CHINESE LIKE RADIO

Radio Record, Volume I, Issue 26, 13 January 1928, Page 14

CHINESE LIKE RADIO

SAN I'RANCISCO'S ORIEN'TALS. Chinese women clad in trousers and men in the centuries’ old costume of the Var East listen eagerly to radio programines in their apartments in San Francisco’s Chinatown. For the Chinese have added to the list of houseliold necessities the radio, ‘There are more radio aerials in one block along Grant Avenue, Chinatown’s. main street, than in any other bleck in San Francisco, according to Gon Sam. Mue, of the United Statcs Immigration Cfice. Their residence restricted te Chinatown, the Chinese necessarily live in crowde1 fashion Radio appeals to them not only as a means of bringing in the music and. entertainment of the outside world, but also for its value in keeping the children off the streets, Gon declared. Great Music Levers, Ihe Chinese love music, and that is one of the reasons why radio means so inuch to them, according to the Princess Der Ting of China, who has participated in masy radio programmes in her native China, and incidentally spoke ever the General Ilectric station KGO the first day she arrived in the United States from the Orient. It brings them in contact with Kuropean and American music, greatly different from their own, she said, and also gives them a hetter knowledge of what is going on in the ‘outside’ world, "The American notion that Chinese music consists of a series of cat howls is due largely to the fact that Chinese are fond of the falsetto male voice," the Princess said in her talk over KGO. "Male altos, however, at one time were used exclusively both in church and the opera. The West has let its

women take part in music and drama a little sooner than the ast has done.’"’ Chinese Play at KGO. The Chinese have no desire to take all and give nothing in return, One of the most colourful dramas ever put on the atr was recently presented over station KGO by the Chinese of San L'rancisco, It wus a drama of the Yang-tze River. No more enthusiastic group of people cver assembled in a broadcast Studio than appeared at KGO for the presentation of this play. | Radio dramatists may learn much from the Chinese drama, according to the Princess, for it 1s in certain ways peculiarly adapted to radio needs. There is very litile action and practically no stage setting whateyer. All effects have to be produced by voeal inflection and

gesture alone, Above all, the significant thing about Chinese drama is the part music plays in it. Most of their speech is simply voeal declamation, similar in principle to that which was in fact the yery begiuning of European opera, Music faithfully reflects the passing emotions on the stage.