Shidaiqu

Shidaiqu (Chinese: 時代曲; pinyin: shídàiqǔ) is a type of Chinese folk/European jazz fusion music that originated in Shanghai, China, in the 1920s.

The term shídàiqǔ literally means "songs of the era" in Mandarin. When sung in Cantonese, it is referred to as (粵語時代曲, Jyut Jyu Si Doi Kuk), when sung in Amoy Hokkien, it is referred to as (廈語時代曲). The term shidaiqu is thought to have been coined in Hong Kong to describe popular Chinese music that first emerged in Shanghai.

In Shanghai shidaiqu was regarded as Chinese popular music beginning in the 1920s. Its heyday was in the 1940s, then it died out in 1952 in China when the Communists banned nightclubs and pop music production. The tradition then moved to Hong Kong and reached its height from the 1950s to the late 1960s, when it was replaced by Taiwanese pop (sung in Mandarin) and later cantopop. While it is considered a prototype, music enthusiasts may see it as an early version of mandopop. Li Jinhui is the founder of shidaiqu, along with Chinese popular music. The western jazz influences were shaped by American jazz musician Buck Clayton. Nowadays, shidaiqu has inspired Gary Lucas for his album The Edge of Heaven and DJs such as Ian Widgery and his Shanghai Lounge Divas project. On the other hand, if cinema was the origin of many songs, Wong Kar-wai used them again for illustrating his movie "In the Mood for Love"; Rebecca Pan, one of the actresses in this film, was also one of those famous shidaiqu singers.

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