Lü Wencheng

Who was Lü Wencheng?

Lü Wencheng was a Chinese composer and musician. He is considered to have been a master of Cantonese music and Guangdong folk music.

The gaohu was developed, or co-developed, by him in the 1920s from the erhu by raising its pitch and using steel strings instead of silk, and changing its playing position from on the thigh to between the knees. He composed Autumn Moon Over Calm Lake in the 1930s and it remains one of the best known works of Cantonese music.

Lü was born in 1898 in Zhongshan, Guangdong Province, but grew up in Shanghai when at the age of three his parents and him moved to Shanghai. There he developed the gaohu, composed and performed Guangdong yinyue, and made recordings. In 1932, he moved to Hong Kong, where he lived until his death in 1981.

He also played the yangqin and was a Cantonese opera singer. His music shows a strong influence of the traditional music of the Shanghai area as a result of living almost thirty years there.