THE GUQIN IN TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY CHINA: A TRADITION REIMAGINED

Abstract

This dissertation is a musicological and anthropological examination of a Chinese instrument, the qin 琴, or guqin 古琴, a seven-string zither with an unbroken history of more than 2000 years, in its contemporary social context. The instrument, once said to be played exclusively by the elite literati in imperial China, has long been portrayed as the most representative musical icon of traditional Chinese culture. By the 1990s, the qin lost its elite status and public awareness decreased, but in 2003 the guqin and its music were proclaimed by UNESCO as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity, later known as Representative of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (ICH). This proclamation and the national safeguarding agenda that comes along with it have evoked great enthusiasm from both the government and the public for revitalizing guqin music and culture. This process of contemporary revitalization is situated in a broader context: a national campaign to bring traditional culture back to life, reclaim the glory of the past, and build pride in Chineseness. However, there has been no detailed ethnographic study—in either English or Chinese—on developments in the qin world since the UNESCO proclamation in 2003, in contrast to the extensive historical and theoretical explorations of the instrument. My research is the first extended ethnographic study that closely examines this process of musical-cultural construction mediated by the national and regional safeguarding agenda and heritage narrative. I examine not only the musical products but also qin practitioners’ conceptualization and behavior, paying attention to the subjectivity of individual and group actors—that is, how they think of, speak about, and practice the guqin, and why. I explore how new communities and identities are being represented and/or constructed through qin performance practice and how the instrument in turn further structures the musical culture. I investigate the role the qin plays in people’s daily lives and in the cultural construction of the society, as well as the political, social, and economic powers that are mediating this musical-cultural process. My research is also in dialogue with a prevailing dichotomy between the “literati’s qin” and the “artists’ qin.” I question the historical and contemporary conceptualization of the literati, and present a new paradigm to view the qin world in China as it is socially and individually conceptualized and experienced, one which challenges essentialist ideas of the instrument being a heritage dating from time immemorial. I examine the dynamics of qin practitioners negotiating tradition and transformation as they continually reimagine and articulate the tradition. I view contemporary qin culture as multi-faceted, and I attempt to give attention and voice to different practitioners rather than labeling them or taking sides in debates. This study integrates historical, ethnographic, and musicological research methods. Historical documents that I investigated include but are not limited to nearly 150 old qin handbooks, mainly from the Ming and Qing dynasties, which contain qin music theories and repertoire, and fiction and non-fiction literature such as novels and encyclopedias. I conducted multiple field visits to mainland China during 2017–19, and intensive fieldwork there during June 2021–May 2022 and the summer of 2023. Cities that I visited include Beijing, Chengdu, Hangzhou, Kunming, Nanchang, Qingdao, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Suzhou, Yangzhou, and Zhuhai. I attended dozens of concerts, classes, and recording sessions, among other events related to the qin, and interviewed dozens of musicians and audience members. I analyze the visual and sonic expressions in stage performances and music videos, and conduct musicological studies on notation systems and practices. This dissertation is an example of “bottom-up” research in the area of ICH studies, as opposed to “top-down” research. Many studies on musical ICH in China and East Asia have dealt with top-down processes such as the UNESCO decision-making process, policy making at different levels of government, designation of heritage bearers, preservation actions, and the influence of these factors on the actual tradition and individual practitioners. A bottom-up study examines the situation in the reverse order. I focus on what is happening on the ground among grassroots practitioners and how that shapes the overall situation. My research also contributes broadly to scholarship on traditional Chinese music. Many scholars of Chinese music have written on the modernization of traditional Chinese music. The modernization process of the qin shares similarities with that of other genres, yet also demonstrates its own characteristics because of its rich written records and ICH status. A careful examination of the modernization of the qin is much needed in scholarship. This research offers ethnographic and historical data to musicologists and ethnomusicologists interested in the guqin and Chinese traditional music. Through the lens of the qin, my research deals with many aspects of Chinese cultural and social life, past and present. Therefore, this research also has the potential to be of great interest to social scientists, historians, and other scholars in Chinese and East Asian studies.