Zhou Lan-ping, a native of Xiangxiang in Hunan, studied at the National Shanghai Conservatory of Music, where besides voice training he developed a keen interest in drama. He went to Taiwan in 1949 and joined the Wanxiang studio, making his first film, Happenings on Ali Mountain (1950), then worked on a 1951 production for Guanghua. He spent six years at the Broadcasting Corporation of China as a choir conductor, a tenor in its quartet and a staff composer, and also taught in the music and drama departments of an arts college, training many talents. In the 1950s he wrote numerous songs popular on both sides of the strait, among them the Taiwanese-flavoured 'Green Island Serenade' and 'Moonlight Serenade' plus hits such as 'Sleepless for You Last Night' and 'A Girl of Eighteen'. From 1955 he scored film songs, for pictures including a 1955 drama and Mountain Girl (1956). Invited to Hong Kong in 1961, he joined Shaw Brothers as composer and orchestra conductor, writing music for The Love Eterne (1963), a huangmei film whose score, blending a Western orchestra and chorus with Chinese instruments, won Best Music at the 10th Asian Film Festival and the 2nd Golden Horse Awards. He also scored pictures such as Come Drink with Me (1966) and Dragon Inn (1967) for other companies, and took the Golden Horse Best Music prize in consecutive years with The Boat Girl (1968) and From the Highway (1970). He died of a heart attack in Hong Kong on 17 May 1971.
Through songs such as 'Green Island Serenade' and his huangmei score for The Love Eterne, Zhou fuelled a craze for huangmei melody that swept the Chinese-speaking world for years; a three-time Golden Horse winner for Best Music, he was a pivotal figure in the film music of postwar Taiwan and Hong Kong.
Achievements
- 1950 · Went to Taiwan and joined the Wanxiang studio, working on his first film, Happenings on Ali Mountain
- 1963 · Composed the score for Shaw's The Love Eterne, winning Best Music at the 10th Asian Film Festival and the 2nd Golden Horse Awards
- 1970 · Won Best Music at the 8th Golden Horse Awards for From the Highway