Chou Wen-Chung

Chou Wen-chung (Chinese: ; pinyin: Zhōu Wénzhōng; born June 29, 1923 in Yantai (Chefoo), Shandong, China) is a Chinese American composer of contemporary classical music. He emigrated in 1946 to the United States and received his music training at the New England Conservatory and Columbia University. Chou is credited by Nicolas Slonimsky to be one of the first Chinese composers who has attempted to translate authentic oriental melo-rhythms into the terms of modern Western music.

Chou grew up in China and developed an early love for music. ("Sights and Sounds" an essay by Chou on early influences on his music.) Qin music, in particular, has proved fertile for his future exploration. Chou described his early explorations of musical instruments:

While in Qingdao, I first discovered the meaning of music in life when I heard our household help enjoying their free time by playing instruments, singing, and drinking. I also became fascinated with harmonium pedals, which I played with at first as a car accelerator, and then discovered their dynamic effect...However, it was in Wuhan that I discovered the violin when my older brothers and I bought a child-size violin as a toy. My oldest brother, Wen-tsing, immediately began taking lessons and recruited me as his “student”! I played the erhu, studied the violin and taught myself a medley of instruments, such as mandolin, harmonica and musical saw.

During the Second World War, he was persuaded to study civil engineering to help modernize China. After high school, Chou studied Architecture at Saint John's University, Shanghai in China. Chou stated in his biography, “I chose architecture as a compromise between art and science, largely influenced by John Ruskin’s comment on architecture as ‘frozen music.’ ” Within one semester, Chou’s study was interrupted because of the breakout of World War II and Chou had to relocate and continued his study in Guangxi University and Chongqing University. Chou attended Guangxi University during 1942–44 and managed to find time to compose music on his own and to educate himself the western culture through reading library books despite of the nightly air raids and his civil engineering study. Chou had to move again in 1944 and continued his study in Chongqing University where he received his B.S. degree in Architecture.

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