On July 28th, the opening ceremony of the 31st FISU World University Games was held in Chengdu. When the Chinese team, on behalf of the host country, marched into the stadium as the last team, the grand and majestic symphonic version of "Jasmine Flower" was played at the venue, once again attracting the attention of people around the world classic folk song that has become a household name both at home and abroad.

In the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, the award ceremony music was made by the famous composer Tan Dun with the melody of "Jasmine Flower" as the theme; In the "Beijing 8 Minutes" at the closing ceremony of the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, the melody of "Jasmine Flower" was played for two times. Besides, this familiar melody can also be heard in the promotional video of the 2010 Shanghai World Expo, at the G20 Summit Night Gala, as well as the ceremonies marking Hong Kong and Macao's returns to China.

Why does "Jasmine Flower" remain an unaltered representative of Chinese elements on the global stage? One of the important reasons is that it is arguably the most familiar Chinese song to foreigners.

Ever since Giacomo Puccini incorporated the melody of "Jasmine Flower" into his famous opera "Turandot", "Jasmine Flower" has got an opportunity to become a well-known cultural symbol representing the mysterious East in the westerners' minds.

But Puccini was not the first Western composer to use the melody of "Jasmine Flower". As early as the end of the 19th century, "Jasmine Flower" has made its appearance in the songbooks of many western countries, such as Germany, Denmark and the United Kingdom.

Qian Renkang, a music theorist, has verified with evidence that "Jasmine Flower" was "the first Chinese folk song to be spread overseas".

And the song's travelling across the sea to the West was closely related to the Macartney Embassy, the first British mission to China. In 1793, the Macartney Embassy presented itself to Emperor Qianlong to congratulate him on his birthday. On their way out of China, John Barrow, a member of the Embassy, heard the song "Jasmine Flower" and then recorded it with the Embassy's hearing officer Hittner.

Barrow and Hittner notated the melody of "Jasmine Flower" in a stave, and marked the pronunciation of the lyrics in Romanized Pinyin. The song was then included in Barrow's book "Travels In China" and was published in 1804. What's interesting is that the lyrics they notated were all in Cantonese.

It is also because of the unique music feature of "Jasmine Flower" that it can enjoy such a widespread reputation around the world. On the one hand, its tune boasts distinctive national features; while on the other hand, its smooth melody can also meet the western aesthetic preference.

Today, the melodious "Jasmine Flower" is still full of vitality. Having been played on international stages again and again, it has become one of the most recognizable symbols of China.

大运会开幕式响起《茉莉花》，为何又是它

7月28日，第31届世界大学生夏季运动会在成都开幕。当中国队作为东道主最后入场时，现场响起大气磅礴的交响乐版《茉莉花》。这首在中外均享誉盛名的经典民歌，此时再次吸引全球人民的注意。

在2008年北京奥运会，由著名作曲家谭盾主创的颁奖音乐以《茉莉花》旋律为主线；2004年雅典奥运闭幕式的“北京八分钟”里，《茉莉花》出现了两次。除此之外，G20峰会文艺晚会、上海世博会宣传片、香港和澳门的回归交接仪式等都能听到熟悉的《茉莉花》旋律。

在国际舞台上，代表中国元素的为何屡屡是《茉莉花》？重要原因之一，是因为《茉莉花》称得上是外国人最熟悉的中国歌曲。

普契尼歌剧《图兰朵》把《茉莉花》的旋律融入其中，借由这部家喻户晓的歌剧，《茉莉花》成为西方人印象中最能代表神秘东方的文化符号之一。

但普契尼并不是第一个运用《茉莉花》的西方作曲家。早在19世纪末，《茉莉花》就出现在德国、丹麦、英国等多个西方国家的歌曲集里。

根据音乐理论家钱仁康考证，《茉莉花》是“流传到海外的第一首中国民歌”。

这首歌之所以能漂洋过海来到西方，与英国第一个来华使团——马戛尔尼使团有关。乾隆58年，马戛尔尼使团以贺寿之名觐见乾隆皇帝，而使团成员之一约翰·巴罗，在经由广州离开中国的途中听到了《茉莉花》，并与使团听事官西特纳一同记录下这首歌。

这首歌收录在1804年发行的著作《中国行记》中，巴罗和西特纳将《茉莉花》用五线谱进行记谱，并用罗马拼音标注了《茉莉花》的唱词。更有趣的是，巴罗版的《茉莉花》歌词是以广州方言演唱的。

《茉莉花》之所以能在世界范围内广泛传播，还因为其音乐特色：一方面，《茉莉花》的曲调具有鲜明的民族特色，另一方面，它的流畅的旋律与西方的审美习惯相适应。

如今，悦耳动听的《茉莉花》依然保持着饱满的生命力，在国际舞台反复响起，成为最有辨识度的中国符号之一。

文 | 羊城晚报全媒体记者 胡广欣
翻译 | 洪婷