Chapter 13
A Musicultural History of the Chinese
Zheng
Introduction
This chapter focuses on the zheng, an instrument with a history
beginning in ancient times and continuing through to the
present day.
The principal focus is on the solo zheng music traditions
associated with music conservatories in mainland China since
the 20th century, though earlier traditions and styles dating to
antiquity are covered as well.
Additionally, Beijing Opera is explored, along with Chinese
instruments such as the pipa and the qin, Chinese and Chinese
American rock music, Tibetan Buddhist chant, Uighur music,
the koto and other Japanese instruments, and Japanese gagaku
and popular musics.
China: An Overview
The Nation-State of Modern China
The People’s Republic of China (PRC) has 1.3 billion people and
the third largest geographical landmass of any world nation. It is
bordered by nations including Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan,
Vietnam, India, Nepal, and Korea.
The capital is Beijing, where Communist China’s founding
father, Mao Zedong, declared the PRC in 1949.
The official language is Mandarin Chinese, and the majority Han
Chinese account for about 92% of the population.
The remaining 8% of the population of the PRC largely
comprises “ethnic minorities” such as the Uighur and Tibetan
peoples.
There are 55 recognized ethnic minorities in China, many of
which defy such categorization and regard themselves as
occupied peoples.
Many of the so-called ethnic minority groups—including the
Tibetans and Uighurs, whose musics and cultures figure
prominently in the chapter—have long struggled for
independence from China.
From Antiquity to the Present
Chinese civilization dates back more than 3,500 years. For most
of its history, China was ruled by imperial dynasties, a tradition
that ended with the collapse of the Qing dynasty in 1911.
Following this collapse, the Republic of China was declared in
1912. Mao Zedong would later lead the Chinese Communist
Party, or CCP, to power.
Mao founded the PRC as a socialist (communist) state in 1949.
Chinese socialism has emphasized state patronage and control of
music in its efforts to promote state ideology. The close and
explicit connection of music and politics in Communist China
reflects an ages-old pattern of close links between music and
politics that extends throughout Chinese history.
There have been three main historical periods in the history of
Communist China:
The initial communist era of Mao Zedong’s regime, 19491965, in which Chinese society was reformed under
Communist rule.
The Cultural Revolution era of 1966-1976, in which
intolerance for deviation from state ideology and artistic
and cultural expression were especially extreme.
The Period of Openness, which began to emerge
following Mao Zedong’s death in 1976. This period
brought economic reform, free enterprise, expanded
involvement in global economic and cultural markets, and
a loosening of prior constraints on multiple levels.
An Introduction to the Zheng
The zheng is a Chinese board zither chordophone. It has a
series of strings laid lengthwise across a wooden frame that is
attached to its own resonating chamber. Archaeological
evidence suggests an ancestry for the instrument dating back
over 2,500 years.
The instrument is hugely popular in the PRC, as well as in
Taiwan, Hong Kong, and in Chinese musical communities
worldwide.
Older forms of the zheng used silk strings on a bamboo frame,
but now the instrument commonly features 16 or 21 strings
over a wooden frame. The strings are usually made from
metal-wound nylon and are supported by movable bridges
made from wood, ivory, plastic, or other materials.
Insights and
Perspectives
The Koto and
Japanese Music in
Ancient and
Modern Times
The instrument that gave rise to the Japanese koto was brought
from China, perhaps in the Nara period (710-784), when the
foundations of Japanese gagaku were established.
Gagaku translates as “elegant music.” The oldest gagaku
pieces were meant to accompany dance performances, and the
koto has had a traditionally important historical role in gagaku.
The koto has also figured prominently in many other contexts
throughout Japanese history, and has recently been used to
good effect in some Japanese pop music (e.g., Rin’s
“Sakitama,” CD ex. #4-24).
Musical Guided
Tour
The Zheng
Follow along with the transcript on
pages 325-326 of the text as you listen
to the Tour for this chapter.
Audio Musical Guided
The Zheng in Imperial China
The zheng is first mentioned in a Qin era manuscript from 237
BCE, which describes a group of rural Chinese musicians.
Qin imperial expansion led to what some describe as China’s
first popular music, and the zheng was a key instrument in this
new musical culture.
Regional styles began to emerge as far back as Qin times;
elements of those ancient styles are believed to have been
retained in their respective regions to the present day.
The Han Dynasty Era
The Han dynasty era occurred from 202 BCE-220 CE. During
this time, Confucianism was established as the foundation of the
Chinese social order.
The zheng gained popularity as an entertainment instrument and
an instrument of ritual. It was played by court musicians,
women, slaves, and common folk. Its connections to
Confucianism may have favored its use in music performed as a
method of self-cultivation.
Insights and
Perspectives
Confucianism and
the Qin Zither
See the boxed feature on
p. 328 and listen to CD
ex. #4-25.
The Tang Dynasty Era
The zheng reached its apogee during the Tang dynasty (618-907
CE); the Tang government employed 30,000 musicians and
dancers and hosted a huge and cosmopolitan music ministry.
The zheng was combined with other instruments in Tang court
ensembles, including instruments originally foreign to China,
like the pipa, which were brought to China via the Silk Road.
Women began playing the zheng in greater numbers, creating a
cultural association of gender to instrument that continues today.
Female performance was promoted during this dynasty.
The Ming and Qing Dynasty Eras
The Ming dynasty (1268-1644) saw a resurgence in the
popularity of the zheng after a period of decline. Girls and
young women were once again widely encouraged to study and
play the zheng, especially in connection with the association of
the instrument with a rising middle class.
Chinese opera developed and flourished during the Ming, and
distinctive playing techniques developed in each region in
imitation of regional languages and dialects.
Chinese opera and the prominent role of the zheng in opera
music continued during the subsequent Qing dynasty era.
Insights and
Perspectives
Chinese Opera and
Beijing Opera in
Dynastic and
Post-Dynastic
China
Traditional Chinese opera commonly featured a dramatic story
enacted by costumed performers wearing makeup. They
employed heightened speech, song, dance, mime, acting, and
acrobatics. Female characters were often played by boys or
adult female impersonators.
Beijing Opera (or Peking Opera) is the most widely known
type of Chinese opera, and is highly stylized. There are 26
ways to laugh, 20 types of beard, and 39 ways to manipulate
the beard.
During the Communist era, Beijing opera was discredited or
transformed in accordance with political priorities. Today,
Beijing Opera appears in a variety of contexts, including
popular music videos.
Regional Styles:
Traditional Solo Zheng Music
During the Qing dynasty, many distinct regional styles of solo
zheng music crystallized. They grew out of existing local
traditions of folk opera, sung poetry, and other genres.
Each regional style has its own distinctive yun, or “regional
character.” The yun of Henan zheng is known for its liveliness
and short, descending melodic phrases. The vocal rises and
falls of Henan spoken dialect are mirrored by similar gliding
ornaments in Henan zheng performance.
“Autumn Moon over the Han Palace” (CD ex. #4-27, pp. 332334) is an example of a piece in the regional style of Shandong
with a characteristic baban formal design. Its yijing, or
emotional quality, is of a complex form of “sadness.”
Emergence and Development of the
Conservatory Solo Zheng Style in Mainland
China
Music and the Conservatory Solo Zheng
Tradition in Communist China, 1949-1965
With the rise to power of Mao Zedong and the CCP in 1949,
musical reform efforts initiated during the preceding Republican
era (1912-1949) continued with an overlay of political content
tied to Chinese socialist doctrines:
The glorification of Mao Zedong and the CCP.
The rationalization of CCP policies regarding “ethnic
minorities.”
The “emancipation” of the peasant masses.
The ideal of building socialism for China.
Patriotic songs such as “On the Golden Hill in Beijing” (CD ex.
#4-28; pp. 336-337) and solo zheng compositions such as
“Spring on Snowy Mountains” (CD ex. #4-29) reflected such
ideological agendas. “Spring on Snowy Mountains” also
illustrates new musical and stylistic elements of the period for
the zheng, notably:
Virtuosic, two-handed playing technique reflecting
Western influences, especially of piano technique.
Establishment of 21-string zheng as the standard
instrument (replacing the earlier 16-string version).
Appropriation of “minority” musical materials, in this
case (as in “Golden Hill”) Tibetan specifically.
Insights and
Perspectives
The Chinese
Occupation of
Tibet and the
Plight of Tibetan
Buddhists
Beginning in 1950 and intensifying after 1956, China gradually
took over and occupied Tibet. This led to the brutal
persecution of Tibetans, especially monks of Tibetan Buddhist
monastic orders. This persecution led the Dalai Lama to flee
Tibet for exile in India in 1959, and over a hundred thousand
Tibetan Buddhists followed his lead.
In 1961, an international council accused China of committing
genocide against Tibetans.
The chants and music of exiled Tibetan Buddhist monks have
been a subject of much scholarly and musical interest. CD ex.
#4-30 provides an example of Tibetan Buddhist chant.
The Cultural Revolution Era
The Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) had the purported aim of
ridding Chinese culture of anything “alien to the egalitarian
spirit of [Chinese] socialism” (Fletcher 2001:344).
Brutally oppressive policies were aimed at many sectors of
Chinese society, limiting intellectual and artistic expression.
Individuals and groups who resisted were sent to work camps,
tortured, or even executed.
Musical life was restrained, but continued. Revolutionary
songs were sung and individuals continued to learn and play
approved musical compositions. The zheng’s musical
development was stifled during this time.
The Rise of Deng Xiaoping and
the Period of Openness
Mao Zedong’s 1976 death led to a period of social upheaval and
instability, during which Deng Xiaoping rose as the new leader
of China.
Deng’s regime was a radical political experiment: he aimed to
maintain the communist political order amid an environment of
free enterprise.
In many respects, Deng’s experiment was a great success (e.g.,
ushering in China’s phenomenal rise as a major global economic
power). In other ways, it failed miserably, as manifest in tragic
events like the Tiananmen Square massacre of 1989.
Insights and
Perspectives
Rocking the Zheng
on the New Long
March: Cui Jian
and Bei Bei He
Cui Jian’s poignant songs speak of alienation in a rapidly
changing China. His most popular song, “Nothing to My
Name,” was the unofficial anthem of the Chinese democracy
movement and reached the climax of its impact during a
hunger-strike protest at Beijing’s Tiananmen Square in 1989.
Bei Bei He, whose zheng playing within a cosmopolitan
world/rock musical style is featured on CD ex. #4-31, began
her formal musical education in the Chinese conservatory
system as a zheng performer. In 2003, she moved to Southern
California to cultivate her American/international musical life.
Her performances are diverse: she has appeared on the Oprah
Winfrey Show, played in studio sessions for Battlestar
Galactica, and performed at the National Arts Center of
Canada.
The Arts, the Zheng, and Musicultural
Life in Post-1970s China
The new policies of openness combined with artistic freedom for
Chinese musicians resulted in a musical renaissance. Attitudes
toward Western art music transformed, and modern Western art
and popular musics became appreciated and valued. Modern
Chinese composers such as Tan Dun have achieved international
fame through their cosmopolitan compositional styles.
The zheng has blossomed in the post-1970s era. New
compositional styles reflecting trends toward increasing
virtuosity, experimentalism, and cosmopolitanism for the
instrument have developed.
Problems of the Period of Openness era have included
decreasing government support of state institutions (including
music conservatories) and continued cultural appropriation of
folk and minority musics (e.g., Tibetan, Uighur) by the state
and its conservatory culture.
Some music based on “minority” traditions from the modern
“Openness” period, such as the Uighur-inspired piece “Music
from the Muqam” (CD ex. #4-33; pp. 346-349), are criticized
for projecting a positive image of a unified, inclusive,
multicultural China that contradicts harsher sociopolitical
realities.