T'ou-Sè-Wè Craft School, situated in Xujiahui District, Shanghai, was acclaimed as the cradle of Western paintings in China. However, a group of Chinese orphans in the T'ou-Sè-Wè Orphanage took up Western musical instruments and began performing Western music as early as the beginning of the 20th century under the instruction of foreign missionaries.
Recently, during my exploration of the musical heritage of T'ou-Sè-Wè, I came across a century-old song titled "T'ou-Sè-Wè Craft School Anthem" in a video. In the video, children from the Huishi Primary School choir in Xuhui District and an elderly person sang together in Shanghainese. The children, dressed in traditional Chinese attire and cloth shoes, performed live at the T'ou-Sè-Wè Museum, while the voice of the elderly person came through the television screen.
"The teachers there are like fathers, and life there is truly joyful. Ah, we cannot forget them; we cherish them. T'ou-Sè-Wè Craft School, lovely home...," they sang.
The fact that this century-old song could be heard again is a remarkable achievement and a delightful surprise. To begin with, the lyrics were discovered on a piece of discarded paper.
In 2008, the construction of the T'ou-Sè-Wè Museum began. Song Haojie, deputy director of the district cultural and tourism bureau at the time, visited diverse places in search of records related to T'ou-Sè-Wè. Through his visits and repeated negotiations, Fu Rose Church decided to donate a bell and accessories previously made by the craft school to the museum. While Song Haojie was sorting out these accessories, he serendipitously found a piece of paper wrapping the accessories, bearing the lyrics of the T'ou-Sè-Wè Craft School anthem. However, the lyrics were incomplete. On May 10, 2009, Zhang Yonglin, an elderly man who had once worked as a typesetter at T'ou-Sè-Wè Press, reconstructed the lyrics more comprehensively based on his recollections.
This unexpected discovery allowed the anthem to see the light of day once again. However, due to the passage of time, T'ou-Sè-Wè elders had forgotten how to sing this song. After multiple visits, it was ultimately Li Shunxing, an elderly man, who remembered and performed it.
The elderly person in the video is Li Shunxing, currently the last surviving T'ou-Sè-Wè elder in Shanghai. Born in 1933, he attended Huishi Primary School. His father tragically passed away in 1946, and at the age of 13, the orphanage took him in. He attended Ciyun Elementary School to finish his primary education. Later, he enrolled in the craft school to study printing technology and remained to work there. Afterward, Li worked as a laborer at Shanghai Zhonghua Printing Co., Ltd., eventually becoming the head of the foreign language department before retiring.
In early November 2022, Jin Zhihong, deputy director of the T'ou-Sè-Wè Museum, enlisted the help of the young composer Xiao He to recreate this piece of music based on the historical recording. Reconstructing it was challenging due to the lack of intonation and rhythm in the elderly person's recording. In addition to collecting music from that era and historical fragments, Xiao He had to speculate about the melody based on the arrangement and direction of French brass band music at the time. Fortunately, when the audio was produced and played back to the elderly person, he was moved to tears, rediscovering the familiar sounds in T'ou-Sè-Wè from years ago.
On May 18th, International Museum Day, the anthem was performed for the first time at the museum, resonating with the citizens.
(Reference: Shanghai Meeting Room published by Shanghai Morning Post - Zhoudao)
- Translated by Abigail Wu
位于上海徐家汇的土山湾被誉为中国西洋画的摇篮。但早在20世纪初，上海徐汇的土山湾孤儿院里，一群中国孤儿在外国传教士的指导下拿起西洋乐器演奏西方音乐。
近日，笔者在了解土山湾音乐文献的时候，在视频里听到了一首百年前的歌曲《土山湾工艺院院歌》。视频中，来自徐汇汇师小学合唱团的孩子们和一位高龄老人用沪语隔空合唱。孩子们穿着长衫、布鞋在土山湾博物馆的现场表演，而老人的声音从电视屏幕里传来。
“那里的师长像爸爸，那里的生活真愉快。啊，我们忘不了他，我们爱护他。土山湾工艺院，可爱的家……”
这首百年前的老歌能够跨越一个世纪重新被人们听到十分不易，也实属意外。首先歌词是从一张废纸上看到的。
2008年，土山湾博物馆开始筹建，时任区文化和旅游局副局长的宋浩杰四处走访，寻找土山湾的记录。在他的拜访和反复协商之下，傅家玫瑰天主堂将从前土山湾工艺院制作的一座钟和配件捐赠给了土山湾博物馆。而宋浩杰整理配件时，意外发现一张包裹配件的纸上写着土山湾工艺院院歌的歌词，然而歌词并不完整。2009年5月10日，当年曾在土山湾当过印刷排字工的张永林老人按照其回忆重新写出了更完整的歌词。
这个意外的发现，让土山湾工艺院院歌重见天日。但是由于时代久远，当时的很多土山湾老人都忘记了如何唱这首歌。通过多次走访，最后由李顺兴老人回忆并演唱了出来。
视频中的老人就是李顺兴，是目前上海最后一位健在的土山湾老人。李顺兴，1933年出生，就读于汇师小学。1946年，李顺兴的父亲不幸去世。年仅13岁的他被土山湾孤儿院收留，孤儿院供他在慈云小学完成了小学学业。后来他进入土山湾工艺院学习印刷技术并留在土山湾工作。并厂后，李顺兴在中华印刷厂当工人，退休前担任外文组组长。
2022年11月初，土山湾博物馆副馆长金志红找到青年作曲家肖河，请他根据录音帮助还原这首属于土山湾的音乐。因为老人的录音没有音准和节奏，要还原是很有难度的。除了收集那个时期的音乐和历史的片段，肖河只能根据当时法国铜管音乐的编配和旋律的走向去猜测旋律。庆幸的是，音频制作出来返回给老人的时候，老人留下了泪水，因为找到了当年土山湾亲切的歌声。
5月18日国际博物馆之夜，这首由历史录音记谱再现的《土山湾工艺院院歌》第一次在土山湾博物馆向市民唱响。
参考资料：新闻晨报•周到《上海会客厅》
《土山湾工艺院院歌》跨世纪再现
T'ou-Sè-Wè Craft School, situated in Xujiahui District, Shanghai, was acclaimed as the cradle of Western paintings in China. However, a group of Chinese orphans in the T'ou-Sè-Wè Orphanage took up Western musical instruments and began performing Western music as early as the beginning of the 20th century under the instruction of foreign missionaries.
Recently, during my exploration of the musical heritage of T'ou-Sè-Wè, I came across a century-old song titled "T'ou-Sè-Wè Craft School Anthem" in a video. In the video, children from the Huishi Primary School choir in Xuhui District and an elderly person sang together in Shanghainese. The children, dressed in traditional Chinese attire and cloth shoes, performed live at the T'ou-Sè-Wè Museum, while the voice of the elderly person came through the television screen.
"The teachers there are like fathers, and life there is truly joyful. Ah, we cannot forget them; we cherish them. T'ou-Sè-Wè Craft School, lovely home...," they sang.
The fact that this century-old song could be heard again is a remarkable achievement and a delightful surprise. To begin with, the lyrics were discovered on a piece of discarded paper.
In 2008, the construction of the T'ou-Sè-Wè Museum began. Song Haojie, deputy director of the district cultural and tourism bureau at the time, visited diverse places in search of records related to T'ou-Sè-Wè. Through his visits and repeated negotiations, Fu Rose Church decided to donate a bell and accessories previously made by the craft school to the museum. While Song Haojie was sorting out these accessories, he serendipitously found a piece of paper wrapping the accessories, bearing the lyrics of the T'ou-Sè-Wè Craft School anthem. However, the lyrics were incomplete. On May 10, 2009, Zhang Yonglin, an elderly man who had once worked as a typesetter at T'ou-Sè-Wè Press, reconstructed the lyrics more comprehensively based on his recollections.
This unexpected discovery allowed the anthem to see the light of day once again. However, due to the passage of time, T'ou-Sè-Wè elders had forgotten how to sing this song. After multiple visits, it was ultimately Li Shunxing, an elderly man, who remembered and performed it.
The elderly person in the video is Li Shunxing, currently the last surviving T'ou-Sè-Wè elder in Shanghai. Born in 1933, he attended Huishi Primary School. His father tragically passed away in 1946, and at the age of 13, the orphanage took him in. He attended Ciyun Elementary School to finish his primary education. Later, he enrolled in the craft school to study printing technology and remained to work there. Afterward, Li worked as a laborer at Shanghai Zhonghua Printing Co., Ltd., eventually becoming the head of the foreign language department before retiring.
In early November 2022, Jin Zhihong, deputy director of the T'ou-Sè-Wè Museum, enlisted the help of the young composer Xiao He to recreate this piece of music based on the historical recording. Reconstructing it was challenging due to the lack of intonation and rhythm in the elderly person's recording. In addition to collecting music from that era and historical fragments, Xiao He had to speculate about the melody based on the arrangement and direction of French brass band music at the time. Fortunately, when the audio was produced and played back to the elderly person, he was moved to tears, rediscovering the familiar sounds in T'ou-Sè-Wè from years ago.
On May 18th, International Museum Day, the anthem was performed for the first time at the museum, resonating with the citizens.
(Reference: Shanghai Meeting Room published by Shanghai Morning Post - Zhoudao)
- Translated by Abigail Wu
T'ou-Sè-Wè Craft School Anthem Resung Based on Historical Recordings
