Chapter 13 Part III: A Musicultural History of the Chinese Zheng

 The ancestor of the Zheng is…  The qin!  The qin was popular in what dynasty?  Han  And what religion was prevalent?  Confucianism!  During the Tang Dynasty, what emperor was responsible full improving the role of the musician’s social status and for cultivating the zheng as a “women’s” instrument?  Emperor Xuanzong!  In which dynasty did distinct regional styles of zheng playing emerge?  Qing Dynasty!

 Emergence of Conservatory Solo Zheng Style  Republic Era  Adoption of Western music  Communist China  Socialist Agenda  Music and Politics  Musical propoganda

 Republic Era ( )  Political instability and massive cultural reform  Appropriating Western technological, economic, and cultural systems  Chinese traditional musics seen as regressive.  Western music was prized as an adopted icon of Chinese modernity  “Race towards modernization”  Attitude: Prevalent notion that Western music was superior.  Ethnomusicologist Stephen Jones:  “Students of traditional Chinese instruments are plainly considered inferior to students of Western music…For many urban Chinese, their traditional music is ‘backward,’ less ‘scientific,’ than Western music.”

 Liu Tianhua (Lee-oo Tee-en hwah)  Chinese composer and musician  Argument: Traditional musics and instruments should not be discarded, but reformed and modernized.  Incorporating Western elements  Collecting, transcribing, and publishing traditional folk music from different regions of China and rearranging it sound more “current.”  This was to be a music imbued with Chinese “national characteristics,” fused with elements of Western music so that it can be “the equal of Western music.”

 Broke away from baban form  8…Regional  Use of more ornamentation – guo-zou glissandos  Introduction of accelerando  Programmatic effect  Evoke the motion and sound of the fishing boats  Common feature in most Chinese music  More emphasis was placed on the programmatic concept during the Republic era.  Overall: More ornamentation and new techniques being employed to create programmatic effect.

 Excerpt 1. Opening section of the piece (CD EX. #3-24)  Traditional musical style similar to that of baban-form pieces, slow tempo, conventional ornaments, single-line melody, relaxed and contemplative mood.  Excerpt 2. Closing Section of the Piece (CD EX. #3-25)  What are some elements that are different?  Departure from traditional zheng musical style on multiple levels  Baban form no longer present  Elaborate use of gua-zou (glissando) ornamentation  Dramatic use of acceleration of tempo and the explicit programmaticism of the music

 Mao Zedong  Chinese Communist Party (CCP)  Gained political control of China in 1949  Chinese socialism: Importance of state patronage  Control of music in efforts to encode and promote state ideology  Musical propaganda  Heavily regulated through national music conservatories and music research institutes.

 Music/Arts were to expressively serve the goals of the socialist state.  Communist songs for the masses were created in abundance and used to propagate Chinese state ideology and policies.  First full-fledged Chinese conservatory curriculum in zheng was established at Shenyan Conservatory in 1950.

 Sung by Deng Haiqiong’s Mother, Li Xiuqin with zheng accompaniment by Haiqiong.  Melody is a Tibetan folksong  Invokes several standard themes of Chinese communist rhetoric:  The literal and metaphorical glorification of Mao Zedong and the CCP  The rationalization of CCP policies regarding China’s “ethnic minorities”  The “emancipation” of the peasant masses  The ideal of building socialism for China

 New works for solo zheng composed.  “Return of the Fishing Boats.”  Additionally, these pieces were linked to titles and “programs” – descriptions of what the music was properly supposed to represent and evoke.  1958: Government initiative to increase the official stature of Chinese music led several talented pianists to switch to the zheng as their main instrument.  Fan Shang’e  The virtuosic, “pianistic” potential of the zheng was greatly developed by this new generation of performers.  Pieces became technically demanding  16 string zheng expanded to the 21 string zheng

 Tibetan folksong is the melody but the piece has little to do with traditional Tibetan folk music.  Socialist program: Describes a scene of Tibetans happily singing and dancing in their beautiful, mountainous land in a spirit of welcome toward Chinese communist rule.  Highly developed two-hand playing technique.  Two-part texture. RH melody and LH arpeggiated chords with tons of ornamentation.  1:02-End  First portion of concluding section of piece, in which the melody and lively rhythm are intended to evoke an image of “happy Tibetans” performing folk dances.

 Western music was prized as an adopted icon of Chinese modernity in what era?  Republic!  What composer thought that traditional Chinese musics and instruments should not be discarded, but reformed and modernized?  Liu Tianhua!  Who gained political control of China in 1949?  Mao Zedong!  A socialist program is:  Descriptions of what the music is properly supposed to represent and evoke according to the Chinese Communist Party.

 Cultural Revolution Era  Brutally Oppressive Policies  Period of Openness  Deng Xiaoping  “New wave” Chinese composers and the Zheng in popular culture.