"The red sun rises in the east, and its avenues are full of rays of light. I am so fortunate to be born in your arms and have a blood flow." Last year, a well-known song " Wanjiang " became popular on the Internet. People express their love for their motherland with this new era song. In the prosperous times, under the epidemic, this song undoubtedly touched the most sincere emotions of the Chinese people and caused great resonance. Since its launch in May last year, the number of plays has exceeded 40 billion. Today, we will bring you closer to Ma Hua, the chief planner and director of the song, and listen to his story of using music to build a bridge between China and Japan.
Text: Guo Ying
Twenty-nine years ago, "Let music be the bridge between us (China and Japan)" was the slogan of a popular radio program connecting China and Japan, and music opened a door for people to communicate between the two countries. Window; 28 years later, a song "Wanjiang" sang the world. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between China and Japan. The producer of this music program, and the director of the song "Wanjiang", Ma Hua spent nearly 30 years building the bridge of international exchanges. width.
"Music Greetings from Tokyo" flew to China
In the late 1980s, Ma Hua went to Japan for a business trip by chance and gained a new understanding of the country. After that, he decided to study in Japan, which started another period of his life. journey. When
first arrived in Japan, everything was fresh. He liked music since childhood, and the first thing he felt was Japanese pop culture. There was no Internet at that time, and the exchange of information between the two countries was not smooth. Ma Hua began to write articles for " Global " magazine while reading, systematically introducing Japanese popular culture. This is like a window, opening a crack, allowing Chinese people to see the life of neighbors with a strip of water. After graduating from
, Ma Hua worked in a Japanese company as an international trader. The stable life gave him the idea of introducing Japanese pop music to China. He wanted to turn the typeface into audio.
Ma Hua built a simple recording studio at home, and spent weekends editing, hosting, and producing the radio program "Greetings from Tokyo Music". The program introduces the latest Japanese pop music, each 30 minutes. He sends tapes to China every week. At that time, there were few exchanges between the two countries, and there were fewer channels for the media to obtain high-quality resources. Ma Hua's programs were broadcast on 16 domestic FM radio stations including Beijing Music Station , Shanghai Oriental Radio Station, and Guangdong Music Station, and the response was extraordinary.
His program almost became the only platform for music exchanges between China and Japan at that time, and it also opened a window for Sino-Japanese exchanges. Many even transcribe his shows and pass them on to others, exploring new worlds of music. Years later, when a famous musician saw him, he even said, "I grew up listening to your show." Ma Hua insisted on doing the show
for 11 years, and completed it all at his own expense. The monthly international postage to 16 domestic radio stations is not a small expense. Ma Hua said that the biggest motivation for him to persevere is the love of the audience. Every year when he returns to China, the radio stations send all the letters from listeners to his home, "a whole box of a whole box," he said. This moved him, and it was the driving force for him to move forward.
produces a music program, in addition to overcoming the pressure of funds, but also the family's contribution. At that time, his child was still young, and the crying of the child would affect the quality of the recording, so no matter it was windy or rainy, his wife had to take the child out on weekends. In 2004, in 11 years, the audience exceeded 100 million.
"Music Greetings from China" landed in Japan
In 1995, Ma Hua's story was extensively reported by Japan's " Asahi Shimbun ". Hence he became a "celebrity".
Friendly emotions always go both ways. When Ma Hua, a window of musical exchange, became known to everyone, for a while, many Japanese also hoped to learn about China through this window.
From 1996 to 2006, he began to host the "Music Greetings from China" program on Japan's NHK TV Education Channel and INTER FM Radio, introducing Chinese music to Japan. The music program spanning the two countries has finally changed from the one-way line in the past to a two-lane line.
Many Chinese pop singers also began to enter the hearts of Japanese audiences and listeners in this way. Likewise, Ma Hua has received a large number of letters from Japanese viewers and listeners. Communication is carried out in the simplest form.
At this time, Ma Hua also began to form relationships with major Japanese record companies and Japanese artists. He constantly interviews top singers and musicians in China and Japan, and realizes cultural exchanges through his own programs.
Ma Hua also established a "Chinese Fan Club" in Japan composed of many Japanese fans, and they have also become "maternal family members" who support Chinese music. Whenever Chinese singers visit, Chinese fans will come to support, which makes Chinese singers feel warm.
Ma Hua (center) and
, a staff member of the Japan China Fan Association, founded "Chinese Audio Magazine" to speak for culture
With the close communication between China and Japan, Ma Hua received more and more letters from the audience. He noticed that quite a few people were learning Chinese through his program. At this time, Ma Hua came up with a new idea - to make a set of audio magazines with Chinese and Japanese comparison. And just like that, a magazine with a CD was born. From 2000 to 2010, this monthly magazine "Chinese Audio Magazine" was published and distributed in Japan for 10 years. All the contents of
magazine are in Chinese and Japanese, with detailed annotations. He introduced Chinese popular culture and music to Japan, and the magazine finally included recitations of Tang poetry and Song poetry, which became the second largest Chinese textbook in Japan at that time. The magazine
also recorded the highlights of 's Chinese music scene. Famous singers and well-known musicians have almost all been interviewed by the magazine, including the last exclusive interview that Leslie Cheung received in Tokyo. Many Japanese have learned about Chinese life and music through this magazine.
Leslie Cheung (left) accepts an exclusive interview with "Chinese Audio Magazine"
Ma Hua (right) interviews famous Japanese singer Shinji Tanimura
From radio communication to face-to-face communication Musicians between China and Japan move around and face the audience.
On September 22, 2002, in order to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between China and Japan, top Japanese singers such as Tanimura Shinji, Hamasaki Ayumi came to Beijing and successfully held a large-scale "China-Japan Friendship Song Party" at the Workers Stadium. This was also the first concert that Ma Hua participated in planning, and the response was unprecedented.
Group photo at a large-scale singing party celebrating the 30th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between China and Japan
In the same year, artists from the two countries began to interact more. Ma Hua brought Na Ying , Sun Nan and other Chinese singers to visit Japan, and held the "China-Japan Friendship Song Party", which was broadcast nationwide by Japan's NHK TV station.
In September 2011, to commemorate the 39th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between China and Japan, Ma Hua brought the famous SMAP group and the Wandering Brothers to Beijing to hold large-scale concerts at the Workers' Stadium and the Bird's Nest.
In September 2012, in order to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between China and Japan, Ma Hua took singer Na Ying to Japan to sing the song "Wish" with the famous Japanese singer Atushi.
Ma Hua (left) and famous Japanese musician Tetsuya Komuro (center)
Next stop: building a bridge for music education Communication never stopped. The slogan he said on the show for 11 years, "Let music become a bridge between us (China and Japan)" is still applicable today, and he firmly believes that music is still an important tool to promote exchanges between the two peoples.
Ma Hua turned his hobby into his profession, and used music to build a bridge between the two countries. Now, Ma Hua has a new goal. He is building a bridge of music education between the two countries, establishing music education exchanges between colleges and universities, and cultivating more high-level music talents for the country.
Editor: Cai Mengyao
Image provided by Ma Hua
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