A History of Chinese Orchestras in Greater China

1. Auflage 2026
ISBN: 978-1-041-12238-8
Verlag: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Buch, Englisch, 196 Seiten, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 234 mm

Reihe: Routledge Contemporary China Series

This book traces the evolution of Chinese orchestra from its inception in 1919 to the present day, focusing on its foundation and development in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.

Ming-yen Lee examines the trajectories of the three earliest professional orchestras established after 1949—the Shanghai Chinese Orchestra, the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, and the Taipei Chinese Orchestra—and explores how they became institutionalized entities that standardized and professionalized the performance of Chinese music. Over time, these orchestras became cultural sites where shifting identities and traditions were negotiated in response to their respective socio-political environments. Drawing on extensive archival research and fieldwork, Lee investigates three key themes: the diffusion of the Chinese orchestra across Greater China; the impact of geopolitical transformations; and the post-martial law exchanges that reshaped cultural identities in the region.

Offering a pathbreaking account of music, politics, and cultural exchange in twentieth- and twenty-first-century Greater China, this book is a fascinating read for scholars, researchers, and students of East Asian history, Chinese music, cultural studies, and ethnomusicology.

Zielgruppe

Academic and Postgraduate

Autoren/Hrsg.

Lee, Ming-yen

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Soziologie Allgemein
• Geisteswissenschaften Musikwissenschaft Musikwissenschaft Allgemein Musikethnologie
• Sozialwissenschaften Ethnologie | Volkskunde Volkskunde Historische & Regionale Volkskunde

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Acknowledgements

List of Figures

List of Abbreviations

Introduction: What is Chinese Orchestra?

Part I: The Making of Chinese Orchestras

1. The Birth of the Chinese Orchestra, 1919–1949

2. Making Music in the People’s Republic of China, 1949–1987

3. Chinese Orchestras in Colonial Hong Kong, 1949–1987

4. A Quest for Taiwan Guoyue, 1949–1987

Part II: Chinese Orchestras Across Greater China

5. Exchanges Across Greater China, 1987–1997

6. Exchanges Since Hong Kong’s Return, 1997–2019

Coda: A History of Chinese Orchestras

Bibliography

Index

Über Autor(innen)

Ming-yen Lee is a Senior Lecturer in Ethnomusicology at the School of Music, Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, University of the Arts Singapore.