Source: People’s Daily Overseas Edition
Fang Wenshan accepted an exclusive interview with this reporter in his Taipei studio.
Some of the cultural creations and collectibles in Fang Wenshan’s Taipei studio.
The installation art "East Wind Breaks" in Fang Wenshan's Taipei studio.
"The East Wind Breaks", "Hair Like Snow", "Blue and White Porcelain"...a popular hit song with lyrics containing classical poetry, all written by Fang Wenshan, a well-known Taiwanese lyricist. For more than 20 years, Fang Wenshan has partnered with Taiwanese musician Jay Chou to continuously release Chinese-style songs, which once set off a Chinese-style craze in the Chinese pop music world.
As early as middle school, Fang Wenshan read a lot of ancient poetry and showed his talent in composition writing. At that time, he would not have thought, one day he will make a living by writing lyrics, and the nourishment of traditional culture has given him a "style business card" in the pop music world. Since then, whether he launched Hanfu activities, created trendy cultural creations, or filmed movies and online dramas, he could not do without traditional elements. "We can use popular forms to spread traditional culture." Fang Wenshan told reporters in his studio in Taipei.
Drawing creative nutrients from ancient poetry
In 1999, fledgling Fang Wenshan and Jay Chou served as lyricists and composers respectively, becoming well-known Hokkien singers on the island Jiang Hui composed "The Sound of Falling Rain". The song's longing for her hometown and mother is touching and has become a classic of Southern Fujian songs on the island. The two with outstanding musical talents have been collaborating for a long time since then. Each album released by Jay Chou since 2000 has included one or two Chinese-style songs.
"Taiwan already had Chinese-style songs in the folk song era of the 1970s, such as "Descendants of the Dragon" and "Dream Camel Bell", etc. However, when Western hip-hop music met Chinese poetry, It’s refreshing,” Fang Wenshan said. In Jay Chou's first album, the two collaborated on the song "Lady", but they were not sure about the market response. Unexpectedly, this unexpected song shocked the Taiwanese music scene and was hailed as "the first pop song that truly combines East and West."
Fang Wenshan has composed more than 500 songs in total, and Chinese-style lyrics account for about 1/5 of them, but these songs are always discussed because of their "recognizability." "The sky is blue waiting for misty rain, and I'm waiting for you. The moonlight is lifted up, and the ending is blurred..." Fang Wenshan said, taking the popular song "Blue and White Porcelain" as an example, the lyrics are not about love in a straightforward way, but Create beauty by carving words, and tell stories with scenes and pictures that travel through time and space.
"Chinese-style lyrics have become a characteristic of my style." Fang Wenshan said that because this type of song attracts a lot of attention, he puts more effort into creating it every time. From the subject matter to the choice of words and rhetorical grammar, we try to avoid repetition, which brings us a lot of challenges.
But Fang Wenshan is not worried about running out of inspiration. He has been obsessed with ancient poetry since he was a child, especially Song poetry. "Song lyrics were originally sung with a melody. In fact, they were popular music at the time, which also gave me a lot of creative nutrients." Fang Wenshan said that in the past, there were many ancient Chinese prose and poems in Taiwanese textbooks. When he was in middle school, he often read them in the old He stood and read in the bookstore for several hours. The continuous accumulation of these bits and pieces allowed him to travel on the road of music for a long time, and his Chinese-style lyrics often became popular on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. So much so that when it comes to Chinese style creation, the first thing many people think of is Fang Wenshan’s name.
Promote Hanfu culture through large-scale activities
“I have a certain sense of mission regarding matters related to traditional culture, and I am willing to do my best to Promote it so that more people can appreciate the beauty of tradition." In 2013, Fang Wenshan launched the Hanfu Culture Week in Xitang, Zhejiang, and the event gradually developed into a large-scale presentation of Chinese heritage.The cultural festival of traditional costumes and etiquette culture has attracted millions of Hanfu and traditional culture enthusiasts. Since last year, Fang Wenshan has chosen to launch Hanfu activities in Langzhong, Sichuan based on the voting results of Weibo netizens, hoping to make Hanfu culture bloom everywhere.
In Fang Wenshan’s opinion, if you like calligraphy, you must first read the calligraphy and understand different fonts. There are also thresholds for appreciating Kun Opera and Peking Opera. Only Hanfu is the easiest to get started, and you only need to wear it. "If you are interested in traditional culture, Hanfu is a good carrier. Wearing Hanfu is like entering the traditional field. You can feel the charm of traditional clothing and even learn about the culture of different dynasties and traditional etiquette knowledge," he said.
Hanfu square array, creative market, parent-child activities... Whether in Xitang or Langzhong, every event is like a grand gathering of Hanfu enthusiasts, with crowds of people everywhere. Fang Wenshan believes that the best way to promote Hanfu is to present it in the form of large-scale events, which can not only enhance the cohesion of Hanfu enthusiasts, but also arouse social attention and drive more people to participate.
Fang Wenshan recalled that more than 10 years ago, it was not that easy to buy or wear Hanfu. At that time, there were not so many Hanfu merchants. Hanfu enthusiasts only dared to wear Hanfu during Hanfu events. They usually did not dare to wear Hanfu to take the bus for fear of being recognized as actors filming, and they usually did not dare to wear it alone. Two or three people were required. It’s better to go together.
"Now Hanfu enthusiasts are no longer alone. They can wear Hanfu to go shopping naturally. Everyone has become accustomed to it. Hanfu clubs in mainland universities have gradually emerged, and local Hanfu festivals have begun to be held. Hanfu has developed to the present , has become an industry and phenomenon, and is showing a popular trend." Fang Wenshan said that he encourages the "mixing" of T-shirts and horse-faced skirts, and is also happy to see the emergence of new Hanfu or contemporary Hanfu as daily wear. Adapt well to the rhythm of modern society.
Use popular forms to convey cultural connotations
“If traditional culture wants to gain wide influence, it must use popular methods.” Fang Wenshan believes that with the help of Films, TV dramas, pop music and other forms can be directly understood and understood, and they will have better popularity.
Before entering the music industry, Fang Wenshan’s initial plan was to make movies. He went to study related courses and obtained a director’s certificate, but found that Taiwan’s film industry was already saturated with practitioners at that time. "If you can't tell stories with movies, then use music to tell stories." He then began to write lyrics and became a well-known lyricist on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
However, Fang Wenshan never forgot his dream of making movies. In 2013, he directed his first film, with content related to youth, love, and music. The film continued Fang Wenshan's style and artistic conception in lyrics, based on the collision of rock music and classical music, and incorporated classical music such as Hanfu, ink painting, and rhymed poetry. element. Now, he is still preparing to shoot his first online drama "Folk Town" in Xitang, and also plans to shoot film and television dramas related to calligraphy in the future.
“I want poetry to leave the book, seal cutting to leave the rice paper, and lyrics toLeave the music behind and see what they look like in another world. "In his personal art creation touring exhibition, Fang Wenshan blended ancient and modern Chinese and foreign fonts, calligraphy forms, and contemporary art allusions into more than a hundred works of art. His 25 Chinese-style lyrics can be found on bronzes, ceramics, Traces can be found in media such as prints and installation art.
In Fang Wenshan’s studio in Taipei, the reporter also saw a variety of cultural creations including trendy dolls. "It has different shapes, one of which uses azure, one of the representative colors of Ru Kiln in the Northern Song Dynasty, as the main color. The character "green" on the armor plate on the chest of the doll is the font of Zhao Mengfu, a calligrapher of the Yuan Dynasty. The body of the doll is a retro robot. The whole work has both cultural heritage and mechanical civilization texture.
Over the years, whether he is creating Chinese-style lyrics or trying cross-border art, Fang Wenshan has always wanted to make traditional culture more popular. (Reporter Zhang Panwen/Photo)
"People's Daily Overseas Edition" (Page 04, April 27, 2024)
