Shi Dai Qu

What is shi dai qu? You might have heard it in Wong Kar-Wai’s film, In the Mood for Love (2000), or James Ivory’s The White Countess (2005). Or perhaps in very early Chinese and Hong Kong movies.

Shi dai qu is Shanghai lounge music of the thirties to sixties, although by the sixties this style had also spread to the rest of China, Beijing and Hong Kong in particular. It is also know as:

  • shidaiqu (时代曲)
  • Melodic era
  • The sounds of the times
  • The songs of the times
  • Shanghai golden oldies
  • Chinese golden oldies
  • Mandarin golden oldies

Shi dai qu’s uniqueness lies in its fusion of Chinese folk lyrics, American Jazz, and European tunes. Not incidentally, Shanghai was considered the “Paris of the Orient.” Popular nationwide, Mandarin remained the de facto language used in songwriting even in Hong Kong. Shi dai qu’s era ended quickly with the war and the Cultural Revolution.

Shi dai qu in Wong Kar-Wai’s In the Mood for Love
Popular culture’s exposure to shi dai qu is mostly limited to scenes in Wong Kar-Wai’s film In the Mood for Love. The title is also derived from Hua Yang De Nian Hua (alternate spelling: Fa yeung nin wa), Chow Hsuan’s (alternate spelling: Zhou Xuan) popular song of the day.

Literally Hua Yang De Nian Hua means Blossom Youth. In that particular context it refers to either the fleeting quality of youth or the fleeting quality of memory in regards to the passage of time. An approximation in English would be “halcyon days.” In both cases they refer to a period of happiness that can no longer be regained.

To expand, flowers’ periods of bloom are brief. Scientifically, blossoming periods allow for flowers to reproduce. While many species of flowers differ in blossoming periods, there are overlapping times. Metaphorically, Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung’s characters represent different types of flowers who initially appear to synchronize in blossoming but ultimately fail to connect.

Wong Kar-Wai also produced a short film under the same title, in which scenes from movies of that Golden Era were taken. It is available for viewing on YouTube.

Shi dai qu’s Revival
An international interest was further sparked in EMI’s 2004 release of Shanghai Lounge Divas, a two-CD compilation of original recordings and remixed versions. Earlier in 1992, EMI Hong Kong began to release a series of collections of popular shi dai qu singers. While it appears they have ceased production of this series, on my last trip to Hong Kong I was able to find the Bai Kwong album.

Additional Resources

Popularity: 1% [?]