‘When Will You Return’: The trans-border tangos of ‘Heri Jun Zailai’1

Abstract

This text discusses a well-known Chinese popular song, ‘When Will You Return’. The original recording of this song was performed with the accompaniment of western musicians. While the song has thereby been associated with both Chinese and tango imagery in Japan, it has also been subject to a variety of political interpretations. In China, meanwhile, it has been a site of frequently politicized criticism. In this article, I will attend broadly to its trans-border nature and then explore the mystery of the song’s composer and original accompanist.