LI SHU TONG S BUDDHIST-THEMED SCHOOL SONGS OF THE EARLY TWENTIETH CENTURY AND THEIR JAPANESE INFLUENCES

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1 LI SHU TONG S BUDDHIST-THEMED SCHOOL SONGS OF THE EARLY TWENTIETH CENTURY AND THEIR JAPANESE INFLUENCES Tse-Hsiung Larry Lin General Education Center, Chienkuo Technology University, 1 Jieshou North Road, Chang-Hua 500, Taiwan Tse-Hsiung Larry Lin: larry@ctu.edu.tw ABSTRACT In coping with the domination of Western imperialists and the influx of new knowledge and technologies following the arrival of the Western Powers, the countries underwent, with rare exception, dramatic social change, unrest, and even war. The processes of modernization, however, did not occur independently in different countries. In addition to being influenced by the West, they more often than not influenced each other. The most remarkable example is that of Chinese modernization, which was heavily informed by the experience of modernization in Japan. Modernization affected all facets of Chinese society, including the activities of Chinese Buddhists. As a musicologist, I am particularly interested in how educational Buddhist songs that were used as teaching materials in Buddhist schools in China during this period adopted their musical forms and how the musical and lyrical styles evolved. My preliminary research shows that contemporary Japanese school songs were important for the development of the Buddhist musical movement in China. This study in particular examines the Buddhist-themed school songs created by Li Shu tong ( 李 叔同, ), in the hopes that it may help reveal the possible musical influences, particularly from Japanese sources. With this study, I intend to analyze the transformation of songs from their Japanese origins to their Chinese forms. Two of Li s songs will serve as examples. In addition, I will review the recent history of China and examine Li Shu tong s personal and creative life to understand the circumstance in which the Westernization of Chinese Buddhist music took place. Original scores and documents will be compared to pinpoint the exact relationship between the Chinese and Japanese Buddhist (school) song repertoires from this period. Keyword: Buddhist Songs, Buddhist Music, Chinese Modernization, Japanese Influence INTRODUCTION Buddhist songs ( 佛教歌曲 ) are a genre that first developed in the earlier half of the twentieth century and were a significant part of the curriculum in the newly-established Western- 1378

2 influenced Buddhist schools and lay Buddhist activities in China in the 1940s. These songs, which began as a Buddhist version of Chinese school songs ( 學堂樂歌 ), were employed by Chinese Buddhists to engineer a modern Chinese Buddhism. 1 Before the appearance of these songs, there were school songs that showed affinity with Buddhism. These Buddhist-themed school songs could be considered the forerunners of Buddhist songs and, as such, deserve our attention as they inform and contribute to our understanding of the early development of Chinese Buddhist songs. Li Shu tong ( 李叔同, ), one of the major figures of Chinese school songs, was a pioneer in the creation of this early Buddhist-themed music. Many of Li s school songs, including those from his earliest creative period in Japan during the 1900s, were Buddhist-inspired. Willows on the Sui Dyke ( 隋堤柳, 1906) is a notable example, while his Songs of Serenity ( 清涼歌, published in 1936), written after he became a monk, are generally considered by Buddhists and Buddhist song writers today to be pioneering work in the history of contemporary Buddhist music. As I demonstrate in the following case studies, Li s early Buddhist-themed school songs were influenced by Japanese school songs. Although it is generally known that Chinese school songs were modeled after their Japanese counterparts, I intend to find concrete instances in lyrics and scores, and, with these details, to more accurately determine how these influences work. LI SHU TONG AND CHINESE SCHOOL SONGS Chinese school songs were first created for use in classroom teaching in Western-influenced schools in China in the early 1900s (Shen 1994, 37). Shen Xin gong ( 沈心工, ), Li Shu tong, and Zeng Zhimin ( 曾志忞, ), among others, are generally recognized as pioneers in the creation of the genre. Though they sometimes wrote their own melodies after Western models, it was much more common, because of a lack of proper training in Western music at the time, to combine existing Western (and occasionally Japanese) melodies with newly written lyrics. The term zuoge xuanqu ( 作歌選曲 ) or xuanqu tianci ( 選曲填詞 ), to write song lyrics and choose a suitable melody, describes the creation of these songs. Many of the Chinese song writers studied in Japan in the opening years of the twentieth century and, in that setting, learned about school songs and their use for serving sociopolitical purposes. The songs (Chinese and Japanese alike) were meant to help spread Western-influenced ideals and train the people for a modern society. Typical themes adopted in Chinese school songs include women s rights, patriotism, and personal and social ethics such as hygiene and etiquette. 1 As Chinese Buddhist modernists began to build their own Western-influenced schools as a response to the nation s overall modernization movement, Buddhists wrote songs for use in the classrooms. Li Shu tong s songs were taken as models for the creation of new Buddhist school songs. His songs, together with other songs written for Buddhist schools during the 1930s and 40s, became the forerunners of the Chinese Buddhist song genre that developed into a major religious musical form in Taiwan in the latter half of the twentieth century. 1379

3 Musicians and reformers believed that the songs, using the particular styles and aesthetics of Western song forms, were able to help transform Chinese people with Western-based ideas. They argued that Western melodic and rhythmic styles with uplifting, regular pulses, unlike the traditional Chinese music that was often perceived to be gentle or soft so as to inspire decadent thoughts, were able to inspire a mind full of courage and righteousness, necessary for building a modern nation (Chen 1950, v; Fei Shi [1903] 1998, ; Zeng [1904] 1998, 208). Li Shu tong was born to a wealthy mandarin s family in northern China in During his youth, he received an education typical for elites in traditional society, with Chinese classical literature and arts as important components. A child prodigy, he quickly picked up what he was expected to learn. In 1906, Li, like many of his contemporaries, worried about the future of China, which at that time was facing Western domination. He aspired to learn from the West in order to save China from imperialist exploitation and colonization. He chose to go to Japan, a newly Westernized country, whose modernization experience might serve as an example for rebuilding his own country. His plan at first was to study painting by enrolling in the Tokyo School of Fine Arts ( 東京美術学校 ), but upon his arrival he found himself to be equally attracted to Western music and Western dramatic practices. During his four years in Japan, he took music lessons and organized dramatic performances alongside his study in painting. He found time to write new songs in the manner of Japanese school songs and produced articles on various topics. Like many Chinese school song writers, Li was impressed by the high art of Western music and valued its positive effect on both the individual and social level. In the preface to The Little Magazine of Music ( 音樂小雜誌 ), which he published in Tokyo in 1906, he says admiringly, In Europe and America, [music] has a major influence [in society]; Asian countries must follow the achievement [of the West]. Music polishes the morality of a society and helps improve social integrity. It transforms one s personality and inspires the best in a person. What else could ever surpass its power? (Qin 1991, 3). After he returned to China, Li taught at several different schools, including Chengdong Women s School ( 城東女學 ) (1912) in Shanghai and Zhejiang First Teachers College ( 浙江省立第一師範 學校 ) ( ) in Hangzhou, where he wrote educational songs for his students. In 1918, after years of reflecting on the dramatic turns in his life, including his mother s death and the complete loss of his family fortune, he decided to become a monastic and ceased creating new art works, including songs. Taking into account the effects of his personal life on his creative life, Li s songs can be categorized according to three different periods. The first period begins with his earliest efforts with school songs before During this time, he was under the influence of the Chinese literary tradition of setting newly written poems to popular tunes for recitation purposes and, therefore, many of his songs from this period were sung to traditional melodies. The second period begins with his study in Japan in 1906 and continues after his return to China to positions in Shanghai and Hangzhou. While in Japan, he was exposed to educational opportunities previously unavailable to him in China. He began to use melodies derived from Japanese and Western sources. In the last period, after he renounced the world ( 出家 ) and 1380

4 became a monk, he produced nothing but a set of five songs (lyrics), which he called Songs of Serenity. These songs were obviously Buddhist-inspired and were expected to rectify the world full of dissolute sounds (Chen 2007, 89 91). As was typical of school song writers, Li produced new school songs, using existing melodies. But, unlike most of his colleagues, Li wrote his lyrics with a wide range of themes that include not only standard school song themes as described earlier, 2 but also those related to his own training in Chinese classics. At that time, these were condemned by some Chinese modernists as symbols of backwardness. Songs such as Self-transformation ( 化身, 1905) and Willows on the Sui Dyke ( 隋堤柳, 1906) from his early periods grew out of the refined taste and aesthetics of Chinese literature. This refinement in his work, in particular, sets him apart from other school song writers. Further, many of these songs are unmistakably Buddhist-inspired. Buddhism, as a major component of Chinese philosophy and literature, is prominently represented in many of Li s school songs. Lamenting on Spring ( 傷春, published in 1927) evokes the Buddhist idea of change or impermanence ( 無常 ), with lyrics such as drifting dead flowers or today s youthful face only turns into an aged one tomorrow (Qin 1991, 70). Despite the sadness of losing what is dear, he does not give up hope. He inspires his audience to assume their spiritual strength and seek enlightenment by saying, Be awakened! Youth never stays long. Songs similarly using the idea of impermanence include The Ruins ( 廢墟, published in 1927), in which Li wrote, leaning against the jade-decorated and beautifully sculpted banisters, I tried to recall my memory of days passed, but none returned to my mind, lamenting on irretrievable glory (Qin 1991, 68). In Hermit ( 幽人, published in 1928), he says of his heart, longing for the way to enlightenment, The filthy world is covered with dirt. The way is not visible to anyone, and encourages people to take action with genuine efforts and be a follower of the way to heaven (Qin 1991, 66). Remembering the Time of One s Childhood ( 憶兒時, 1912) and Seeing off a Friend ( 送別, written by 1918) 3 are two of the most loved of Li s school songs and are influenced by Buddhist (or Taoist) thought. In Seeing off a Friend, Li s ability to write in the classical style is fully demonstrated with lines such as To the end of heaven, and the edge of the land, my friends were gone. They no longer return to me (Qin 1991, 51). This contrasts the permanence and boundlessness of nature with the transience and constraint of the human world. In Remembering the Time of One s Childhood, a more subtle Buddhist-influenced idea is conveyed in a retrospective manner: spring goes and autumn arrives. The roaming son is 2 Li s songs with typical Chinese school song themes may include Song of the Fatherland ( 祖國歌, 1905), The Great China ( 大中華, published in 1958), My Country ( 我的國, 1906), and Lamenting on the Loss of My Fatherland ( 哀祖國, 1905), which advocate patriotism, and A Wedding Song ( 婚姻祝辭, 1905), advocating equality between men and women. 3 The two songs are dated according to Qin Qi-ming s book on Li Shu tong s songs, Hongyi dashi Li Shu tong yinyue ji (A Collection of Master Hongyi Li Shu tong s Songs) (Qin 1991). 1381

5 disheartened by the floating life that sees no end (Qin 1990, 41). 4 Here, a regretful heart mourns for the loss of the irrecoverable past, which an unsettled, aimless, and roaming son has failed to use well. The past is often taken as equal to death, a central concept to confront for Buddhists in seeking enlightenment. 5 A CASE STUDY OF TWO SONGS BY LI SHU TONG In the following discussion, I use Li s Buddhist-themed songs Remembering the Time of One s Childhood and Seeing off a Friend as examples to investigate the relationship between Chinese school songs (and/or Chinese Buddhist songs) and Japanese school songs, after which they are modeled. The two songs both borrowed their melodies from American popular songs of the nineteenth century: My Dear Old Sunny Home by Will. S. Hays ( ) for the former and Dreaming of Home and Mother by J. P. Ordway ( ) for the latter. However, it is highly possible that Li obtained these melodies not from the original American sources, but from Japanese school songs using them. Borrowing Western melodies through Japanese sources was actually a common practice among Chinese school song writers at that time, owing to the rare accessibility of the original American sources and comparatively easy contact with the Japanese school song repertoire. With these examples, I want to examine how the Chinese songs resemble or differ from their Japanese models. The Japanese songs My Deserted Old House ( 故郷の廃家 ) (Indo [1907] 1908, 35 37) and Longing for Home in a Journey ( 旅愁 ) (ibid., 33 34), the possible models for Remembering the Time of One s Childhood and Seeing off a Friend, respectively, will be examined side by side with the Chinese songs. In the analysis, I will also consider the two original American songs, which provide an interesting contrast. Both Li s and Indo s lyrics share similar thematic materials with Hays song My Dear Old Sunny Home, referring to a memory of the old days in one s hometown. Aside from this general theme, Li s song bears a surprising similarity to Indo s, which is hard to overlook when examining the lyrics in both songs. In addition to resemblances between words, there is an affinity in their lyrical structure, which otherwise does not exist in the original American version. In the following I provide the lyrics of the three related songs side by side for easy comparison. 6 4 The lyrics of the original American song My Dear Old Sunny Home by S. W. Hays similarly evoke the sweetness and sadness of remembering the time passed. It does not cancel the eligibility of the Chinese song to be considered a Buddhist-influenced song. It is possible that, because of this particular theme with Buddhist inclination in the original, the Chinese song writers felt compelled to utilize its music (perhaps also its lyrics) for their songs and the original song became so popularly accepted and welcomed in the two Asian countries. 5 A popular Chinese Buddhist maxim, believed to have been said by Bodhisattva Puxian, goes, The day is passed. A day of life is gone accordingly. Such a life [that is not able to resist the passing of time] is like fish in a pond with draining water. What fun is that? ( 是日已過, 命亦隨減, 如魚少水, 斯有何樂 ). 6 Li only wrote one stanza to the melody, while there are two in Indo s song. In Hays original, there are three. 1382

6 Spring goes and autumn comes. Time is gone like the flow of a river [which never returns] The roaming son is sick of his floating life When the time of childhood is recalled, Those fun-making moments with friends at home seem to return They are like just yesterday but are long gone. The thatched house is so modest that it has only three rafters. There was a plum tree, Under which children played hide-and-seek On the high branches stood singing birds In the little creek were swimming fish These are the moments to which one s heart was given. Those joyful days from childhood are sadly not to return. Remembering the Time of Childhood After years have passed, I am now on my way home [In my hometown,] there were blooming flowers and chirping little birds The wind gently blew In the creeks near home, the water slowly flows, [just like yesterday] Those little things I used to know seem to still be there, one by one unchanged But my old house was deserted with walls falling and grass growing tall Without any trace of human occupation The blowing wind seems to speak about the old days The image reflected in the clear water reminds me where we were Continuously, I tried to recapture the memory of yesterdays But, where are you, my friends? My lonely hometown My deserted home 7 My Deserted Old House Where the mocking bird sang sweetly Many years ago, Where the sweet magnolia blossoms Grew as white as snow, There I never thought that sorrow, 7 The translation of the lyrics was done with the assistance of Professor Lin Lihua, my colleague from Applied Foreign Language Department, Chienkuo T. University. 1383

7 Grief nor pain could come, E'er to crush the joy and pleasures Of my sunny home (Chorus) Oh! I'm weeping, lonely I must roam Must I leave thee, Dear old sunny home? Flowers withered, roses drooping, 'Round, the cottage door, And the birds that sang so sweetly, Sing, alas, no more Ev'ry thing seems chang'd in Nature, Since I cross'd the foam, To return, my poor heart breaking, To my sunny home (Chorus) Oh! I'm weeping, lonely I must roam Must I leave thee, Dear old sunny home? Other forms and stranger faces, All that I can see, Brings to mem'ry thoughts of loved ones Who were dear to me. But my poor heart sinks within me When I turn to roam, Far from all I loved and cherished, Good bye, sunny home (Chorus) Oh! I'm weeping, lonely I must roam Must I leave thee, Dear old sunny home? My Dear Old Sunny Home The comparison reveals some characteristics shared by the Chinese and Japanese songs that otherwise do not exist in the original American song. Unlike the original, which plunges directly into nostalgic thoughts from the outset, the two Asian songs introduce their main subject (memory of the past) through the narrative of a person. The character then takes charge of the rest of the poems and leads us through his/her personal memory of the past. Similarities between the two Asian songs are also found in the personification of characters in the story related in the lyrics. Though all three songs employ similar metaphors (such as birds and one s old house) to inspire sympathy in the audience for the authors love for his hometown, the two Asian school 1384

8 songs simply engage more. Birds, rivers, houses and nearly all things remembered, animals and inanimate objects, are given more weight. They are characters, equal in importance to humans in the story, forming part of the human world and participating in human events. In Li s song, the plum tree is part of the children s fun. It is a guardian watching over them when they play hideand-seek under it. The birds standing on the high branches of the tree seem to join in the children s fun with their singing. In Indo s song, there are sounds of all kinds. Birds sing, while wind blows and river flows. Gently they impart one s past in human-like voices. Rivers, which do not exist in the original American song, play important parts in the two Asian songs. Place, including all living creatures and lifeless objects associated with it, is an important sign of home. In both songs (Chinese and Japanese), one s place constitutes the roaming son s memory. Lastly, a technical feature deserves attention: the chorus part in each stanza in the original song, intended for more than one singer, is folded into the solo voice in the two Asian songs. It is possible that the design of a chorus section in the original is unfit for the purpose of a school song, as a chorus part requires skill in collaborative singing, which was unfamiliar to Asians at that time. After all, a school song was meant for general participation and not for skillful singers. In the next example, I want to demonstrate that Chinese school songs (or Buddhist songs) not only modeled their lyrics after their Japanese counterparts. They might also have been influenced by the Japanese in their use of borrowed melodies. This is apparent in Li s Seeing off a Friend, one of the most popular songs in the modern history of Chinese music. The same seems to be true for its Japanese counterpart, Longing for Home in a Journey. Thanks to the widespread popularity of school song culture in both countries, the melody is still known to people in Japan and China. Even instrumental renditions of it are enjoying wide popularity. I argue that, though they both borrowed, directly or indirectly, the melody from the same American source, it is possible that Li used the Japanese version of Ordway s melody instead of the original, as one may detect the transference of the changes made to the original in Indo s version to Li s song. 8 The modification of a borrowed melody is common in school songs. The reason is simple and quite practical. The authors of school songs, who attempted to fit their new non-english texts to the borrowed Western melody (which is, of course, not tailored for singing the new lyrics) must have had a hard time arranging the linguistic rhythm of their songs to meet the downbeats of the American songs. When the task became impossible to accomplish, a logical solution might have been to modify the music instead. The consideration of local taste and the intended use of school songs as public participation are certainly more important priorities than retaining the original melodies. To fulfill the aforementioned requirements, school songs are usually given a straightforward melody without unnecessary melodic ornamentation. According to Qian Renkang, the renowned music historian of school songs, the appoggiatura at the end of each musical sentence of the original song appear to be unnecessary according to the preference for 8 This argument is partially adapted from chapter 2 of my doctoral dissertation The Development and Conceptual Transformation of Chinese Buddhist Songs in the Twentieth Century (Lin 2012) 1385

9 musical simplicity in school songs and, therefore, is removed in Seeing off a Friend (and the Japanese song Longing for Home in a Journey ), as can be seen in the following music examples. Figure 1a: Dreaming of Home and Mother (Ordway 2001, 237) reproduced from the original score by J. P. Ordway. 1386

10 Figure 1b: Ryoshu by Indo Kyukei ([1907] 1908, 33 34). Original score adapted from its second printing in The appoggiatura in Ordway s original is already removed. Figure 1c: Li Shu tong s Seeing off a Friend (2001, 236). As can be seen in the scores, the appoggiatura is modified in the same way in the examples by Li Shu tong and Indo Kyukei. This leads historian Qian Renkang to believe that there is an unquestionable connection between the two songs. Considering that Li s song was completed some time between 1912 and 1918, at which point he was teaching at Zhejiang First Teachers College, and Indo s song was published in 1908, Qian argues that Li had Indo s song in mind when he wrote his own song. Qian asserts that Li must have heard Indo s songs when he was in Tokyo for his studies in the latter half of the 1900s. CONCLUSION In this study, I examined the life of Li Shu tong as a person and as a school song writer. He began to write school songs during a period when China was experiencing a crisis caused by Western imperialist domination. With his songs and writings, Li eagerly introduced Western music and music learning to Chinese audiences in the hopes that the ideals carried within the music might spread and help transform the country, which was seen as lagging behind. In his attempt to learn from the West, Li, however, chose to go to Japan, possibly because that country, which had a similar Asian cultural background, was able to successfully transform itself. During his seven years in Japan, he established a personal and professional connection with the country and was inevitably influenced by the Japanese and their modernization projects. In examining the different influences in his music, however, one finds that his love for Chinese classical literature and arts are as important as his preference for Western culture (or Japanized Western culture). Among those influences associated with his Chinese heritage, Buddhism stands prominent. 1387

11 Statistically speaking, songs with Buddhist themes are strongly represented in the repertoire Li created. These songs eventually inspired a new genre, Chinese Buddhist songs, which developed in the 1930s and 40s in China. This genre later enjoyed a rapid development in Taiwan in the second half of the twentieth century. This study, with a focus on the Japanese influences on Li s Buddhist-themed school songs may supplement our knowledge of the early history of the Buddhist genre in the twentieth century. The analysis of two of Li s songs is significant and has not yet been attempted by researchers in this field. It helps establish with certainty the relationship between Li s songs (or Chinese school songs) and their Japanese influences, with concrete evidence found in lyrics and music of the songs. These songs are documents of this historical development and are able to help clarify questions regarding the influence on Chinese song writers by the Japanese. And, in examining the songs, we see not only Western-influenced musical forms but also musical and philosophical ideals that were transferred from the Japanese genre to the Chinese one to serve the intended sociopolitical purposes. The impact of Chinese school songs on Chinese cultural and sociopolitical development in the twentieth century is not to be underestimated, as the popularity of these songs today may partially testify. While the original American songs were mostly forgotten in their land of origin, the melodies of these songs are still popularly sung and known to many in Japan, China, Taiwan and places where Chinese (or Japanese) people relocated around the world during the past hundred years. Wherever they are or whatever their age, it is almost certain that when they hear the music of Seeing off a Friend, Remembering the Time of Childhood, or their Japanese models Longing for Home in a Journey and My Deserted Old House, they are reminded of the old days, of their country s struggle for success as defined by Western standards, invoking in their heart the recent history of a nation inseparable from the experience of great change in a time of despair, inspiration, and hope. BIBLIOGRAPHY Chen Hailiang 陳海量 Xu san 序三 (Foreword Three). Haichao yin ge ji di yi ji 海潮音歌集第一集 (The Sounds of Ocean Waves, vol. 1). Shanghai: Daxiong shuju. Chen Jingye 陳凈野 Li Shu tong xue tang yu ge yan jiu 李叔同學堂樂歌研究 (A Study of Li Shu tong s School Songs). Beijing: zhong hua shu ju. Fei Shi 匪石 [pseud.]. [1903] Zhongguo yinyue gailiang shuo 中國音樂改良說 (On Reforming Chinese Music). In Zhongguo jindai yinyue shi liao hui bian, 中國近代音樂史料彙編 (Compilation of Music Historical Documents of 1388

12 Modern China, ). Compiled by Zhang Jingwei. Beijing: Renmin Yinyue Chubanshe. Originally published in Zhejiang chao 浙江潮 (Zhejiang Tides) 6 (June 1903). Indo Kyukei 泉童球溪. [1907] Ryoshu 旅愁 (Longing for Home in a Journey). Chuto Kyoiku Shokashu 中等教育唱歌集, edited by GenichiroYamada 山田源一. Kyoei Shosha, accessed on 28 December Lin, Tse-Hsiung Larry The Development and Conceptual Transformation of Chinese Buddhist Songs in the Twentieth Century. Ph.D. diss., University of California, San Diego. Qin Qiming 秦啟明 Hongyi dashi Li Shutong yinyue ji 弘一大師李叔同音樂集 (Selected Works of Master Hongyi, Li Shu tong). Taipei: Huiju. Shen Xia 沈洽. [1990?]. Xuetang yuege zhi fu: Shen Xin gong zhi shengping yu zuoping 學堂樂歌之父 沈心工之生平與作品 (The Father of School Songs: Shen Xingong, His Life and Works). Taipei: Zhonghua minguo zuoqujia xiehui. Zeng Zhimin 曾志忞. [1904] Gao Shiren 告詩人 (Calls to Poets), Foreword to jiaoyu changge ji xu 教育唱歌集 (Anthology of Educational Songs). In Zhongguo jindai yinyue shi liao hui bian, 中國近代音樂史料彙編 (Compilation of Music Historical Documents of Modern China, ). Compiled by Zhang Jingwei. Beijing: Renmin Yinyue Chubanshe.Originally published in Jiaoyu change ji 教育唱歌集 (Anthology of Educational Songs). 1389