Tuning into tradition

Technology allows a new generation to appreciate the sounds of their heritage, Chen Nan reports.

The internet has many Chinese musicians covering the song The Wind Rises, which was originally written and performed by Japanese singer-songwriter Takahashi Yuu.

From pop stars like Greeny Wu Tsing-fong to children performing the song a cappella, numerous artists have attempted to interpret the song in their own way.

In November 2020, a video of four young students from the Sichuan Conservatory of Music, who play traditional Chinese musical instruments: pipa (plucked lute), guzheng (Chinese zither), erhu (two-stringed fiddle) and dizi (Chinese flute), performing the song on the helipad of a skyscraper in Chengdu, Sichuan province, was shared on social media.

Within three hours after the release, the video had been viewed more than 2 million times on short-video sharing platform Douyin. In 24 hours, the video had notched up over 10 million views on social media.

Because viewers expressed their interest in the video, which combined the beautiful ballad with aerial views of Chengdu, the team released more videos in a series under the title "Crazy Folk".

So far, 125 videos have been released, taking audiences to more Chinese cities, such as Changsha in Hunan province, Luoyang in Henan province and Xiamen in Fujian province. The series of Crazy Folk videos has featured more than 200 Chinese musicians from over 20 Chinese cities.