Climbing the High Mountain to View the Plain

Introduction

A classic of the Hezhou da ling tune, arranged by Zhu Zhonglu and first sung by him in public in 1950

Shangqu Gaoshan Wang Pingchuan is a leading piece of the northwestern hua'er song tradition, set to the tune type known as Hezhou da ling and sung across Gansu, Qinghai and Ningxia. It is credited as a Qinghai folk hua'er tune arranged by Zhu Zhonglu. Zhu first sang it in public in Lanzhou in 1950 and wrote out its melody, and that October he brought hua'er to audiences in Beijing for the first time. A record of his singing issued by the China Record Company in the 1950s carried the song beyond the Northwest. Its two halves move from a scene to a feeling, with wide leaps, long trailing ornaments and a blend of chest and head voice.