Strothers 1
Sarah Renata Strothers
Enhanced Lecture Notes
Chapter Thirteen: A Musicultural History of the Chinese
Zheng
Class 1: Introduction - The People’s Republic of China and the
Zheng
*As students are walking in: Play Online Musical Example #26 “The Fighting Typhoon”*
Activity
- With a partner, make a list of how China is portrayed in Western popular culture and/or
how China is stereotyped (essentialized) musically, culturally, or socially.
o 5 minutes of collaboration and then have classroom discussion.
o After getting ideas, if this has not been mentioned, discussed the music played in
Chinese restaurants.
o Play online musical example #26 briefly and ask students if they have heard this
instrument before, either in movies, restaurants, and so on. Then give them the
name of the instruments. The zheng.
o Purpose of this exercise: To deconstruct stereotypes associated with a particular
culture, and in this case, China. *Could also use this as a question to ask the
students to see if they can understand the purpose of the exercise*
Lecture
- For this unit, we shall explore the musiculture history of the zheng and discuss elements
of Chinese history, political movements, and ideologies that have shaped it that will
allow us to gain some insight as to why instruments like the zheng and other aspects of
Chinese culture are “essentialized.”
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We will survey a variety of music associated with the zheng and ancient times (different
dynastic eras) that will lead us to the development of solo zheng playing in main land
China at state sponsored music conservatories and the incorporation of Western music
idioms associated with the Period of Openness. We will also take a glance at the zheng
portrayed in Chinese popular culture in addition to looking at contemporary zheng
performances.
Strothers 2
**Show Musicultural Map**
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Label the pickup truck “music”
The streets “avenues”
The building and swing set “culture”
o We are using music as a tool to explore the avenues of culture.
o If we are exploring China, what additional label can I write on the pick up truck?
 Zheng.
People’s Republic of China
- Nation-state.
o What is a nation-state? (Remember from chapter 2).
- Very ancient civilization.
o 3500 plus years
- Population of 1.3 billion
o World’s largest
- World’s third largest nation in geographical size
o 1st Russia, 2nd Canada
- Capital: Beijing (formerly called Peking)
- Mandarin: Official Language
o Other dialects exist: Cantonese
- Han Chinese – Chinese ethnic majority.
o 92% of the population
- Remaining 8%, “ethnic minorities”: Tibetan, Uygur (Wee-gur), Manchu, Mongols
o There are a total of 55 ethnic minority groups
Major Historical Periods Discussed.
- Dynastic Eras
o Qin, Han, Tang, Ming, Qing
- Republican period (1912-1949)
o Jiang Jieshi, a.k.a., Chiang Kai-shek
- Communist Period
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o Initial communist period, (1949-1965) Mao Zedong
o Cultural Revolution, (1966-1976)
 Chinese communist party complete control over what music and art
expressed.
o Period of Openness, (1970s/1980s-present)
 Deng Xiaoping
Throughout virtually the entire history of imperial China, music was regarded as an
important component of political life. Rulers recognized, respected, and exploited what
they perceived as music’s special capacity to reflect, influence, and model an idealized
Chinese social order: from Confucianism to communism.
Thanks China!
- The Dynastic Era Invented:
o Paper, wheel-carts, grid maps, accurate time-measurement devises, guns,
gunpowder, and cannons.
o Medical science - developed a full understanding of the body’s blood circulation
system, circadian rhythms, and the dietary causes of deficiency diseases some two
thousand years before such foundational features of human biology were
“discovered” by Europeans.
o The chromatic scale of Western music.
 Reportedly worked out by a Chinese music scholar using bamboo pitch
pipes in the 16th century before being adopted into the mainstream of
Western music during the 17th century.
o Institutions such as government music ministries and state music conservatories
and research institutes were also “inventions” of the ancient Chinese
o More Importantly…
 Noodles!
How did this information even get to us, and not only us, other parts of the world?
- The Silk Road
o Expansive trade route of antiquity that connected China to lands as distant as
Central Asia, India, Egypt, and Turkey
o Early form of globalization.
Religions of China
- Buddhism
o 1st/2nd century
o Ch’an-Buddhism (Zen Buddhism)
 Now popular in Japan
o Associated with many musical styles
 Chanting
 *Play track 1, Monshogodo: Meditative Sounds of Old Japan.*
Example of Buddhist chant but with shakuhachi.
 *Play CD EX. 3-28, Tibetan Buddhist Chant
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Confucianism
o 1st century
o Teaching of Confucius – Kong Zi *show picture*
o Emphasis on social order, stressed ethical action
o Qin – 7 string zither
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Daoism (Taoism)
o Obscure origins
o Teachings of Lao Tze *show picture*
o Famous Taoist text - Dao De Jing-The Way and its Power
o Emphasized the virtue of Wu Wei, “non-action”
 Where the Confucian stressed ethical action, the Taoist spoke of the virtue
of Wu Wei (non-action), going with the flow of things.
Confucius and the Qin *show picture of qin and Confucius*
- Corner stone of Chinese society and social policy under the rule of the Han dynasty and
some of the philosophies are still influential in different aspects of today’s Chinese
culture.
- Confucianism insisted upon the need for social control and direction at every level.
Hierarchical social stratification, deference to authority, codification of behavior across
the full range of social classes, and the primacy of fulfilling one’s duty to society above
all other considerations underscored its fundamental goal: the establishment preservation,
and perpetuation of a morally virtuous social order. All facets of society-from family
dynamics and political administration to the arts, religious belief and ritual, and cultural
and intellectual life-were bound up in the Confucian code of moral virtue as “right” social
order.
- When properly employed, music was a medium for establishing and maintaining a good
and moral society.
o Cultivate inner character
 To mold people’s minds and hearts in ways that would make them more
committed to and better capable o serving the common good
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Certain types of musics for each social class.
o Music is essential matching the right kinds of music with the right kinds of
people.
 Junzi – “superior individuals”
 Junzi instrument – Qin
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Qin
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o
o
o
Possible ancestor to the zheng
7 string, board zither chordophone
No bridges
Smaller than a zheng
Softer dynamic range than a zheng
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o Instrument of the gentlemen scholar
o Played solo, and in solitude
 Playing the qin was seen as an aid to enlightenment, disciplined thinking,
and self-reflection. Many Chinese works of art and poems depict the
figure of a junzi with qin engaged in quiet contemplation. Confucius
himself is believed to play the qin.
More on the Qin
- Play CD #3-20
o Portion of a solo performance on the qin.
o Melody based on an ancient Buddhist chant.
o Tao Chu Sheng, Qin master from Taiwan.
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bv_XErQKIWY&feature=related
 Example of Tau Chu Sheng
 Note the playing techniques.
Confucius Say…
- Serious Quotes
o “To know your faults and be able to change is the greatest virtue."
o "What you do not wish for yourself, do not do to others."
o "Knowledge is recognizing what you know and what you don't."
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Jokes (Essentializing)
o Don't drink and park - accidents cause people.
o Man who sneezes without tissue takes matter in his own hands.
o Wise man never play leapfrog with unicorn.
Extra Credit Assignment
- Find an instrument or music genre within this chapter that isn’t thoroughly discussed in
class.
o Xiao, pipa, Beijing Opera – These are just examples.
o Anything but the Zheng or Qin.
o E-mail me your topic.
o Create a five minute power point presentation and teach this instrument/music to
the class.
o Proposals due Tuesday October 25th
- Since the book mainly focuses on the zheng, this is a good opportunity for you to explore
the other instruments and musical genres that are in China. There are quite a few
instruments/genres
Next Class
- Histories linked with the zheng
- It’s evolution in the different dynastic eras
- Role of Woman
- Different regional styles
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Class 2: The Zheng and its Histories
*As students are walking in: Play Online Musical Example #3-23 “Autumn Moon over the
Han Palace”*
The Zheng
- Chinese board zither chordophone
- Zither: any type of musical stringed instrument with a construction that features a series
of strings laid lengthwise across a wooden frame.
- Ancestor is the Qin. 7 string zither. Invented more than 2,500 years ago.
- Construction: Wooden frame, 16-21 strings nylon/steel strings.
- Strings are supported by movable bridges.
o The qin does not have movable bridges.
- Positioning of the bridges is adjusted for different tunings.
- Similar instruments: Japanese koto, Vietnamese dan tranh, Mongolian jatag, Korean
kayagum.
Deng Haiqiong
- Teaches Chinese Ensemble at FSU
o http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDyKe7lbgZ0&feature=&p=404288924BBF
F62B&index=0&playnext=1
- Leading zheng player of her generation
- Born: 1975, started playing at the age of 8.
- Shangai conservatory of Music.
- 1995: 1st prize in National Zheng Competition of China
- Concertized in China, Japan, Singapore, and U.S.
o New York’s Carnegie Hall
- Studied ethnomusicology
Activity: Play Musical Guided Tour, Page 297
- Have students follow along in their books. Highlight important phrases on the power
point.
o Range of 4 octaves for 21 stringed zheng
o Range of 3 octaves for 16 stringed zheng
o Alter the positions of the movable bridges on the instrument allows for several
different pentatonic tunings.
o Traditional playing style: The right hand is only used.
o Since 1950’s, both hands have been incorporated.
o Techniques reflect Western musical influences – especially from piano music.
o Uses highly developed melodic ornamentation such as:
 Yao zhi – tremelo/roll
 Da Yau zhi - faster tremelo/roll (a quicker motion back and forth)
 “Four-point fingering technique” – alteration of middle, thumb, and index
finger
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Gua-zou or glissando
Narrow or wide vibratos
Tremelos/rolls
Harmonics
Theories of Origin
- Theory 1:
o Onomatopoeic: Reflecting the timbre of the instrument when it’s plucked.
- Theory 2:
o Due to its translation: “Dispute.” Involved an argument between sisters during the
Qin dynasty
 - (Qin dynasty) – Legend has it that during the ancient era of the Qin
dynasty two sisters in the imperial palace got into a heated argument over
a 25 string se zither and broke the instrument in half. This yielded two
instruments, one with 12 strings, the other with 13. Amused by the
incident, the emperor named these new “half” instruments “zheng” in
acknowledgement of the “dispute” that have given rise to them. According
to some versions of the story, the 13 string instrument was eventually
given as a gift by the Qin emperor to the imperial house of Japan, giving
rise to the 13 string koto. The 12 string model, meanwhile, ended up in
Korea, where it became the prototype of the 12 string Korean kayagum.
- Unknown origins:
o Earliest documentation of the zheng found in Qin era manuscripts, referring to
musicians that: “Beat clay drums and earthen jars, play zheng and slap their thigh
to accompany songs.”
- Zheng’s rise in popularity due to:
o Loud, portable, and adaptable to musical situations.
o Geographical and musical diffusion
 Advent of the first “popular” music in China
Zheng in the Han Dynasty (202 BCE – 220 BCE)
- Confucianism established as the foundation of Chinese social action.
- Emphasis on ethical behavior and fulfilling your role in society
- Zheng: instrument of entertainment, public ritual, and self cultivation.
o Weddings, banquets, funerals, and accompany elaborate entertainments that
involved singing, acrobatics, and dance.
 So depending on your class, it would dictate how the instrument is used.
- Played by professional court musicians, woman, slaves, and commoners.
- Some considered it a vulgar instrument, while others hailed it as a tool to embody high
moral character.
 If you were of high social status you may thought the instrument vulgar if
you saw someone of low social status playing it.
The Zheng and the Tang Dynasy (618-907 CE)
- The zheng reached musical heights.
- Music ministry program that employed 30,000 musicians and dancers.
- Musical experimentations with the Zheng:
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o Ensembles
 Pipa (pear shaped lute), Xiao (flute), Erhu (fiddle)
 Play CD #3-21 Duet for zheng and pipa
o Pipa looks like what type of instrument?
 Play CD # 3-22 Zheng, pipa, xiao, and pipa
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jo43B8rYVQ0&feature=related
o A modern example of traditional Chinese instruments
playing together.
New features added to the Zheng
o More strings
o New playing techniques introduced
o Earliest examples of Zheng music notation
Rise of women playing the zheng
o Previous eras, usually of low status.
o Became popular with women of high social status
A woman playing the zheng became a romanticized image and associated with romantic
subjects.
o The beauty of nature, the beauty of women, sentimental feelings of love,
memories of sadness and longing.
Emperor Xuanzong *Show picture of him (google images)*
o Played an integral role in cultivating the zheng as a “women’s instrument.”
o Promoted women’s performances:
o Hired musicians to train women how to play.
o These women would entertain imperial guests at banquets.
o Improved the overall social status of musicians.
The Zheng and the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644)
- Rise of the middle class
- Zheng became a “household” item
- Girls and young women were especially encouraged to study and play the instrument.
- Regional styles of Chinese opera:
- Xi, Xiqu, Xiju: Zheng important accompaniment instrument.
o “Distinctive zheng playing techniques and styles of melodic ornamentation were
developed in each region to capture nuances of regional languages and dialects,
especially in connection with local types of opera, song, and their related
instrument musical styles” (Bakan, 304).
 Read Insight and Perspectives – Chinese Opera and Beijing Opera in
Dynastic and Post-Dynastic China as a class.
- This era heavily important to the emergence of regional styles of solo zheng playing.
The Zheng and the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911)
- Distinct regional styles of zheng playing have crystallized:
- Developed out of existing regional traditions of folk opera, sung poetry, musically
accompanied storytelling, and instrument ensemble music involving the zheng: they also
reflected a long history of mixing between folk, popular, and court music traditions.
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o Shandong, Henan, Shaanxi, Chaozhou, Hakka, and Zhejiang all had different
characteristics of playing styles.
 *Show map of the different regions (google images)*
These regional styles exist today, though, in many respects, they have been absorbed into
the “national” style of the conservatories.
Regional styles gave rise to traditional solo zheng Music
Common to the various regional styles is the baban:
o Traditional Chinese melodic form with 8 main melodic phrases.
Each regional style has its own distinctive yun or regional character.
o For example: The yun of the Henan zheng is known for its liveliness and short
descending melodic phrases.
Each regional style (including the bulk of all traditional Chinese music) is associated with
a specific yijing:
o Designated emotional quality of a musical work. Usually complex and
multifaceted rather than simple and straightforward.
Example of regional style
o “Autumn Moon Over the Han Palace”
o Performer: Deng Haiqiong
 CD #3-23
o Representative of Shandong regional zheng style
o Played on a 16 string zheng with steel strings.
 Smaller zheng is preferred for traditional pieces.
o Yijing: “Sadness.”
 “The yijing of a sadness that’s in your heart, that you keep inside
yourself…It’s very gentle, moderate, and controlled. This sense of
moderation is what has to come through when you play the piece. More
important than expressing ‘sadness’ through the music for me is
expressing this mood of moderation, of a certain sense of peacefulness and
restraint” (Bakan, 306 – Deng Haiqiong).
Activity: Guided Listening Page 307, Play CD-23 “Autumn Moon over the Han Palace.”
- Have students listen to the track and follow along with the guided listening.
o Point out the different playing techniques.
o Possibly have them raise their hand when they hear a glissando, up-glide, downglide, and etc in Phrases 2-8 to engage “active” listening.
Next Class
- Conservatory Solo Zheng style
o Communist China
o Cultural Revolution Era
o Period of Openness
- Zheng in musicultural life post-1970s
o Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon
- Zheng in popular culture
o Kung Fu Hustle
Strothers 10
Class 3: The Zheng - Music and Politics Traditions and
Transformations
*Play ”Return of the Fishing Boats,” By Lou Shuhua CD EX. 3-25 as students walk into
the class”
Emergence of Conservatory Solo Zheng Style
- Republic Era (1912-1949)
o Political instability and massive cultural reform
o Appropriating Western technological, economic, and cultural systems
o Chinese traditional musics seen as regressive.
 Wholesale replacement of Chinese music with Western music.
o Western music was prized as an adopted icon of Chinese modernity
 “Race towards modernization”
o Attitude: Prevalent notion that Western music was superior.
o 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.”
o Many schools/conservatories were devoted to the cultivation of Western music
instead of Chinese music.
 Total adoption of Western music conservatory system.
Republic Era: Different School of Thought
- Liu Tianhua (Lee-oo Tee-en hwah)
o Chinese composer and musician
o Argument: Traditional musics and instruments should not be discarded, but
reformed and modernized.
o Incorporating Western elements
o Collecting, transcribing, and publishing traditional folk music from different
regions of China and rearranging it sound more “current.”
 Folk music was used to provide a base upon which a new Chinese national
music would be created with the aid of more “advanced” musical
resources.
o 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.”
 Regional zheng musics still existed-but at local musicultural scenes.
o New pieces based on traditional tunes and forms modified in ways that reflected
new musical values and approaches.
“Return of the Fishing Boats” by Lou Shuhua
- Broke away from baban form
o What number is associated with baban?
o Baban form is associated with what type of Zheng music?
- Use of more ornamentation
o guo-zou – glissandos
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Programmatic effect
o Evoke the motion and sound of the fishing boats
 Fishermen rowing faster and faster returning from work at the end of day.
o Common feature in most Chinese music; however, more emphasis was placed on
the programmatic concept during the Republic era.
Overall: More ornamentation, new techniques being employed, fluctuating tempos for
dramatic effect, and wide dynamic ranges are being used to “paint” a musical image.
Activity – Programmatic Effect
For Each musical example, write down the “images” you see.
- Play excerpt: Peer Gynt - Morning
- Play excerpt: Peer Gynt - In the Hall of the Mountain King
- Play excerpt: “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice”
- Play excerpt: “Night On Bald Mountain”
o Once everyone is finished, discuss answers and what picture/story each composer
was trying to convey – emphasizing the notion of programmatic effect.
If there is time, play an excerpt from Disney’s Fantasia
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XChxLGnIwCU The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
Activity: Guided Listening “Return of the Fishing Boats” Page 309
- Excerpt 1. Opening section of the piece Play (CD EX. #3-24)
o 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?
o Departure from traditional zheng musical style on multiple levels:
 Form no longer present
 Elaborate use of gua-zou (glissando) ornamentation
 Dramatic use of dynamics, tempo, and the explicit programmaticism of the
music
 If we can remember from the last slide, what image is this
particular piece painting?
 Question for everyone but geared towards my music majors:
Where else in music history do we see the use of
programmaticism?
o Do you think that this composer was influenced by that
type of programmaticism?
o Why? (Reflective of Western music aesthetic.)
Conservatory Solo Zheng Tradition in Communist China (1949-1965)
- Mao Zedong (show picture of Mao from google images)
o Chinese Communist Party (CCP)
o Gained political control of China in 1949
o Chinese socialism: Importance of state patronage
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 Paying homage to Mao Zedong
o Control of music in efforts to encode and promote state ideology
o Musical propaganda
o Heavily regulated through national music conservatories and music research
institutes.
 Making sure it is in tune with state ideology
Music/Arts were to expressively serve the goals of the socialist state.
o Show picture of Mao Zedong as “the never setting sun.” (Google images).
 Under Mao’s rule, the government gradually became the sole official
patron and controller of the arts, artistic activities, and arts-related
institutions in Communist China.
o Elevate and valorize the working class
o Promote revolutionary ideas (approved…)
o Glorify the revolution, communism, and Mao himself.
Communist songs for the masses were created in abundance and used to propagate
Chinese state ideology and policies.
Regional and national music conservatories and research institutes played a major role in
cultivating and promoting the new, official, musical culture of the Chinese communist
state.
Western music and instruments (especially violin and piano) continued to have the
highest prestige, but Chinese music and instruments, including the zheng, made gradual
advances in prominence and stature. The first full-fledged Chinese conservatory
curriculum in zheng was established at Shenyang Conservatory in 1950.
Activity – Listening: “On the Golden Hill of Beijing” CD Ex. #3-26
- Sung by Deng Haiqiong’s Mother, Li Xiuqin with zheng accompaniment by Haiqiong.
o Melody is a Tibetan folksong
 This is foreshadowing a bit, but why do you think a Tibetan folksong was
being used?
o 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
o Have a student read the lyrics out loud.
o This listening is evidence of the zheng rising in stature: It is used as
accompaniment instrument during a time where traditional Chinese music was
thought of as regressive.
 What other instruments could have been used?
 Done so strategically because the CCP occupied Tibet and the
Tibetan people were severely oppressed.
o This listening also shows how the Chinese Communist Party was using music to
persuade the masses that their political agenda was the “right” agenda.
Activity (If there is time) Watch an excerpt from:
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTY5aZuO_bc "The East is Red"
Strothers 13
o Film musical of the 1960s, depicting the spirit of Communist China and Maoist
Revolution—note giant orchestra with massive erhu section AND violin section,
massive choir, big dance production number. All of these things emulating
Western aesthetics while incorporating the socialist agenda and traditional
instruments.
Zheng: The “Genuine” Folk Instrument
- Within the new socialist musical environment of the urban conservatories and music
institutes, the zheng was promoted as a “genuine folk instrument” and many new works
for solo zheng were composed.
o “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
o Not to be confused with programmatic effect. The program in this sense, although
similar to the programmatic effect serves two purposes: 1) Promote the socialist
agenda by making it clear what this particular zheng piece is for and 2) Have the
music reflect the political character of the socialist agenda.
 “Little Sister Hero of the Plains” – Dramatically depicts a Mongolian child
protecting her commune’s sheep in the midst of a blizzard while singing
songs in praise of the Cultural Revolution.
- 1958: Government initiative to increase the official stature of Chinese music led several
talented pianists to switch to the zheng as their main instrument.
o Fan Shang’e
- The virtuosic, “pianistic” potential of the zheng was greatly developed by this new
generation of performers.
- Pieces became technically demanding
o 16 string zheng expanded to the 21 string zheng
Activity Guided Listening - “Spring on Snow Mountains” by Fan Shang’e CD. #3-27, Page
313.
- 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.
o Highly developed two-hand playing technique.
o Two-part texture. RH melody [tremolo sustain], LH arpeggiated chords (Western
piano/harp influence) with abundant glissandos (ornamentation).
- 1:02-End
o 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.
Cultural Revolution Era
- Official musical life very constrained.
o In the opera world, a total of only eight government-approve “revolutionary
dramas” of especially strong socialist ideological content
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Revisit Insights and Perspectives: Chinese Opera and Beijing Opera
in Dynastic and Post-Dynastic China
Development of zheng stifled during this oppressive period, new pieces that emerge
exceedingly ideological.
o Example: Little Sister Hero of the Plains” which depicts a Mongolian child
protecting her commune’s sheep in the midst of a blizzard while singing songs in
praise of the Cultural Revolution.
o Example: “Molten Iron Pouring in a Stream”
Freedom of artistic and intellectual expression severely constrained.
o Brutally oppressive policies
 If you didn’t follow the rules, you were sent to a work camp.
 Brutal persecution of minorities, people who practiced religion,
intellectuals, etc.
Period of Openness (1970s to Present)
- Death of Mao Zedong 1976
o End of the Cultural Revolution
- Deng Xiaoping reemerged as the new leader, initiation the “Period of Openness”
o Good things: New Policy for the Arts
 Have a student read quote page 316.
o Political experimentation: Maintain the socialist agenda but with free enterprise,
openness to international markets, cultural openness (as we have read in the
quote), acceptance of formerly condemned Western musical forms, but the
authoritative “iron fist” rule still implemented.
o Bad things: Tiananmen Square Massacre of 1989
 Read Insights and Perspectives Cui Jian and the Tiananmen Square
Uprisings as a Class
- Other musical/cultural results
o Zheng musical renaissance
 Development of the Beijing Zheng Association in 1980
 Revival of older regional styles
 More Female dominance
 New instruments developments
 49-string “Butterfly Zheng”
o Revival of Traditional Beijing Opera
o More international recordings
o “New Wave” movement in modern Chinese music
 Tan Dun “Desert Capriccio” from Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon
 Play CD Ex. #3-29
 Play Youtube Clip of the movie
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOlA6LLATuY&feature=r
elated
o Have the students raise their hand if they can hear a portion
of “Desert Capriccio.”
o Numerous leading conservatory-trained zheng players establish international
careers: Deng Haiqiong.
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An Additional Bad Thing: Continued Cultural Appropriation
- A significant portion of the repertoire of solo instrumental music of the modern
conservatory zheng tradition consists of syncretized Western/Chinese compositions
“based on” minority music traditions of people such as the Uighurs and Tibetans.
o Is this problematic?
o Is this still invoking a socialist program?
- “The people ostensibly represented through music of this kind-Uighurs, Tibetans,
members of other minority groups in China-typically resent having their musical
traditions, and by extension themselves, cast in this light.” (Bakan, 315).
Activity: Guided Listening – “Music from the Muqam,” CD EX. #3-30 by Zhou Ji, Shao
Guangchen, and Li Mei
- Have students follow along on page 321.
- Composition with zheng and drum accompaniment.
o Dap drum (donkey/snake skin head)
- Formally and stylistically, draws from tradition of Uighur muqam
o Dolan Muqam.
o Muqam is similar to what word in chapter 12?
 A large-scale pre-composed suite of songs and instrumental music
 Word related to Arabic maqam, but the meaning is different.
 May be vocal or instrumental, chamber or larger ensemble
- The scale utilized in the zheng part is unconventional for the instrument.
o It reproduces the common Uighur mode.
 What is a mode?
- “Uighur” elements (cultural appropriation)
 Part I of Excerpt: Pitch bend ornament
 Part II of Excerpt: Aksak rhythms/meters
 Meters of five and seven are common in Uighr music, where they
generate what the Uighur fere to as aksak, literally “limping”
rhythms.
- Read Insights and Perspectives Uighur History and Culture as a Class
Activity: Watch an Excerpt of Kung Fu Hustle
- An example of the Zheng portrayed in Chinese popular culture.
o http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVjf5CccAwY
- Answer the following questions:
o What are some of the “traditional” aspects of the zheng performance that are
being portrayed?
o What are some of the “nontraditional” or “fantasy” aspects that are being
portrayed in regard to the zheng performance and the music in the movie?