Rain Beating on Banana Leaves

Introduction

First printed in Qiu Hechou's Xiange Bidu of 1916, where it is listed among the old tunes.

Rain Beating on Banana Leaves is a signature piece of Cantonese music, first printed in Qiu Hechou's Xiange Bidu, a collection dated 1916 by most accounts and 1917 by others. Qiu listed it with pieces such as Zhaojun Yuan under old tunes, which shows it was already popular in the south by the early twentieth century. Some accounts credit a first version to He Bozhong of Shawan and its later shaping to his grandson He Liutang, but scholars have not settled the question. The earliest known recording is He Liutang's pipa performance of 1927, and Lü Wencheng and fellow players recorded an ensemble version for New Moon Records in 1930. Quick, dense notes imitate raindrops striking plantain leaves, giving the piece a bright and lively character.