traditional Chinese Music"： "The music that can express the spirit， thoughts and emotions of the modern Chinese should be traditional Chinese music. The main points of traditional Chinese music lie in this kind of spirit， thought and emotion." That is to say， the content of music is the essence of traditional Chinese music. As for its form of expression and playing musical instruments， it should conform to the changes of times and trends， and the individualized needs of composers and musicians.

2. The backwardness of traditional Chinese music

Xiao Youmei holds a negative attitude towards traditional Chinese music. In many articles written between 1907 and 1940， he directly or indirectly proposed the backwardness of traditional Chinese music.

Xiao Youmei not only pointed out that " traditional Chinese music is backward"， but also analyzed the reasons for its backwardness. He pointed out that the backwardness of music education is one of the reasons for the backwardness of traditional Chinese music. His article "What is music？ foreign music education institutions. What is music education？ Reasons for the underdevelopment of music education in China " points out： "Firstly， the traditional Chinese music education organs cannot continue to maintain; secondly， most of the apprentices who enter the workshop have not received general education and often have unclear family background; thirdly， because the class in the workshop is too complex， and the stubborn fake rationalists use this opportunity to try to exclude music，which is also the most powerful reason." Xiao Youmei has always regarded the unfavorable development of education as the reason for the backwardness of traditional Chinese music， which also made him set up the ambition of developing professional music education in China， in order to revive traditional Chinese music.

3. Ways to Rejuvenate National Music

Although Xiao Youmei insisted on "Traditional Chinese Music Backward Theory"， but also put forward the plan of reviving traditional Chinese music， which shows that he still attaches great importance to traditional Chinese music. Xiao Youmei roughly drew up seven plans for rejuvenating traditional Chinese music and put them into practice in various curricula. First， we should have a clear and clear understanding of the definition of traditional Chinese music and determine the steps for its revival. Secondly， we should recognize the three factors of traditional Chinese music， distinguish the primary and secondary relationship between the content， form and performance of music， and master how to use the form and performance of music as a body and tool to serve the content of music. Thirdly， we should deeply understand the inherent virtue and the modern national conditions of China， and train musicians with Chinese spirit， thoughts and emotions. Fourthly， we should understand the form of modern music and bring spirit， thought and emotion into its form. Fifthly， we should master the techniques of playing musical instruments and singing， and apply them to express their spirit， thoughts and emotions. Sixthly， we should understand the difference between modern traditional Chinese music and old music， so as to inspire and create new traditional Chinese music. Seventhly， we also need to collect materials from old music and folk music as the basis of creating new traditional Chinese music.

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