2019 is a big year for anniversaries in China, not least the birth of the Chinese nation itself 70 years ago. Completely unpublicised, however, is the fact that it is also 30 years since the New York Times ran a story on the music industry in China, predicting that the day may come when Americans will all be able to sing Chinese songs to their visitors from the Middle Kingdom.
2019年是中国纪念日的重要一年，尤其是中华民族70年前的诞生。 然而，完全未公开的事实是，《纽约时报》报道中国音乐行业已经30年了，预测有一天，美国人将能够为来自中王国的游客唱中国歌曲。
Well NYT, that obviously has not happened, and the reason for such is largely rooted in that which fires the Chinese auditory sense as regards tastes in music.
嗯，《纽约时报》，这显然没有发生，其原因主要源于点燃中国人对音乐品味的听觉。
In the book “The Power of Music”, Elena Mannes says, “Scientists have found that music stimulates more parts of the brain than any other human function”, while composer, singer, pianist and all-round genius Billy Joel expressed, “I think music in itself is healing. It’s an explosive expression of humanity. It’s something we are all touched by. No matter what culture we’re from, everyone loves music”.
在《音乐的力量》一书中，Elena Mannes说：“科学家们发现，音乐比任何其他人类功能都刺激大脑的更多部分”，而作曲家、歌手、钢琴家和全能天才Billy Joel表示：“我认为音乐本身是治愈的。 这是人性的爆炸性表达。 这是我们都感动的事情。 无论我们来自什么文化，每个人都喜欢音乐。”
Billy Joel, however, is also a synesthete, so he probably sees the music as well as hears it. Yet, it also goes without saying that there are regional differences. In China, as usual, that means big differences.
然而，比利·乔尔也是一个有同心的人，所以他可能既能看到音乐，也能听到它。 然而，不言而喻，存在区域差异。 在中国，和往常一样，这意味着巨大的差异。
So it is with music. Political events of the second half of 20th century China played a more significant role in shaping how the Chinese hear music than many would first imagine. Music was a political tool, intended to assist with meeting revolutionary goals and building solidarity among the masses.
音乐也是如此。 20世纪下半叶的中国政治事件在塑造中国人听音乐的方式方面发挥了比许多人最初想象的更重要的作用。 音乐是一种政治工具，旨在帮助实现革命目标和在群众中建立团结。
When western pop music first started to enter China, also 30 years ago, it were the songs with the most melody that held the biggest appeal. Number 1 of the time was American saxophonist Kenny G, followed by The Carpenters; their iconic hit “Yesterday Once More” being by far and away the most requested song to radio stations of the time. Latterly, the likes of Michael Bolton, Celine Dion and Mariah Carey all became firm favourites.
当西方流行音乐第一次进入中国时，也是30年前，旋律最多的歌曲具有最大的吸引力。 排名第一的是美国萨克斯风演奏家Kenny G，其次是The Carpenters；他们的标志性热门歌曲《Yesterday Once More》是迄今为止被当时电台要求最多的歌曲。 最后，Michael Bolton、Celine Dion和Mariah Carey等人都成为最受欢迎的。
Uniting each artist was their ear for melody, particularly melody tinged with a hint of sadness; think the aforementioned and the likes of “Said I loved You, but I Lied” and you get the picture.
团结每个艺术家的是他们对旋律的耳朵，特别是带有一丝悲伤的旋律；想想上述和“说我爱你，但我撒谎了”之类的，你就会明白。
Of course it is not all gloom and doom, and China loves the aspirational; that may be the Chinese Dream, to buy a car or own a house, to overcome adversity, to be seen as a success or to gain “face” by other means. One piece of music does all this, and the Chinese knew it as soon as they heard it. They have not let it go since.
当然，这并不全是阴郁和厄运，中国喜欢抱负；这可能是中国梦，买车或拥有房子，克服逆境，被视为成功或通过其他方式获得“面子”。 一首音乐做到了这一切，中国人一听到它就知道了。 从那以后，他们就没有放过它。
The theme from The Magnificent Seven is dragged out for almost every event of any importance in China. Most often heard as the music for the ribbon cutting at any major shindig attended by government officials, or the announce the latters’ ascension to the stage, the strident rhythm pumps us full of faith in the powers that be, or just about. That is, until we’ve heard it for the 135th time.
在中国，几乎每个重要事件都会推出《七大事件》的主题。 最常听到的是政府官员参加的任何重大聚会上剪彩仪式的音乐，或宣布后者登上舞台的音乐，尖锐的节奏让我们对权力充满信心，或者只是相信。 也就是说，直到我们第135次听到它。
Composer James Horner, who we also have to thank for “Titanic”, another delight for the Chinese, started work on the new theme for The Magnificent Seven’s second incarnation in 2010, tragically dying before completing it. Yet, his analysis of the piece tells us a lot; “Most composers are looking for action-oriented, pulse-oriented. …rhythm-oriented scores that propel the movie, and the whole thing is about propulsion. And, as an afterthought, there’s love, and there’s emotion, and there’s other things, but the main thing is pure adrenaline. And a lot of movies are made like that now. If you look at all of the Marvel comic movies or the tentpole movies that are made, how many of them are made with the same formula”.
作曲家詹姆斯·霍纳（James Horner）也必须感谢《泰坦尼克号》，这是中国人的另一个乐趣，他于2010年开始为《七大七》的第二次化身的新主题工作，在完成之前不幸去世。 然而，他对作品的分析告诉我们很多；“大多数作曲家都在寻找以动作为导向、以脉搏为导向的……以节奏为导向的乐谱，推动电影，而整个事情都是关于推进的。 而且，事后的想法是，有爱，有情感，还有其他事情，但最主要的是纯粹的肾上腺素。 现在很多电影都是那样拍的。 如果你看看所有的漫威漫画电影或制作的帐篷杆电影，其中有多少是用相同的配方制作的。」
The latter’s latest blockbuster, “Avengers: Endgame” hit Chinese big screens on 24 April and took in half a billion renminbi in 24 hours. The movie’s score played a significant role therein.
后者的最新大片《复仇者联盟：终局之战》于4月24日登上中国大银幕，并在24小时内收入了5亿元。 电影的配乐在其中发挥了重要作用。
It was composer Elmer Bernstein, also responsible for Ten Commandments and The Great Escape, who scored the original theme, acknowledged as his best and regarded as one of the most popular movie themes of all time. The piece also became associated with Marlboro cigarettes, being used for quite some time on the brand’s TV commercials.
作曲家埃尔默·伯恩斯坦（Elmer Bernstein）也负责《十诫》和《大逃亡》，他为原始主题配乐，被认为是他最好的，被认为是有史以来最受欢迎的电影主题之一。 这件作品也与万宝路香烟有关，在该品牌的电视广告中使用了相当一段时间。
There you have it. The theme to The Magnificent Seven has in common both China and cigarettes. The double irony is that while the theme is exactly that which heroes would want to hear when going off into battle, its buoyancy guaranteed to fill every patriotic Chinese nationalist’s heart with pride, the theme to The Magnificent Seven remains unashamedly American.
给你。 《七大奇观》的主题是中国和香烟的共同点。 双重讽刺是，虽然主题正是英雄们在上战场时想听到的，但它的浮力保证会让每个爱国的中国民族主义者心中充满自豪感，但《神奇七人组》的主题仍然是无耻的美国特色。