Mo Li Hua: a song widely known outside China

"I have never heard anyone singing as emotionally as the Chinese," said John Barrow who was so thrilled to hear the traditional Chinese folk song Mo Li Hua. He worked in the British delegation group that came to China for celebrating Emperor Qianlong’s 80th birthday. During the delegates’ stay in China, John Barrow and a German translator, Buttner, all showed great interest in the song Mo Li Hua and introduced it to Europe.

According to historical records, it was Huttner who first introduced Mo Li Hua to European music circle. However, Huttner adapted the song to European style, while Barrow preferred to appreciate authentic Chinese culture. Barrow recorded in great detail Chinese customs, paintings and architecture, language and literature, astronomy and the calendar, as well as religious beliefs in his book, and he recorded the melody of Mo Li Hua on sheet music and translated the lyrics into English. In this sense, John Barrow had made more contributions to the spreading of the song. And his version of Mo Li Hua was introduced to more countries such as Denmark, Germany, and the US.

The melody of Mo Li Hua recoded on sheet music by John Barrow.[Photo/chinanews.com]