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Modern Chinese traditional instruments have also embarked on a path of learning from Western musicology. Most research on instrument improvement has focused solely on Western instruments and issues inherent to the instruments themselves. However, to explore further directions for the improvement of Chinese instruments and enhance the quality of instrument creation and performance, this paper employs grounded theory to construct a "Sound Performance--Subject Driving-- Environmental Inducing" dynamic model (SSE) for the improvement of Chinese traditional instruments. This model analyzes the various factors and driving mechanisms influencing improvement. We found that sound optimization is the main force driving instrument improvement, exerting the greatest influence on the improvement process. In terms of external driving forces, professional knowledge and esthetic pursuit play a crucial role, forming a dynamic triangular relationship among instrument manufacturers, performers, and Chinese traditional music groups. The dynamic changes in instrument improvement, through this triangular interaction, are ultimately influenced by cultural recognition, social policy, and technological innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores how the Art-Tune Records Company (Yisheng changpian gongsi 藝聲唱片公司), a Hong Kong-based private corporation and a shadow agent of the People’s Republic of China (PRC)’s China Records Factory, fostered the circulation of Chinese music to Hong Kong and Overseas Chinese audiences in the 1950s and 1960s. Against the colonial government’s political censorship and US-imposed sanctions on the PRC, Art-Tune sought to remaster and reproduce the recordings of China Records Factory by deploying tactics of depoliticisation and underscoring Chineseness. It also delivered gramophone music with multiregional and multilingual versions to foster listeners’ emotional sympathy with cultural China and the new PRC regime. The successful migration of PRC music abroad contributed to dynamic intermedia practice with the reformulation of socialist Chinese music into Hong Kong martial arts movies. The paper discusses how socialist music was transformed from a propaganda medium to Chinese symbols that appealed to diasporic Chinese across Cold War geopolitical divides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The article examines illustrations of qin templates in China, highlighting the qin evolution. Topics include the design of qin templates, the early origin of the qin, and the genealogy of qins. Also discussed are the "Manual of Qin Types of Past Dynasties," musical instruments excavated from Anyang, and qin plectrums from a Shang dynasty site.

This essay introduces three 18th century Chinese visitors to Britain, analysing the important role they played in cross‐cultural intellectual and artistic contact between the two countries. Loum Kiqua, a merchant, arrived in London in 1756. He gave the first known performance on a Chinese musical instrument in the West. Chitqua, a portrait modeller who arrived in 1769, exhibited at the newly‐established Royal Academy (becoming the first named Chinese artist to have a work shown in an overseas exhibit). Whang at Tong (Whang Atong, Huang Yadong), was only in his early 20s at the time of his arrival in England in August 1774, but he played a significant role in the transfer of botanical knowledge from China to the West through his connections with John Bradby Blake in Canton and his father John Blake in London. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article initiates a dialogue between Chinese “Gu Qin” art and curriculum theory. “Gu Qin” is the ancient Chinese musical instrument which best embodies Chinese aesthetic notions. The ancient Chinese never regarded Gu Qin as only an instrument; they thought that performing on it was a process of experiencing life and self-cultivation. Therefore, the value of pursuing Gu Qin study is not only the skill that is mastered, but also the growth of the spirit. This orientation makes the teaching of Gu Qin a fight against instrumental rationalism and materialism. It highlights lived experience based on the unity of the subjective and the objective, and breaks the closed, predetermined teaching process to create openness and possibilities. All of these characteristics have much in common with the new perspectives on curriculum and can help us better understand what a curriculum and a music curriculum are. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The qin (guqin, chi'in) is a seven-string zither of ancient lineage that is prominent in Chinese musical culture. The qin's history is intertwined with philosophy and folklore and its construction is replete with symbolism. The qin was associated with the Imperial aristocracy, and it remains an instrument of high culture. The qin is played with strings horizontal, and the soundbox is made in two halves; the front is usually carved out of paulownia and the back is a flat plate of catalpa. There are two sound holes in the back. It appears that no acoustical study of the qin has been published hitherto. This paper describes vibroacoustic measurements on five examples, the analysis of which reveals the qin's basic sound radiation mechanisms. At low frequencies the qin shows beam bending and torsional modes with some coupling to air in the cavity. At higher frequencies the radiation is dominated by a dense spectrum of mixed cavity and wood modes; the cavity modes are described by a one-dimensional transmission matrix model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What does music convey to people living within a culture? How is it understood? How should we approach the study of music when we want to attain a synthetic and comprehensive view of musical activities in human culture? This article explores the cultural interface of the traditional Chinese musical instrument, the guqin. It brings to light the interconnections of ideas and images of this instrument with the expressive resources of Chinese culture, and it studies the symbolism of this music in terms of its orientations toward cosmological views of life, human comportment, poetic values, and spiritual attainment. By tracing the networks of symbolic meaning throughout the cultural fields of Chinese life, one can arrive at a deeper understanding of the thoroughgoing resonance of musical performances in this part of the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the hetero-referential aspects of early Chinese music theory focusing of the work of enigmatic musical anecdote of Chiness zither player Bo Ya and his friend Zhong Ziqi. Topics covered include analysis of some sections of the Yueji, epistemology that influence the understanding and transmission of music and early Chinese understanding of the potential of music to be descriptive.

In 21st-century China, "being political" can mean many things, particularly as discourses on the global economy, environmental pollution, consumerism, sensual perceptions and gender politics become increasingly concrete at local levels. Contemporary Chinese sound artists go beyond the mere use of the language of propaganda and instead make works that play different sociopolitical roles--heroic, observant or participatory--to address sociocultural, sensual and spiritual issues. The author shows that the political statement made by a sound work in China depends to a great degree on the sociopolitical contexts in which the work is exhibited and performed, as well as the sociopolitical identity of its creator. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The application of microtomography (mCT) to dental morphological studies has unveiled a new source of palaeobiological information, particularly in the analysis of the internal structures of teeth. In this study, we assess the expression of talonid crests at the enamel and dentine surfaces in lower permanent and second deciduous molars (M2 and dm2) of H. sapiens, H. neanderthalensis and Atapuerca-Sima de los Huesos (SH) hominins. In modern humans, talonid crests are described exclusively in the deciduous teeth (Korenhof, 1982) and interpreted as a primitive mammalian remnant of the talonid attachment to the trigonid. Here we report for the first time the expression of talonid crests of deciduous and permanent molars in H. sapiens, H. neanderthalensis and Middle Pleistocene hominins. We discuss possible evolutionary interpretations and suggest the importance of recording this feature in future studies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Dreamers is a musical written by Lai Sheng-Chuan and directed by Ding Nai-Cheng and Lu Poshen to celebrate the centennial of the founding of the Republic of China on 10 October 1911. With us $7 million in government funds, the musical delivered the government's message of Taiwan's economy's strength. However, Dreamers drew criticism from Taiwanese intellectuals for its arguable interpretation of the origin of Taiwan and its failure to address imperative social issues. Employing Sigmund Freud's and Anne Anlin Cheng's model of melancholia, I examine the title, the story, and the staging of Dreamers to see how this musical discloses that Taiwan, on the one hand, desires an independent national subjectivity and, on the other hand, refuses to fully grieve and let go of the loss of China. The musical Dreamers teases out the complex social etiology behind the phenomenon of national grief and injury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The painted scroll Pictorial History of the Nanzhao Kingdom (Nanzhao Guo Shi Tuzhuan) - preserved in a copy at the Fujii Sai- seikai Yurinkan Museum of Art in Kyoto-was produced in the Nanzhao Kingdom in southwestern China in the second year (899) of the Zhongxing reign period (898-902) of King Shun Huazhen (877-902), which corresponds with the second year of the Guanghua reign period (898-901) of Emperor Zhaozong (867-904) of the Tang dynasty (618-907). It illustrates the legend about the introduction of Buddhism to the Nanzhao people, and the help and revelation which they received from the Bodhisattva Guanyin, the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy, in establishing their kingdom in the area of the West Er River (Erhai Lake in the present-day Dali Bai Nationality Autonomous Prefecture in western Ywman) during the middle period of the Tang dynasty. There are three musical references included in the painted scroll. One is showing heavenly music ensemble consisting of a konghou with the head of a phoenix, a curved-neck pipa, a flute with the head of a phoenix, a bili, a gong, and clappers. The second comes at the end of the first part of the narrative showing Guanyin's sixth miraculous transformation, with the bronze drum being beaten. The third image with music reference comes from the scene showing Guanyin's seventh transformation, where in front of the lotus throne, on which is standing Acuoye Guanyin, a bronze drum is casually thrown sideways on the ground. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wall paintings in a group of 25 Mogao grottoes of Dunhuang, constructed during the Northern dynasties (465-585), include depictions of approximately 450 musicians playing instruments. According to the time of their production, they can be classified in three periods: the first period (465-500) coincides with the middle period of Northern Wei; the second period (525-545) with the government of Prince Yuan Rong, as well as with the later period of Northern Wei and Western Wei; and the third period (545-585) with the Northern Zhou period. Among the instruments particularly interesting are conical drums depicted during the second period (caves nos. 431,435,248,249,285,288). In the middle of one or both heads, these drums have some kind of a round button similar to tuning paste (syahi). This detail indicates that such hand-struck shoulder-hung drums, with or without tuning paste, were transmitted from India, via Gandhara and Kucha, to northern China, including the Xiliang area and Dunhuang in particular. They followed the trade and movement of people, and were also used at Buddhist festivals and devotional rituals. The drums jigu and yengu, which are always mentioned together in written accounts associated with xiliangji, the Xiliang style of music adopted for court entertainment, were transmitted from northwestern India through folk religious festivals and in the new environment came to be seen as a pair, one with tuning paste and one without. The Central Asian style of painting that was prevalent at Dunhuang during the first and the second periods, changed in the third period to the Southern Han style, what also brought the new preference for the pictorial narratives which included silk and bamboo Han instruments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is generally considered that the jian drum dance emerged during the Han period in China. However, in contrast to other dances of the Han dynasty, jian drum dance has not been mentioned in any written source. The only evidence about its existence are iconographic representations carved on stones, showing people apparently moving and striking the jian drum. As the jian drum dance is not known from later iconographic sources, it would appear that the dance was performed only during the Han dynasty, and particularly during the period when those images were carved. Based on written records and iconographic data, this paper questions the existence of the jian drum dance and discusses the reasons led to the affirmation of its existence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the global history of music, particularly the development and spread of chordophones, or stringed instruments, most notably the guitar. The author compares the history and cultural meaning of music in 16th century Spain and China. She discusses the social and political aspects of music history in relation to gender and class, explores the history of musical instrument manufacturing and how it impacted industrialization, and analyzes how the history of music mimics other world history trends.

An essay is presented that explores how the cultural status and meaning of an object can change over time based on how the object is represented by different media. It examines how the cultural meaning of the Chinese musical instrument the hulei was impacted by dramatist Kong Shanren and publisher Liu Shiheng through their various works of literature, art and theater.

Copyright of International Journal of Music Education is the property of Sage Publications, Ltd. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article presents an analysis of the use of the musical instrument known as the pipa during the Ming Dynasty in China. A lute-like instrument with four strings, the pipa is said to be central to the repertoire of Ming music, and one of the most respected traditional instruments in China. The article discusses musical transmission between the folk and elite cultures of China, the rise of regional schools, and the development of the pipa as an instrument. It examines how pipa artists could be male or female, and how the music traveled across ethnic and geographic boundaries.

[image omitted] 'East Meets West' is a label often used to refer to compositions that incorporate Asian and European musical elements. Despite its popularity, this characterization is problematic. It not only essentializes both regions, but also trivializes the creative, and highly individual, impulses of the composers as well as the larger political potential of their music. This article discusses the implication of this label by focusing on recent works written for the pipa and Western orchestra by the Hong Kong composer Law Wing Fai. Specifically, it addresses his approach to musical hybridity and its cultural relevance. Underlying the analysis is the assumption that the process of appropriation is always political and never neutral. The author follows the musical traces that characterize Law Wing Fai's personal aesthetics, style and identity, and situates them within the cosmopolitan, contradictory, and idiosyncratic cultural milieu of Hong Kong. By way of Law's music, the notion of fusion is problematized and subjectivity is interjected into the discussion of hybridity. Furthermore, the importance of context in shaping creativity is stressed and discourse is offered that argues for the need to establish an analytical space that transcends the limitations of an 'East Meets West' essentialism and allows a recognition of how new artistic possibilities emerge out of a combination of cultural conditioning and individualism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article features the "Meidaozhai" Chinese art collection owned by the Giovanni Agnelli Foundation of Turin, an organization that showed great interest in Asian cultures and societies. The Meidaozhai collection concentrates more on the historical culture and music tradition of China which include the four musicians from the Henan Province, the mouth organ yu player from Sichuan, the urn for the soul hunping from Shangyu, and the six players on horseback from Shaanxi Province. Moreover, it mentions that the meaning of "Meidaozhai" is the study of Tao or of the Road of Beauty.

The Dian Kingdom, prosperous in the central region of Yunnan Province, China, from the middle Warring States period (475- 221 B.C.) to early Eastern Han dynasty (A.D. 25-220), was a center of bronze production, and archaeologists have excavated in burial sites at Shizhaishan in Jinning County, Lijiashan in Jiangchuan County, Yangfutou in Grandu Distict of Kunming, and Tianzimiao in Chenggong County, such bronze objects as drums, cowry containers refitted from drums, chimes, and gourd-shaped mouth organs. The drums were in an initial stage decorated with protruding patterns of the sun and rhombus grid, while later decorations became more diversified and included images of flying egrets, the sun, oxen, dancers, and deers. Some bronze cowry containers include on the lid elaborate representations which show the way how drums were used. The bronze gourd-shaped mouth organs (huhu sheng) found there are considered to be the earliest instruments from the mouth-organ family in China. Representations of musicians playing mouth organs from the period indicate that the design and playing technique of the gourd-shaped mouth organ have remained unchanged since its creation more than two thousand years ago. Many bronze objects from the Dian Kindom are cast with images of music-making and dance, some of which can be related to traditional rituals that have been until recently performed among the Yunnan ethnic minorities. Described objects are kept in the collections of the Yunnan Provincial Museum and the Yunnan Provincial Cultural Relics and Archaeology Research Institute in Kunming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article relates the relationship of the Melbourne, Victoria-based Scotch College with the China-based Shanghai Conservatory Music School which runs two musical streams: one for Western music and the other for the traditional instruments. She notes that students at Scotch were fascinated on the Chinese traditional instruments. As regards to the music teaching, she reveals that it is interesting to see emphasis placed on skills. Music programs offered by Scotch that reflect the Chinese approach are also provided in the article.