Language: English
ISBN/ISSN: 9789629963606
Published on: 2010-01
Paperback
By the end of the nineteenth century, after a long period during which the weakness of China became ever more obvious, intellectuals began to go abroad for new ideas. What emerged was a musical genre that Liu Ching-chih terms "New Music." With no direct ties to traditional Chinese music, New Music reflects the compositional techniques and musical idioms of eighteenth-, nineteenth- and early twentieth–century European styles. Liu traces the genesis and development of New Music throughout the twentieth century, deftly examining the cultural, social, and political forces that shaped New Music and its uses by politicians and the government.
This is a monumental and fascinating work contributing not only to the study of 20th century Chinese music, but also to all intelligent studies of the post–May Fourth period in Chinese cultural, literary, artistic, and intellectual life. The author exhibits an encyclopedic knowledge of the subject, and has brought to fruition a lifetime's passion and an insatiable curiosity about the subject.... An acute musical insight is enriched by a broadly based literary-historical and cultural approach, which gives the work added interest ..."
── Professor John Minford, Faculty of Asian Studies,
The Australian National University
