Tan Shuzhen (; 1907 – 2002) was a

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of v ...

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

ist, teacher and violin maker. In 1927, he became the first Chinese musician to join the Shanghai Municipal Public Band, now the

Shanghai Symphony Orchestra The Shanghai Symphony Orchestra () is a symphony orchestra in Shanghai, China. Its music director is Yu Long. Founded in 1879, the SSO is the oldest Chinese symphony orchestra. Originally, it was known as the Shanghai Public Band, expanding in ...

, led by Italian conductor

Mario Paci Mario Paci (June 4, 1878 – August 3, 1946), also known by his Chinese name Mei Baiqi (), was an Italian pianist and conductor who was instrumental in establishing classical European music in China. Life Paci was born in Florence. He attended ...

. "Nobody had ever seen a Chinese in the orchestra," Tan has been quoted as saying. "So many people came to see me." Until 1966, Tan headed the Conservatory's violin section and became involved in the establishment of China's first violin-making factory. During the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated go ...

, Tan was confined for 14 months in a tiny, dark closet under a stairwell at the Conservatory. He suffered regular beatings and denunciations before being released to work as a janitor. When the Cultural Revolution ended, he became the vice-director of the

Shanghai Conservatory of Music The Shanghai Conservatory of Music () was founded on November 27, 1927, as the first music institution of higher education in China. Its teachers and students have won awards at home and abroad, thus earning the conservatory the name "the crad ...

. Tan features prominently in Sheila Melvin and Jindong Cai's ''Rhapsody in Red: How Western Classical Music Became Chinese'' and in

Murray Lerner Murray Lerner (May 8, 1927 – September 2, 2017) was an American documentary and experimental film director and producer. Career Lerner was born May 8, 1927, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Nacham and Goldie (Levine) Lerner. Murray's father ...

's 1979 documentary, From Mao to Mozart: Isaac Stern in China. Tan is the subject of Heather Greer's 1999 documentary, The Gentleman From Shanghai.

References

Further reading

Books