Chaozhou Xianshiyue in Hong Kong: A Case Study of the Music Division of the Hong Kong Chiu Chow Merchants Mutual Assistance Society, Ltd.

by

LAW Bing Kuen Anthony

A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Philosophy In

Ethnomusicology

©The Chinese University of Hong Kong May 2002

The Chinese University of Hong Kong holds the copyright of this thesis. Any person(s) intending to use a part or whole of the materials in the thesis in a proposed publication must seek copyright release from the Dean of the Graduate School. i 々/统系書圔!A I 21 1 iT ji ”

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^sy I i, i 二 I! Ji f.' U ！j KI Abstract of thesis entitled:

Chaozhou Xianshiyue in Hong Kong: A Case Study of the Music Division of the Hong Kong Chiu Chow Merchants Mutual Assistance Society, Ltd

Submitted by LAW Bing Kuen Anthony

for the degree of Master of Philosophy at The Chinese University of Hong Kong in May 2002

Due to its unique geographical and political circumstances, Hong Kong was one of the most common destinations of emigrants from China in the twentieth century. The Chinese immigrants, who came from different places of origin, also brought their culture into Hong Kong. Today, we can still observe the persistence of these imported cultures. One of these observable cultures is the

Chaozhou culture.

Since May of 1999, the author has carried out continuous investigation on

the musical activities of the Music Division of Hong Kong Chiu Chow Merchants

Mutual Assistance Society, Ltd. in Hong Kong. The music performed during

their activities is called xianshiyue and is a kind of sizhuyue attributed to

Chaozhou ethnic groups by both insiders and scholars. In order to understand

the content and the meanings of the musical activities, this thesis will be an

ethnography based on the author's observations and interviews during fieldwork, and will discuss and explain xianshiyue in Hong Kong in terms of ethnic group and boundary. 潮州弦絲樂在香港： 香港潮商互助社音樂部個案研究 Chaozhou Xianshiyue in Hong Kong: A Case Study of the Music Division of the Hong Kong Chiu Chow Merchants Mutual Assistance Society, Ltd

羅秉權

論文概略(中文譯本）

因著地理上及政治上的獨特因素，香港曾是國内移民主要之目的地之一 °這

些來自國内不同地區的移民，亦曾豐富了本地文化多元的特色。直至今天，

我們仍可看見這些外來文化——潮州文化的一些餘暉。

自1995年5月，作者對「香港潮商互助社音樂部」的活動進行了一連

串的考查工作。在他們進行活動的同時，「弦詩樂」 種被中外學者譽為

各地潮州族群獨有的「絲竹樂」亦有演出。為了解「弦詩樂」的音樂内容及

它在這些活動當中的意義，筆者將根據實地考查所得，對香港「弦詩樂」的

演出活動作出報告，並將之以「族群」及「族群界線」等角度一併討論。 Acknowledgment

With his continuous encouragement and valuable suggestions, this thesis was made possible by Professor J. Lawrence Witzleben, the supervisor of this thesis.

Thanks also goes to ethnomusicology professors of the Music Division of the

Graduate School of The Chinese University of Hong Kong, namely, Prof. Yu Siu

Wah, Prof. Chan Sau Yan, and Prof. Tsao Pen Yeh, for re-shaping the way in

which I think about music and the study in the Graduate School. Deep gratitude

is expressed to Liu Fu-guang, and numerous informants, for their valuable

information and friendly attitude, which have made me feel at ease during

fieldwork. Last but not least, to my family, especially my mother, for their

comfort, support and patience all the times. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page

List of Tables iii

Abbreviations iv

Introduction 1 Concepts 5 Previous Studies on Xianshiyue 6 Fieldwork 10 PART ONE: CULTURAL AND SOCIAL BACKGROUND 19

Chapter One: Hong Kong 20 The Rise of Modem Hong Kong: Hong Kong 21 in the Nineteenth Century Formation of Norms and Values 27

Chapter Two: The Chaozhou Community of Hong Kong 30 The Name 30 The Area 31 The People and Culture 32 Migration of Chaozhou People to Hong Kong 35 Social Organization of the Chaozhou Community 41 The Chiu Chow Merchants Mutual Assistance Society 43

PART TWO: XIANSHIYUE 48

Chapter Three: Xianshiyue in Hong Kong 49 The Music Division of the Hong Kong Chiu Chow 51 Merchants Mutual Assistance Society (the "MD") From Waijiang Traditions to Chaozhou Traditions 56 Performances in the Music Club Context 61 Performances in the Concert Hall Context 72 Performances in the Chaoju Context 76 Performances in the Gatherings of the Parent Organization 80 Summary of the Performance Contexts of Xianshiyue.. 82 in Hong Kong

Chapter Four: The Music of Xianshiyue 84 Setting Up the Temperament 86 Tuning Process as Social Process 90

Conclusion 93

Glossary of Chinese Characters 96

Bibliography 100 Appendix A: An Inquiry on the Place of Origin of 109 Hong Kong Chinese People

Appendix B: Newspaper cutting Showing Ethnic Stereotypes 110

i

ii LIST OF TABLES Number Page

1. Chaozhou population prior to WWII (figures from Hong Kong Census 37 Reports, 1841-1941, quoted by Sparks 1978:26).

2. Xianshiyue performances in the concert hall context by the XCY. 74

iii ABBREVIATIONS

CGL Chaozhouxue guoji lunwenji. {Collected essays of International Conference on Chaozhou Studies,《潮州學國際研討會論文集》， Guangzhou: Jinan Daxue Chubanshe[暨南大學出版社]).

COMMAS Hong Kong Chiu Chow Merchants Mutual Assistance Society (香 港潮商互助社).

MD The Music Division of the Hong Kong Chiu Chow Merchants Mutual Assistance Society (香港潮商互助社音樂部).

MZMJYY Minzu minjian yinyue. {Chinese folk music,《中國民間音樂》， Guangzhou; from 1981 to 1984, called Minzu minjian yunyue yanjiu [Chinese folk music research《中國民間音樂研究》， Guangzhou).

XCY Xianggang Chaoyue Yanzoutuan (Hong Kong Chaozhou Music Ensemble,香港潮樂演奏團）.

YYS Zhongguo Yishu Yanjiuyuan Yinyue Yanjiusuo (Chinese Academy of Arts, Music Research Institute,中國藝術研究院音樂研究所)•

iv INTRODUCTION

Hong Kong has a population of seven million, and among them around 95 percent are ethnic Chinese from many different regions of China (Witzleben

2000:81), mostly from the coastal region of Guangdong (Canton) province.

Although it has a population that comprises various Chinese regional ethnic groups, cultural diversity is not significant in Hong Kong if we observe what is inside the mainstream of the marco-domain/ As far as music is concerned, to most Hong Kong people the domain mainstream is the mass media and Cantonese pop. Nevertheless, diversity still can be observed.

In his article on “Musical Systems and Intergenre Relationships in Hong

Kong", Witzleben has reported on various musical activities and has identified four musical systems within these activities, namely "Chinese", "Western", “a syncretic fusion" of both “Chinese” and "Western", and "foreign" traditions (2000:

82). The application of these labels varies according to different users. For example, the labels "Chinese" and “syncretic,，are applied to Cantonese pop by, respectively, "most Hong Kong listeners" and "ethnomusicologists" of both

Western and Chinese origin (88). In addition, cultural diversity does not only

1 In Hong Kong, where ethnic Chinese form the majority in the population, macro-domain refers to the culture of the ethnic Chinese, while micro-domain refers to the culture of minorities, such as Filipinos and Indians. exist at the macro-level of Chinese vs. Western music, but also within individual musical systems. Within the “Chinese” system that the article focuses on,

Witzleben discusses various "subsystems" to illustrate the intergenre relationships,

leading to the discussion of the intricate parameters involved in the studies of a

complex urban music culture (88-89).

Aside from his concerns with "total music" vs. "musical systems" in the

urban ethnomusicological studies, Witzleben's descriptions and categorizations of

local music have reflected the complexity of ethnic structure and the diversity of

music in Hong Kong. Within the "Chinese" system, musical activities can be

further divided into categories like "pan-Chinese" and "regional". Although not

being major components in the macro-domain, some traditions of Chinese

“regional” music and ethnic music are still going on in places that are not widely

known, and they always remind us that they had once been significant in the local

history.

This thesis examines one of Hong Kong's lesser-known traditions of regional

music: it is a case study of an amateur music club in Hong Kong. Inside the

music club, xianshiyue {xianshi in shorter form), a musical genre indigenous to

the Chaozhou region and recognized as a part of its culture by both Chinese and

Western scholars, is performed. The amateur music club, The Music Division of

2 The Chiu Chow Merchants Mutual Assistance Society 香港潮商亙助社音樂部

(abbreviated as “MD” below) has existed as a division under the parent organization, The Chiu Chow Merchants Mutual Assistance Society 香港潮商亙

助社(abbreviated as “CCMMAS” below),^ for more than seventy years, and it is

the most reputable music club within the participants' network.

Xianshiyue is a kind of traditional instrumental ensemble indigenous to the

Chaozhou region. It is also called xianyue (literally 'string music') (Lin 1994:

416), and xianyue is more often used in the Chaozhou region (Jones 1995: 324).

The origin of the name xianshiyue "is uncertain" (Dujunco 1994: 33).^ The

name xianshi (literally “the string poems"), a popular outsider's term for

Chaozhou string music, “suggests that the repertory once consisted of

accompanied songs, but as neither lyrics nor the vocal tradition survive; the claim

that the ‘poems, were once accompanied by the plucked zither qin is

dubious"(Jones 1995: 324). However, after making comparisons between its

notation system (ersipu, literally "two four notation", using Chinese numbers to

-The name CCMMAS was used since its establishment in 1930. However, after its registration as a limited company in 1969, the name has been altered to "Hong Kong Chiu Chow Merchants Mutual Assistance Society, Limited". As the original name, The Chiu Chow Merchants Mutual Assistance Society, is commonly used within the society, the author retains the name in this thesis. The address of the CCMMAS is Flat A-D, 4'Vf, Overseas Trust Bank Building, Des Voeux Road West, Hong Kong. 3 See Dujunco 1994:33. According to the past writings on xianshiyue available to the author, the term xianshiyue is first seen in Zhang Bo-jie's article in Chaoju Yinyue, together with other terms luogu (drums and gongs), suona qupai (the fixed tunes of suona) and ditao (the flute suites) (Zhang 1983:9-30, first published in 1958).

3 represent scale degrees), temperament, forms, performance practice and instrumentation and those found in historical documents, it is believed that the genre originated during the Tang (618AD-907AD) and Song (960AD-1279AD) dynasties (Chen 1989: 19-20, Thrasher 1988: 2).

Few scholars have written on the performance contexts oixianshiyue (see

“Previous Studies on Xianshiyue” in the following section). Musicologists in

China have put substantial emphasis on the musical content, while ethnomusicologists from the West have tried to explore new directions in explaining the meanings of the musical activities. In Hong Kong, Chaozhou

people are a substantial minority among the ethnic Chinese, and occupy nearly

one-sixth of the total population.* However, the popularity of their music seems

to be in contrast to their population size, and what has surprised the author is that

most of them even do not know and have never taken part in their musical

activities. The situation has attracted the author's attention to the question of

how a Chinese regional ethnic music, in this case Chaozhou xianshiyue, survives

in an urban environment, and to the meanings of the music to those who

4 This is only the estimated figure as no official figure is provided. The Census Department of Hong Kong used to carry out a census and by-census every ten years and five years respectively. In the past, the government of Hong Kong included research on the place of origin when conducting a census (e.g. 1961, 1966, 1971 and 1981. See Appendix A). However, the item was removed starting from the 1986 by-census and hence no official figure on the present Chaozhou population is provided.

4 participate in the performances. In this thesis, the author will explain how xianshiyue, with reference to its various performance contexts and musical content, is used as a tool to articulate identity and to promote ethnicity.

Concepts

Two concepts have been employed in this study, and they define the scope of this study and help the author to interpret the meaning of the phenomenon. In undertaking an ethnomusicological study, the author attempts to understand the music in its cultural and social context, which results in research on, first, the information about the cultural background of xianshiyue activities in Hong Kong,

such as the social norms and values that most Hong Kong people would follow,

and second, the Chaozhou culture. The contextual information on the music may

be meaningless without being linked to the interpretation of the music, so a

second concept is also employed.

This second concept is to perceive the music as a "means of constructing

trajectories rather than boundaries across space", and a “means by which people

recognize identities and places, and the boundaries which separate them" (Stokes

1994: 4-5, also quoted by Lau 1998: 110). In an almost culturally unified city

like Hong Kong, identity and ethnic boundary has been reconstructed and blurred,

5 not entirely but largely by the government policies (such as the use of Cantonese

and English as official language in the colonial era). And those who take part in

the xianshiyue performances are only a minority of the total Chaozhou population.

It can be said that, to other ethnic groups, or even to most of the local Chaozhou

people, participants in the performances are directly recognizing identity, place

and boundaries by establishing a "marker in a prestmctured social space，,(Stokes

1994: 4); that is, the performances of xianshiyue. But, the author would like to

explore exactly what is the uniqueness of xianshiyue performances that are

conceived as a means contributing to the construction of ethnic identity and

trajectory in an urban environment. The uniqueness will be discussed with

reference to the performers' behavior and the performance practice.

Previous Studies on Xianshiyue

In the past decades, numerous writings on xianshiyue have been published by

scholars both in China and overseas. Most of the research on Chaozhou music

was initialized and supported by the government in the early 1950,s, and

numerous articles were published in newspapers and anthologies. However, due

to the Cultural Revolution from the mid 1960's to the late 1970's, traditional

Chaozhou musical activities and research were banned, and most of the materials

6 collected in the previous years were also ruined. It was not until the 1980's that research was flourishing once again, and nearly a hundred articles on Chaozhou

music were published in that decade (Chen 1992: 58).

A lengthy list of articles on Chaozhou music by Chinese scholars from 1949

to 1991, including newspaper cuttings and those published in journals, is provided

in Chen Tianguo's essay (1992). The topics of the previous writings fall into

several categories, namely, general information, historical studies, biography and

musical content. General information, including news of musicians and events

and introductions to Chaozhou music, dominated the topics in the early period

(1949-1965). However, the situation changed dramatically after 1979.

Relatively in-depth and specialized investigations on Chaozhou music, such as

those focusing on historical studies, biography and musical content, developed.

From Chen's list, we can observe that the musical content, in particular, has long

been the dominant topic in the research of Chinese scholars.

Within the category of musical content, liX (temperament), diaoshi (mode)

and scales in Chaozhou music are the topics which have been most-studied. In

addition, musical form and structure in Chaozhou music are other common topics

being investigated, and techniques of melodic variation (sometimes of a specific

instrument) are always discussed together with these as they are inevitably

7 involved in the studies of the form and structure. Historical studies include the

study of the origins of ersipu, comparison between the musical form of ancient

court music in the Tang dynasty and that of Chaozhou music, and comparison

between ancient musical instruments and instruments used in present-day

Chaozhou music. Above all, studies of Chaozhou music in China are seldom

related to social issues and its performance practice, which would definitely help

increase our knowledge of the overall picture. However, they have provided a

basic knowledge of the music that has been used as a reference for western

ethnomusicologists and has been useful to the author when communicating with

the xianshiyue performers in Hong Kong.

Research on Chaozhou music by individual Western ethnomusicologists

began almost at the same time in the 1980,s. The works by Alan Thrasher

(1988), Fredrick Lau (1993, 1994 and 1998), Mercedes Dunjunco (1993, 1994

and 2002), and Stephen Jones (1995) have given an in-depth and intelligible

introduction to westerners, especially in the aspects of musical content and

background information.

Among these works, Dujunco's doctoral dissertation on xianshiyue (1994) is

relatively comprehensive. The dissertation, titled “Tugging at the native's

heartstrings: Nostalgia and the post-Mao 'revival' of the xian shi yue string

8 ensemble music Chaozhou, South China," is divided into three parts, and each part is divided into chapters according to its content. Part One begins with a

general ethnography of the Chaozhou region and Chaozhou people (Chapter One),

followed by an introduction to xianshiyue (Chapter Two). Part Two provides

technical information about the music tradition of xianshiyue, including its

musical content (Chapter Three and Chapter Four) and its performance and

transmission contexts (Chapter Six), which form the major section of the

dissertation. Part Three is the analysis of and the explanations of the "revival"

of the xianshiyue string ensemble music of Chaozhou. In this part, the

development of the musical activities are discussed and interpreted in relation to

the political and economic environment in the post-Mao era (Chapter Six).

Dujunco's dissertation can be regarded as, in the aspect of musical content, a

handbook for the genre as it summarizes the past studies. Much information on

the discussion of the musical content of xianshiyue in the present research is

drawn from this dissertation.

Stephen Jones is another ethnomusicologist specializing in the folk

instrumental traditions of China. In his survey of Chinese instrumental music

(1995), Stephen Jones has given readers an introduction to Chaozhou music and a

map to those who are ready to enter the field. Fundamental information and

9 relevant sources for the investigation of different musical elements are provided.

In recent years, Fredrick Lau has conducted research on Chaozhou music in the Chinese community in Thailand. In his seminal article (1998), an attempt was made to shift the focus of the studies from a music-oriented one to a cultural-oriented one, such as the investigation of Chaozhou identity in Thai urban

settings. Thus, more descriptions of the opinions of performers and performance

practice, as well as those of the music clubs, are provided. Lau's studies not only

bring new directions and aspects to the investigation of the music, but have also

provided much inspiration for the present study.

Since the establishment of the PRC, extensive collections and intensive

research on folk music have been conducted by government-supported institutes

and conservatories. At present, many aspects of the music of xianshiyue have

been discussed in detail and published by scholars in mainland China and

overseas. To avoid redundancy, detailed descriptions of such writings will not

be made in this thesis. Readers can refer to bibliographies in the works by Chen

(1992) and Jones (1995) for checklists of past research.

Fieldwork

Since the early development of the discipline of ethnomusicology, fieldwork

10 has been a vital research method. To advance our skills in applying this method, detailed discussions have been made on fieldwork's definition and content, and specific courses have been held and included in the program of many universities, including The Chinese University of Hong Kong. In general, fieldwork is a research method which emphasizes the study of music in situ. In this study, fieldwork has been important and useful in providing first hand information on the situation of xianshiyue activities in Hong Kong.

The author conducted fieldwork as a participant observer, often including

participation in the music as an erhu performer. A detailed summary of the

fieldwork research process follows.

The author's first contact with xianshiyue was by chance. It was one night

in the first half of 1998, when the author was invited to be a judge in a karaoke

singing contest in a district community center located in Kwun Tong 觀塘？ In

the community center, the author heard music, played by several instruments

together, coming out from one of the activity rooms. The author was curious

about the music, as he was studying music in the University and, more important,

it was unfamiliar to him. Finally, he found the room and spent few minutes

listening to the music from outside and caught a brief glimpse into the room.

5 The address of the community center is 17 Tsui Ping Road, Kwun Tong, Kowloon.

11 Although it occupied just a few minutes of time and the image of the music became blurred afterward, he was impressed by it.

It was not until March 1999, for the partial fulfillment of the requirement of the fieldwork seminar, that the author started to study the music of this music club, named Chaoyishe (literally the “Society of the Chaozhou Art"), in the district community center by carrying out field research and taking part in the performances, and handed in a field report after three months of investigation.

In these months, the author had taken part in the music performances and obtained

basic knowledge such as the way in which the performances are conducted and

the organizing structure of the music club. After the investigation of Chaoyishe

had ended, the author continued to take part in the performances for more than

one year.

As an erhu learner and performer, the author's performance experience is

mostly with Chinese instrumental repertoire composed since the 1930's, and

especially after 1949, such as those by Liu Tian-hua, A'bing, and by professionals

in conservatories. The author remembers that the first time he was invited to

join the performance, he was using a tihu, a core instrument in the ensemble,

12 stored in the music club.6 The invitation to play the core instruments is considered an honor (Dujunco 1994: 121), but in fact it is also a "jury exam" on the performance standard and ablility of new participants (To be discussed in

Chapter Three and Chapter Four). The author could hardly follow the performance, as he was unfamiliar with the tune, and in fact, he even did not know the titile of the tune, as it was not announced by anyone. This was an

embarrassing experience for both the author and the participants (The

embarrassment was due to the prestructured settings of xianshiyue activities,

which will be discussed in Chapter Three). After that, the person in charge of

the music club provided the author with an anthology of skeleton melodies of

many xianshiyue tunes stored in the music club, and asked the author to bring his

own instrument, an erhu, to the music club. In the following months, the author

was informed of the names of the tunes, after it was announced by the leading

erxian players with the beginning phrase. Since then, the author was able to take

part in the performances by performing sight-reading, and he gradually became

familiarized with the music of xianshiyue.

It should be mentioned that during the fieldwork on the Chaoyishe, the

6 During fieldwork in Hong Kong, it is a common occurrence in the realm of Chinese instrumental folk music that there are always different names for what is physically the same instrument when used in different genres, such as the case where the tihu used in xianshiyue is always the same as the gaohu in Cantonese music.

13 person in charge had shown his reluctance to accept the investigation several times. He was afraid that the investigation would threaten the survival of the

music club, as it might cause disturbances to participants and to the officers of the

community center. At the same time he suggested that the author conduct

investigation on the MD of CCMMAS instead of on the Chaoyishe, as the former

was regarded as the center of local xianshiyue activities. To have a deeper

understanding about xianshiyue activities in Hong Kong, the author had to do

research on more music clubs, and he decided to conduct further research on the

MD.

At the beginning of July 1999, with the help of Mr. Zhu Jun-qiang, a pipa

virtuoso and an active participant in xianshiyue performances in Hong Kong

introduced to him by Professor Yu Siu Wah (Yu Shao-hua) of The Chinese

University of Hong Kong, the author began to visit the MD, and to take part in

and observe the music performances. After participating in the performances for

a few weeks, the author decided to propose a case study of the MD as the topic for

his thesis. Both the Chaoyishe and MD provide the evidence of local Chaozhou

culture, and they are different in many aspects, such as formation background and

function. The reason for choosing MD is not simply because the performances

of MD have a relatively high reputation within the participants' network, although

14 in fact, compared with the Chaoyishe, the participants of MD are in general more virtuosic. What is more important is that several participants in MD, especially those who were once or are now currently the committee members of COMMAS, play an important role and are very active in organizing local xianshiyue activities,

and they are regarded as the core of the participants' network/ By building up a

connection with them through attending the performances, the author obtained

information such as when and where other xianshiyue performances would take

place, and was also able to observe the xianshiyue performances in different

venues by almost the same group of performers, for different purposes and under

different names and titles. Last but not least, the MD is regarded as the

representative of xianshiyue performance in Hong Kong not only for its virtuosity,

but also for its function, commonly known and agreed upon within the

participants networks, as a formal organization representing xianshiyue, or in a

broader sense the Chaozhou community and culture, when there are visits and

invitations by various outsiders.

The fieldwork was conducted from March 1999 to October 2000. In this

period, the author had regularly taken part in and observed the performances of

the MD (including the Chaoyishe). The performances took place every Friday

7 Several of them had been the accompanists in professional chaoju performing troops. See Chapter Three.

15 night in the COMMAS multi-purpose apartment located in Sheung Wan 上環.

When there were visits to Chaozhou or festivals on Fridays, the performance would be canceled until further notice. On special occasions, such as the internal

gatherings of COMMAS members and the open ceremony at the yongpeng (a

beach hut), the performances took place in restaurants and in the yongpeng

respectively. The author had requested to join these gatherings for the purpose

of investigation but in vain. The reason provided by the person-in-charge of the

MD was “it would be very boring to the author". As a case study of a music

club, it would be ideal to provide a comprehensive description on performances in

all the different venues. It is thus a disappointment that the author could only get

into the MD but not the parent organization, the COMMAS.

The fieldwork comprised several tasks: conversation, documentation,

participation and observation. No matter whether in the music clubs or on the

way home after the performances, chats were rather more useful than formal

interviews. Talking about the performances with participants would always lead

to the sharing of their experiences on the music or their personal background.

Documentation such as making recordings and videos was also done, but

observation and participation were regarded to be more useful for obtaining

insights about the performance. As mentioned above, although pervious

16 experience of performing erhu was mostly limited to the contemporary pieces, it enabled the author to take part in the performances and to experience the subtle communications among performers.

This thesis comprises four chapters. Chapter One introduces Hong Kong with reference to a series of selected histories. It is not the primary goal of the chapter to introduce all the different aspects of the metropolis, but to suggest the general social norms and values that most Hong Kong people accept and follow.

Chapter Two introduces different aspects of the Chaozhou ethnic group. It aims at providing general information about Chaozhou, its people and culture as given in earlier publications. Chapter Three includes descriptions of performers' behavior and performance practice observed during fieldwork, so as to suggest the nature of the performance context of xianshiyue. After that, the content of the music is discussed in Chapter Four. Above all, the first two chapters shape the cultural and social context, while the last two chapters are observations and findings from fieldwork. The objectives listed earlier will be discussed in the

Conclusion of the thesis, under the theme of xianshiyue as a social process constructing identity and ethnic boundary.

The Chinese names of the different dynasties, peoples, places, organizations, events and books, and technical terms are romanized according to the Hanyu

17 Pinyin system, a system that is commonly adopted in writings on Chinese music.

The Chinese word 潮州 is romanized as Chaozhou, while "Teochiu" and “Chiu

Chow" (or "Chiuchow") are also commonly seen in other writings. "Teochiu" is

romanzied according to the pronunciation in the Chaozhou dialect, while "Chiu

Chow" is romanized according to the pronunciation in Cantonese, which is

adopted and used by the Chaozhou residents in Hong Kong. Exceptions to the

romanization of Chinese words are the MD, the COMMAS, and the names of

places and streets in Hong Kong. Romanizations and Chinese characters are

provided in the Glossary.

18 PART ONE: CULTURAL AND SOCIAL BACKGROUND

This part is comprised of two chapters. It aims to provide information about the cultural and social background and the environment in which xianshiyue takes place. Chapter One is the introduction to Hong Kong, while Chapter Two focuses on the Chaozhou people. Chapter One aims at providing a general sketch of the formation of norms and values that most Hong Kong people would follow, and Chapter Two is about the Chaozhou community in Hong Kong.

19 CHAPTER ONE: HONG KONG

It is not the goal of this chapter to include all aspects of Hong Kong's history and society, but to introduce the place where the Chaozhou migrants are residing.

The author would like to make a general sketch and explain the formation of modern norms and values that most of the Hong Kong people would follow in their lives, and which have definitely influenced the political and economic development of Hong Kong. The norms and values have played an important role in the assimilation process of the Chaozhou community in Hong Kong, and have eventually affected the present situation of local xianshiyue activities.

To fulfill the above objectives, the application of the concept of

"macro-history" and "micro-history" by Huang Ren-yu (Ray Huang) seems to be useful. In his famous work Wanlishiwunian (Original English title 1587: A Year of No Significance), the application of the concept of macro-hi story is elaborated, and is deliberately demonstrated through the use of historical materials (Huang

1999). The essence of the concept is that, instead of commenting on an event in a specific period by solely giving and evaluating recent or contemporary issues

(micro-history), one should also focus on the macro-history of the event. It is clearly stated in the preface (1999:1-111) that although the incidents between the

West and the East happened in the late Qing dynasty (1644AD to 191 IAD), the

20 macro historical context, or the so-called macro-history, of such incidents had already been shaped and persisted during the Wanli (1573AD-1620AD) period in the Ming (1368AD-1644AD) dynasty, almost two centuries before the incidents.

In its two-hundred-year development history, it is difficult to include and mention all factors that shaped the rise of modern Hong Kong. But, by using parallel methods similar to those employed in Huang's studies on Chinese history,

some milestones in nineteenth century Hong Kong could be raised in the

following passages so as to provide the marco-history of the formation of norms

and values of modem Hong Kong.

The Rise of Modern Hong Kong: Hong Kong in the Nineteenth Century^

In 1841, when Hong Kong Island was ceded to be a colony of Britain, it was

only inhabited by a few thousand villagers, with fishing and agriculture as its

major economic activities. Nowadays, Hong Kong has developed into a global

financial center. It has a population of about 6,800,000 people living in a

territory of 1023 square kilometers.^ In the development process of more than a

hundred years, some important events have been significant and closely connected

8 The information about the development of early Hong Kong is drawn from Xian (1997) and Mo (1997). The article by Xian introduces and discusses the different social organizations, which have provided useful insight on the social structure in early Hong Kong. 9 General information about Hong Kong can be obtained from "http://www.info.gov.hk", the official homepage of the HKSAR government.

21 to Hong Kong's success, formation of culture and local identity. In the following sections, these events are raised and followed by discussions in which the processes of the development of modern Hong Kong in different aspects are elaborated.

The economic development began when Hong Kong became a British colony.

At the beginning of the nineteenth century, the British government had decided to

acquire a piece of land just as the Portuguese had acquired Macau as a base for

trading with China. In 1841, the British declared unilaterally that Hong Kong

would become a free trading port, and forced the Qing government to cede Hong

Kong Island through military force and the signing of an unequal treaty in the

following year. Since then, Hong Kong was the freest trading port in China,

even when compared with other newly assigned trading ports along the coastal

region of China. The most common commodities in the trading business at that

time were silk, tea, rice, as well as opium (The trading of opium was banned in

the late nineteenth century due to the pressure from different nations).

The economic activities in Hong Kong developed quickly after she was

ceded, due to many external factors. However, it should be noted that in the

meantime the fishing and agricultural activities were still continuing. External

factors included the discovery of gold mines in North America and Australia, and

22 the Taipingtianguo rebellion on the mainland. The former had caused many

Chinese from other regions nearby to be concentrated in the port to wait for a chance to go overseas, while the latter had caused an influx of both people and capital flowing into Hong Kong. Suddenly, Hong Kong acquired a substantial working force and capital (Mo 1997:285), and, hence, new economic activities were launched.

The Chinese who came in this early period were mainly from the southern coastal regions, such as Chaozhou, Fujian and the delta area of Zhujiang. After their arrival in Hong Kong, some of them entered the trading business, and others were employed as merchandisers and coolies. For the sake of the benefits of their sectors, they had formed many hanghui{s)}^ Among the many hanghui, the most famous is Nanbeihang (literally the guild of trading business in the south and north). ^ ^ Nanbeihang is the hanghui of the trading industry, and there were also other hanghui such as Jinshanzhuang (literally the guild of trading business in jinshan [the old Chinese name of California]) and Nanyangzhuang (the guild of

� Hanghui, literally guild, is the basic social organization in traditional Chinese society (Xian 1997:162). The major function of a hanghui is to protect the common interest of its members and to ensure concordance in the business competition. 11 The word "Nan" and "bei" referred to southern and northern China. The whole name simply means the chamber of traders who had business in these two regions. Gradually, the trading region expanded further into Southeast Asia, Japan, America and Australia. By 1968, the colonial government provided the land next to Bonham Strand West, a street located in Sheung Wan, to the Nanbeihang for the construction of their office. The name Nanbeihang was hence changed to Nanbeihang gongshuo (The Chinese characters "gongshuo" approximately means an "office").

23 trading business in southeast Asia). It is conspicuous that their names reflect where their trading businesses were conducted (Xian 1997:162-164).

The duties defined by the hanghui themselves have also displayed the self-imposed responsibilities of the members. For example, apart from daily

administration, the Nanbeihang organized not only security and fire patrols to

ensure the safety of their members, but also the celebration of every birthday of

Confucius (Kongzi). All these examples above have shown a self-commitment

to social charity and to the transmission of Chinese culture (Xian 1997:164).

As has been mentioned above, the Chinese in Hong Kong were from

different nearby coastal regions. Although they joined the same organizations,

they did not forget their differences in ethnic origins. In addition, they had

formed their own different chambers or sub-branches under the Nanbeihang

according to their ethnic origins. For example, the Juyintang was a sub-branch

under Nanbeihang founded by Chaozhou traders (Xian 1997: 164).

Another important event in the nineteenth century was the establishment of

Donghua hospital (Tung Wah Hospital). At that time, most of the new

immigrants came to Hong Kong by themselves. They were unable to afford to

own a place to live and hence became lessees or customers of inns. The lessors

and shopkeepers were unwilling to see people pass away in places where they ran

24 business. Therefore, those who were in extremely poor physical condition were sent to yici, places run by volunteers where the bodies and the shenzhupai of the

12 dead were temporarily kept and placed respectively. The Chinese commonly knew of this situation, but the government seemed to be ignorant of it. This

situation continued to exist until a fortuitous visit to the yici by an officer. The

officer was shocked by the extremely poor conditions in the yici, especially the

scene in which the living and the dead were placed together. Since then, the

situation of the yici was known and reported by journals in Britain, and gradually

developed into a scandal. Under the pressure from the colonial department of

the British government, the Hong Kong governor started an investigation and

discovered that the cause was that the Chinese people had a bias against western

medical treatments and drugs. Finally, with no other choice, the governor, for

the first time, met the leaders of the Chinese community and discussed the

solution to the situation, which resulted in the establishment of the Donghua

Hospital. The hospital was the first Chinese organization that was founded based

on ordinances, and which had a legal status recognized by the government. It

12 Guang Fu Yici, founded in 1851, was the first j^zc/ in Hong Kong. Its purpose was to bury Chinese whose families were not in Hong Kong, and to place a shenzhupai for the dead. Later, people who were seriously sick and had no place to live were also sent to the yici (Xian 1997:167). According to the official web page (http://www.tungwah.org.hk/) of the Donghuasanyuan (Tung Wah Group of Hospitals), the present management organization of the Donghua Hospital, Guang Fu Yici was established in 1856.

25 was the biggest Chinese organization in Hong Kong at that time.

The Donghua Hospital held a high status among the Chinese in Hong Kong.

This could be proven by the description in Xian's article:

“The opening ceremony was started with the worship of Shenlung (a great healer in an ancient Chinese myth). The traditional triple-sacrifice (pig, ox and sheep) was used, and the ceremony featured a costume parade like those used in celebrating traditional festivals.. .the scene that drew most attention was when all the members of the hospital administrative board were wearing the officials uniforms of the Qing government...finally, the ceremony was dignified by the presence of the governor, and it was the first time for the governor to take part in the function of a Chinese organization. The arrival of the government had confirmed the status of the Hospital among the Chinese (Xian 1997:169)" (Author's translation).

As the members of the hospital administrative board were nominated by the

different hanghui and elected by the social elite, they were not merely millionaires

but also respected persons, and it was an honor for a Chinese to become a member

of the hospital administrative board. Through joining the charity organizations

recognized by the colonial government and taking up the responsibilities of

welfare work for the Chinese, the businessmen could achieve a position in the

highest social class.

To conclude, the migration of refugees and the influx of capital starting in the

nineteenth century has consistently been the motivating forces for the economic

development of Hong Kong in the last one and a half centuries. When there

26 were wars, disasters or political instability in China, Hong Kong always became the refuge for refugees or the stepping-stone for overseas migrants. The advantages and status of being the window on China for the rest of the world have lasted for over a hundred years and were not threatened by other coastal cities like

Shanghai until recent years.

Formation of Norms and Values

The development of the social class structure of Hong Kong since the

nineteenth century gradually eliminated the traditional “shi, nong, gong, shang,,

(literally the "literati", "farmers", "workers" and "businessmen") paradigm. The

businessmen were in the lowest class according to this paradigm. However, the

unique political environment and the incompleteness of social infrastructures and

welfare facilities, in which, on the one hand, the colonial government had to

compromise with the rich and influential businessmen so as to rule over the huge

population of Chinese that exceeded its own ruling capacity, while, on the other,

the residents also relied on the job opportunities and fundamental services

provided by the businessmen, finally resulted in a rise in social status for

businessmen. In the past hundred years, businessmen have played a vital role in

different aspects of the economic and political development of Hong Kong.

27 After the end of the reign of British government, in 1997, the sovereignty of Hong

Kong has finally returned to the PRC government, and the first and present Chief

Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Tung Chee-Wah, was also a businessman before he was appointed.

In the process of the rise of the social status of businessmen, leading to the rule of businessmen, it is obvious that Hong Kong is a society that highly depends on and is weighed towards commercial development. In fact, the seed of such development was planted more than one hundred and fifty years ago under the reign of the colonial government. Under such circumstances, the social norms and values most Hong Kong people developed are based on short-term realistic benefits, while ignoring the benefits brought by cultural education which will

remain latent or provide significant rewards only after a long time and continuous

investment. This situation is reflected by the education system and practice of

Hong Kong. Nowadays, music education in primary or secondary schools is

widely perceived to be a useless peripheral subject. ^^ The definitions of music

that are known or accepted by most Hong Kong people are solely restricted to

commercial popular music (Yu 2001:310), which is promoted as a commodity by

13 The word "useless" is the author's translation. The original text in Chinese is “在中、小學的 教育仍視音樂為「無用的」閒科”（Yu 2001:310，similar idea in 313). Yu has also made an analysis on the phenomenon based on his personal observation and experience. See Yu 2001:310-318.

28 both businessmen and media. Due to the imbalanced development of social norms and values, the definition of music is losing its diversity. Music performances other than the domain mainstream, including that of the Western and Chinese traditions, are losing their place in the daily life of Hong Kong people.

29 CHAPTER TWO: THE CHAOZHOU COMMUNITY OF HONG KONG

In this chapter, information such as the Chaozhou name, the region, the people and the language will be given so as to locate and introduce the origins of the Chaozhou community in Hong Kong. In addition, this chapter will also focus on the migration history of the Chaozhou people, the cultural assimilation process among them and their organizations with reference to the COMMAS.

Although a scholar writing in 1978 suggested that "relatively little has been written on Teochiu history" (Sparks 1978:10), the situation is now much better.

Many materials on Chaozhou subjects, whether in the form of essays or books,

have been published in the past decade. However, information in the present

section is mainly based on older sources (mainly published in the 60’s and 70’s),

as they have provided solid and fundamental data related to the present topic.

The Name

According to Rao Zong-yi's preface of the Chaozhouzhi huibian (section 4),

the name "Chaozhou" was first seen in the year of Kaihuang (5 9 IAD) of the

Sui dynasty (5 81AD-61 SAD). Due to the reformation of the administrative

structure, the prefecture system was changed from the jun system to the zhou

30 system, the name Yi'anjun was hence changed to Chaozhou." In the following dynasties, the name was retained except in the third year of Daye and during the

Tianbao and the Zhide periods (745-756 AD and 756-758 AD respectively), when it was restored to Yi'anjun and changed to Chaoyangjun respectively. The name

Chaozhou was used until the Republican government abolished the prefecture system/w and divided the region into xian{s) under Guangdong province. (Rao

1965:585-593) As economic reforms were launched during the 1980,s, the

Chaozhou region was officially named as the Shantou Special Economic Zone,

and it is nowadays common to see that the name Chaozhou is replaced by

Chaoshan for the name of the region in local publications」）However, as the

name Chaozhou has such a long history, and the Chaozhou people migrated

overseas in or before the early twentieth century, their descendants overseas are

still using the name Chaozhou rather than Chaoshan.

The Area

From a geographical point of view, Chaozhou is located in the southeastern

14 The first integration of the Chaozhou region on to the map of the China was in the year of Shihuang (214BC) of the Qin dynasty (221BC-207 BC). The emperor conquered the region originally named Nanyue and established the Nanhaijun (Rao 1965:585). The Chinese character "chao" means "tide". The name Chaozhou thus has an implication that the livelihood of the Chaozhou people was closely related to the sea. 15 "Chaoshan is the shorter name for ancient Chaozhoufu and the contemporary city of Swatow (Shantou) (Du 1994:l)"(Author's translation).

31 coastal region of China. Its cultural activities are mainly centered around the plain and the delta through which flow the Hanjiang, Rongjiang, Lianjian and

Longjian rivers. The area of its administrative region has varied according to the changes of dynasty and of the administrative system inside China. During the

Republican era, Chaozhou basically included ten xian (an administrative unit under the provincial government) and one shi (a political and administrative center under the provincial government)，Nowadays, Chaozhou is divided into three dijishi (a metropolitan region) which are responsible for the administrative

affairs of fifteen xianji (a sub-administrative unit under the metropolitan region)

imits.i7 (Du 1994:309-315)

The People and Culture

There are two common descriptions of the Chaozhou people. The first is

that Chaozhou people belong to "the major racial group", the Han Chinese

(Sparks 1978:12), and the second is that they belong to ‘‘a distinct Chinese

subethnic group" (Dujunco 1994:16-17). The classification of the Han people as

a racial group in the former reflects an incomplete understanding of Chinese

16 The ten xian (already existed before 1911) and one shi (established in 1921) are: Dapu, Raoping, Fengshun, Chao'an, Nan'ao, Chenghai, Jieyang, Puning, Chaoyang, Huilai and Shantou respectively. For more details on the changes of the division of administrative zone of Chaozhou before 1936, see Rao 1965:585-620. 17 The three dijishi are Shantou, Chaozhou (formerly called Chao'an) and Jieyang.

32 culture, 18 while the latter is much closer to the situation in reality.

As a subethnic group under the macro Han culture, Chaozhou people certainly have something special in their culture. The first and the most obvious feature is their language. China is divided into eight linguistic zones, according to the transmission area of dialects. ^^ The Chaozhou dialect is categorized as a

sub-category under the Minnan linguistic zone.

Similar to other southeastern coastal regional dialects, such as Cantonese,

Kejia dialect and Minbei dialect, the Minnan dialect maintains the consonantal

endings -m, -p, -t and -k. These endings are believed to be the characteristics of

the language spoken in the ancient central region of China (equivalent to the area

surrounding the Huanghe [Yellow River] today), where political and economic

activities were once concentrated (Dujunco 1994:19, Sparks 1978:12-13).

The second unique feature of Chaozhou culture is the people's ideology

about their culture's origins. As early as the Qin dynasty, Chaozhou had been

18 Although most of the people who entitle themselves or are entitled as the Han ethnic group or Han people have yellow skin, black hair and black eyes, the embedded meanings of Han are not restricted to these physical characteristics. Han is the name of an ancient dynasty which reigned from 206BC-220AD. It is believed by many Chinese that the development in many different aspects such as culture and politics in the Han and Tang dynasty had reached the apex of Chinese history, reflected in the long duration of ruling and unification of the nation. The use of Han or Tang is hence a display of paying tribute to the ancestors, which is regarded as a fundamental characteristic of traditional Chinese culture. It is hard to define what is Han or not, but it is with fluidity and inclusiveness that the term is always used as a tool to construct one's identity rather than as a criterion in the process of classification. 19 The eight linguistic zones are: 1. Beijinghua 2. Wufangyan 3. Xianfangyan 4. Gongfangyan 5. Yuefangyan 6. Kejiafangyan 7. Minnanfangyan, and 8. Minbeifangyan (Du 1994:302). unified within the boundaries of the Qin empire and became the destination for the refugees and banished officials from the north. However, there is a common

concept among the Chaozhou people that their culture has been "established"

since the arrival of a banished official in the Tang dynasty, almost one thousand

years after the unification.

Han Yu (767AC-824AD), born in Henan, was banished to Chaozhou as Cishi,

the post of highest regional officer, at the age of fifty-two. According to

different historical documents, the contribution of Han, apart from ending the

threats from crocodiles, was the revitalization of cultural education. Indeed, It is

probable that he might not earn such a high reputation solely through these

contributions alone. The key reason for his reputation is that he regarded himself

as a literati who promoted Confucianism. In the Tang dynasty, when

Confucianism was repressed, it was not surprising to see that an officer like Han

was banished to the most southern region of the territory. But, as values had

changed along with the dynasties, Han became a Confucian hero in the dynasties

following the Tang dynasty. The emperors in later dynasties also dignified him

for his contributions to the promotion of Confucianism, which became the

fundamental ideology of the rulers (Du 1994:50-55).

In the traditional Chinese cultural ideology, political, economic and cultural

34 activities were concentrated in the region of north of the Changjiang (Yangzi

River). The region south of the Chengjiang was regarded as a place of un-civilized people and the barbarians. The identification of being acculturalized by Han culture through recognizing Han Yu as the founder of local culture has become the traditional ideology of almost all Chaozhou people.

Today, the older generation of Chaozhou people in Hong Kong still retains such an ideology.

Migration of Chaozhou People to Hong Kong

Before the 1980's, only a small amount of academic research was done on the Chaozhou of Hong Kong. The relatively large scale of research conducted by Douglas Sparks in the seventies resulted in a dissertation (1978) and two articles (1976a and 1976b).^° Scholars in China have also conducted research on

overseas Chaozhou communities since the realization of economic reformation in

the 1980’s. However, not much relevant information on the local Chaozhou

community can be drawn from their publications. Other sources of information

are publications by local Chaozhou organizations. They have also provided

In the Bibliography of Sparks' dissertation, there is an entry "Lee, Hang Fun 1969 Chiu Chow Community in Kowloon. Unpublished B.A. Thesis, Department of Geography, University of Hong Kong". However, this entry cannot be located.

35 information about the different kinds of activities of local Chaozhou people.

Among the sources mentioned above, the dissertation by Sparks is directly related to the present chapter and its description and information on the Chaozhou

community are the most detailed to date. In his dissertation, Sparks elaborates

the “ethnicity，，，"conflict and ritual" and “leadership，，of the Chaozhou community

in an "urban multi-ethnic" environment such as Hong Kong (1978:3). He had

spent one and a half years in a local public housing estate, managed by the

government, where he conducted his fieldwork. Although the research was

carried out more than twenty years ago, the information on the history and the

population of Chaozhou people in Hong Kong is solid. The comprehensiveness

of the information is demonstrated by the use of not only official figures, but also

the letters of early Baptist missionaries as evidence of the Chaozhou population in

the nineteenth century (1978:25). Sparks also provided his estimation on the

figures, based on his experience during fieldwork, such as the difference between

the official figures and his observations on the Chaozhou population size. The

description of the Chaozhou community in this chapter is compiled mainly from

Sparks' dissertation, with additional references to the publications by local

scholars, Chaozhou organizations and scholars in China.

Being located in the coastal region of China, migration overseas through the %

36 sea routes has been almost unique to the Chaozhou people since the ancient era.

The earliest migration of Chaozhou people could be traced back to the Tang dynasty, when china's external trade began to develop. However, relatively large-scale migration only began in the transition from the Southern Song

(1127AD-1279AD) to the Yuan dynasty (1271AD-1368AD). The migration of

Chaozhou people reached its peak from the late Qing dynasty (1860,s) to the

1950，s. At the beginning of the 1990’s, the total population of overseas

Chaozhou people was estimated at about ten million, which is half of the overall

population of Chaozhou people (Du 1994:208-210).

From the ancient period on, the factors pushing outward migration were

mainly wars, development of sea trade and starvation caused by natural disasters.

Countries in Southeast Asia, such as Thailand and Vietnam, were the most

common destinations for the migrants. Hong Kong was another choice for the

Chaozhou people. Nowadays, there are estimated to be more than one million

Chaozhou people in Hong Kong, and most of them came in the mid-twentieth

century. Nevertheless, there are records showing that the Chaozhou people had

migrated to and lived in Hong Kong a hundred years before 1842 (Sparks

1978:25).

In Table 1, the figures for the Chaozhou population in Hong Kong from 1897

37 to 1931 are shown. Females were in the minority. The imbalanced sex ratio is simply the classical pattern of an early stage of a migration community.

Although the Chaozhou population had an increase of 166% during the late nineteenth century and the early twentieth century, they were still a minority within the overall Chinese population. By 1931, only 1.38% of the overall

Chinese population was Chaozhou people. No other censuses had been carried

out until 1961, but Sparks estimated that the Chaozhou population prior to WWII

was about 50,000 (1978:32).

Year Chaozhou population

1897 4278, among them 298 were females

1901 4631, among them 322 were females

1911 6653, number of females not listed

1921 8033, among them 1076 were females

1931 11373, among them 2457 were females (Total Chinese population: 821429)

Tahle 1: Chaozhou population prior to WWII ffigures from Hong Kong Census Reports. J841-194L quoted bv Sparks 1978:26)

In the 1961 Census, the Chaozhou population had increased to 259,743, an

increase of 21 times compared to 1931, and the overall population had also

increased to 3,129,648, almost an increase of 3 times compared to 1931. The

38 increase in population was due to the political instabilities and economic deterioration after the establishment of the communist government. By the 1971

Census, the Chaozhou population was 391,454, an increase of 51% compared to

1961. But the official figure was challenged by various Chaozhou organizations at that time. The figure estimated by various Chaozhou organizations was at about one million. Sparks suggested that the "true figure probably lies between the government figure and the Teochiu (Chaozhou) estimate" (1978:26).

The 1961 Census and the 1971 Census not only provide us the figures, but also useful information through interpretation, in the case of the cultural assimilation of the local Chaozhou community. Although the Chaozhou are the

Chinese ethnic group that use the least Cantonese as their “usual language" in both censuses, compared to 1961 they are observed to use less Choazhou dialect as their "usual language" by 1971.2�Besides th, e 1971 Census report further indicates that many Chaozhou aged 20 or below gradually become unable to

speak the Chaozhou dialect, although they may be able to understand the dialect

when it is spoken. An exception to this pattern increases in the higher age

groups. The reasons for younger generations becoming unable to speak

21 Sparks suggests that questions may arise when using the expression "usual language". In fact, most of the Chazhou people would "use Teochiu (Chaozhou dialects) in some contexts and Cantonese in others" (Sparks 1978:39).

39 Chaozhou dialect are that the media of instruction in primary and secondary schools are Cantonese or English, and parents usually do not emphasize the importance of learning Chaozhou dialect. As early as the 1970’s, scholars had already suggested that many Chaozhou youth born in Hong Kong were gradually

losing their commitment to Chaozhou identity. (Sparks 1978:38-40)

The ethnic stereotype of the Chaozhou community as perceived by other

ethnic groups is usually negative (Spark 1978:64). In general, the Chaozhou

people are perceived to have several characteristics, such as being conservative,

having a high ethnic coherence, and a "violent and aggressive personality which

leads to conflict with others", etc. (ibid: 64). Although the above descriptions

had once been a very common perception of Chaozhou people, it is now less

significant according to the author's experience in contacting Chaozhou people.

However, such ethnic stereotypes are still being re-articulated in certain contexts.

Appendix B is a newspaper cutting from one of the best-selling local Chinese

newspapers, Apple Daily, on April 22, 2000. It is a report about an ordinary case

of violent abuse in a family. According to the report, the husband was angry

with his wife and bit her because she was cheated into buying fake high-tech

electronic parts, resulting in a loss of twenty thousand Hong Kong dollars.

22 By the 1981 census, there were 566,044 Chaozhou people residing in Hong Kong (Census & Statistics Department 1981:22).

40 Although no evidence shows that there is a direct relationship between ethnic identity and personal character, the bad-tempered character of the husband is unnecessarily linked to his ethnic origin in the heading and the third paragraph.

In Hong Kong today, it is unfortunate and unfair that such negative ethnic

stereotypes are still attached to Chaozhou people. The Chaozhou people are

obviously self-aware of the negative ethnic stereotype, and this is of course a

reason for a reduction in identity commitment among younger generations.

Social Organization of the Chaozhou Community

It is a tradition in the Chaozhou community, and in Chinese society as well,

to form various social organizations according to different affiliations for different

purposes and interests. The social organizations exist at different levels of the

society and are in great variety, ranging from guilds to triads. The principles of

formation of social organizations arise from the needs of different groups in the

society, and develop according to the nature of the groups. One of the examples

is the Nanbeihang, mentioned in Chapter one. It is a type of hanghui

organization aimed at facilitating the trading business in southern and northern

China.

The principles of the formation of social organizations need not be exclusive.

41 In a migration society like Hong Kong, where Chinese are dominant in the population and are from different ethnic origins, ethnic affiliation has become one of the significant principles of formation and is a special feature of many local social organizations. In Hong Kong, social organizations employing only ethnic affiliation as their principle of formation are tongxianghui (literally the

organization of the same place of origin). However, as the principles of

formation are not exclusive, many social organizations have been established by

employing other principles together with the ethnic affiliation. For example, in

the case of Nanbeihang, numerous sub-branches were formed according to ethnic

origins within the parent hanghui, such as the Juyintang founded by Chaozhou

traders.

According to Sparks, the Chaozhou ethnic-affiliated organizations in Hong

Kong are distinguished into two categories, one is the "higher level" organization

and the other is the “lower level" organization” (Sparks 1978:45). The

distinction is based on "partially the primary function and activities" and

“partially the influence of an association. ..(and) of individual leaders and

members", and the members of "high level" organization are the elite members of

42 the commercial sectors (45)?^ By the 1970，s, there were 150 Chaozhou organizations in Hong Kong, and they were related to commercial and religious sectors, etc. (46).

The Chiu Chow Merchants Mutual Assistance Society

Among numerous Chaozhou organizations, the Chiu Chow Merchants

Mutual Assistance Society (CCMMAS)，founded on the tenth of October 1930, is

one of the oldest organizations related to the trading business. The predecessor

of the CCMMAS was the Juyihuzhushe (CCMMAS 2000b: 124) located in Wing

Lok Street 永樂街 in Sheung Wan?* Before it was changed into the CCMMAS,

Juyihuzhushe was funded by the merchandisers who engaging in trading business

nearby, and aimed at providing them a place to carry out musical activities and

social gatherings (Liu 2000:158). The music performed at that time included

xianshiyue, waijiangyinyue and the operatic music of hanju. The reason for the

establishment of the CCMMAS was that, as the musical activities and the social

gatherings gradually developed, not only merchandisers but also people from

23 The author realizes that the distinction is in fact based on the social paradigm developed in the nineteenth century. See Chapter One. 24 Two different versions of the name of the predecessor of the CCMMAS are founded in two different articles in the Chengli Qishi Zhounian Jinian Tekan (Memorial brochure for the seventieth year after its establishment). They are the Juyihuzhushe and Juyitang given by the Secretary Section of the CCMMAS (CCMMAS 2000:124) and Liu Fu-guang (Liu 2000:158), respectively.

43 "higher level" occupations, such as managers and owners of trading firms, had also joined the activities. Upon the demand for a better organization of the activities, and for an organization in which business information could be exchanged, several members of the Juyitang decided to establish the COMMAS

(Liu 2000:158). After the establishment of the CCMMAS, the organization was not only responsible for coordinating recreational activities and social gatherings,

but also for facilitating trading business and reducing the conflicts arising from

the competition among colleagues (Qiu 1999, personal communication).^^

Just like the Donghua hospital, mentioned in Chapter One, a successful and

classic example illustrating how merchants in Hong Kong were recognized and

dignified by taking up charity work, since its establishment the CCMMAS has

also acted as a charitable organization when there were disasters and other kinds

of social needs. Although it is a Chaozhou organization, beneficiaries are not

restricted to ethnic Chaozhou people, according to the chronicle of the CCMMAS

in the past seventy years (CCMMAS 2000b:100-103). The most remarkable

example is the clinic, established in 1958, at present located in and funded by the

CCMMAS. In its advertisement in the Youyidahui Tekan (Programme of

25 After the establishment of the CCMMAS, the musical activities of the former Juyitang (or Juyihuzhushe, see note 23) continued to take place under the name of "The Music Troop of the Chiu Chow Merchants Mutual Assistance Society"(厂潮商互助社音樂隊」，Liu 2000:158). For detailed description of the musical activities of the CCMMAS, see Chapter Three.

44 Entertainment Party, CCMMAS 1997:38, 2000a:35), it is emphasized that everybody, regardless of their ethnic origin, can obtain medical services including a two-day supply of medicine, and an injection if needed, for only forty dollars.

It is relatively a very low price nowadays in Hong Kong.

Apart from the charitable activities, the CCMMAS also organizes activities aimed at cohering its members, ranging from conferences on the administrative

affairs to different recreational activities, such as the elections of committee

members and the sightseeing tours respectively. The author had asked the

person in charge of the MD many times for the permission to attend the members'

gatherings, which were held mostly in a restaurant and in which xianshiyue was

performed, but he was rejected except for a visit to the yongpeng. According to

the photographs in the materials published by the CCMMAS, the internal

activities have provided chances and places for the CCMMAS members to

socialize with others.

From its activities, the CCMMAS has attempted, on the one hand, to build up

an image of a common charitable organization without any ethnic affiliation, and,

on the other, to retain its ethnic exclusiveness by organizing activities in which

outsiders are not welcome to participate. The Chaozhou people are aware of

and have tried to get rid of the negative ethnic stereotypes, and some of them,

45 such as the CCMMAS, have attempted to improve the situation by taking on responsibilities to benefit all of Hong Kong society. Meanwhile, as a Chaozhou organization, the CCMMAS has to organize activities thai maintain ethnic coherence and are not to be made known lo or attended by outsiders.

In an urbanized city like Hong Kong, the significance of various ethnic groups has been minimized lo an extent that diversity is almost invisible. In other words, many ethnic groups seem to have successfully blended in with ihc major stream of the domain. The reasons for this include the implementation of

the use of official language by the government, and the imbalanced development

of social norms and values in which rcalislic benefils and culture arc not equally

emphasized. The negative ethnic stereotype, in particular thai of the Chaozhou

comnuinilv. also conlribules lo this phenomenon. Nevertheless, activities as a

-means of constructing trajectories" and ''a means by which people rccogni/c

identities and place, and the boundaries which separate ihcm" (Slokcs 1994:4-5)

arc still going on within ihc Chaozhou community in places nol commonly known

bv outsiders or even b>’ many Chaozhou people. These activities, in particular

the musical activities of the CCMMAS. are studied in this thesis so as lo explore

exactly what is the uniqueness of xianshiyue performances thai are conceived as a

means of contributing to the construction of ethnic identity and boundary in an

46 广 丄：[.. ..'....」 ‘ • • . �...... "y 1... I

:....._.——...- • • •

urban environment.

：.、， •

t

ff:’ - •+.-

；I1kS\I ;/ ： .,� .,- - . ..• •. , . -' ；‘ 47 PART TWO: XIANSHIYUE

In Part One, the author has provided descriptions of the environment where xianshiyue exists. These include the imbalanced development of social norms and values, which result in widespread ignorance of Chinese traditions (Chapter

One), and the cultural assimilation process of the Chaozhou community in Hong

Kong (Chapter Two). This section aims to provide information on xianshiyue

and is divided into two chapters. Chapter Three is an ethnography on the current

situation of xianshiyue in Hong Kong. It includes the descriptions of the

different performance contexts of xianshiyue in Hong Kong, and also the

performers' behavior. Chapter Four discusses the performance practice that

shapes the music of xianshiyue. The two chapters concern different aspects of

xianshiyue, and they will be jointly discussed in the Conclusion.

48 CHAPTER THREE: XIANSHIYUE IN HONG KONG

As mentioned in the Introduction, few scholars have written on the performance contexts of xianshiyue. Musicologists in China have put substantial emphasis on the musical content, while ethnomusicologists from the West have tried to explore new directions in explaining the meanings of the musical activities.

This section aims to give a description of the various performance contexts and performance practice of xianshiyue activities in Hong Kong.

The author would like to begin with the classifications of performance

contexts discussed in previous studies by other scholars. In her dissertation,

Dujunco suggests four types of performance and transmission contexts of

xianshiyue. They are "amateur music clubs", “music schools and institutes",

"independent music study and private music-making sessions", and "concert and

recordings" (1994:116-136). These performance contexts are defined by their

functions. An amateur music clubs is an “interest group formed for the express

purpose of recreation" (116). Music schools and institutes “train [music school

graduates] for performance careers as Chaozhou opera singers, actors, dancers or

musicians" (126), independent music study and private music-making sessions

take place "for their [participants'] own pleasure and entertainment" (129). The

functions of concerts are relatively complicated, and the functions of recordings

49 are not clearly defined. To summarize, the xianshiyue concerts, taking place on occasions such as traditional festivals and the inauguration of certain organizations and facilities when overseas Chaozhou return, are regarded as tools which serve the "government's efforts to attract overseas Chinese investors"

(131).26

It should be noted that Dujunco's classification system is based on observations in Chaozhou, thus, it may not fit the situation in Hong Kong. In

Hong Kong, the genre has never been taught in The Academy of Performing Arts, the sole music conservatory supported by the government to train professional

performers of music and other art forms. Also, although the first, the third and

the fourth type of context could be observed or were mentioned by informants as

taking place in Hong Kong, they exist in ways different from the functions

defined by Duj unco, as the social environment and settings in Hong Kong are

different from those in Chaozhou.

The context of “amateur music clubs", although seldom known by most

Hong Kong people or even the Hong Kong-Chaozhou residents, is the most

common and the major performance context within the participants' network.

26 Another type of classification is given by Yuan Jing-fang, who defines two "types" of xianshiyue, rujiayue and pengdingyue, according to their applied contexts and performing style (Yuan 1987:325).

50 Both "independent music study and private music-making sessions" and “concert and recordings" still exist in Hong Kong, but the author has doubts on how frequently they take place in Hong Kong. The author has also observed performances of xianshiyue in contexts other than those mentioned above.

Although the music performed in the performance contexts is called xianshiyue, it serves different purposes and accordingly has different meanings. Based on

observation during fieldwork, the author will report on these performance

contexts, mainly with the reference to the case of the MD. Through providing an

ethnography of local xianshiyue activities, the author would like to classify the

xianshiyue performance contexts in Hong Kong, based on the existing categories

described by Dujunco. Also, the author believes that it is in these different

contexts that new perspectives on the nature and functions of xianshiyue can be

observed.

The Music Division of the Chiu Chow Merchants Mutual Assistance Society (the

“MD”)27

Since amateur music clubs exist almost everywhere where there is Chaozhou

27 The information on the historic background of the MD is mainly from the Chegnli Qishi Zhounian Jinian Tekan (Literally the Memorial brochure for the seventieth year since its establishment, CCMMAS 2000b) and one of its articles by Liu Fu-guang (Liu 2000:158-165), an experienced musician of Chaohou music and the vice-division head of the MD when the author conducted his fieldwork.

51 community, the generalization that Chaozhou music especially xianshiyue is very much a part of Chaozhou people's life is commonly seen in many writings.

According to Dujunco (1994), the amateur music clubs are for a recreational purpose, while most of the amateur music clubs abroad are connected to local organization (tongxianghui) and temples. Based on her fieldwork in

Chenghaishi, where most renowned musicians are concentrated, the amateur music clubs feature the following characteristics. First of all, most of the participants are retired elderly men. This is because they have relatively more leisure time to take part in the activities. And in fact, it is common to see the

word "elderly" in the name of the amateur music clubs, such as the Gangkou

Laoren Jule Zhongxin (literally the Harbor Elderly Recreation Center). Second,

regardless of their organizing structure, the amateur music clubs do not have

exclusive membership. Thus, it is common to see the same faces in different

music clubs. Third, the amateur music clubs, except the largest Chengai

Chaozhou Music Research Association which Dujunco had focused on (and from

which descriptions on the performance practice are also made), are housed,

depending on their financial resources, in "communally-owned quarters", "the

rented space of one of the members，,，or the space provided by members' former

working units. (Dujunco 1994:116-125) In Hong Kong, the pattern of the

52 performances of the MD and other amateur music clubs in the music club context are more or less same as those in Chenghaishi, but they also have distinctive and unique features different from those in Chaozhou. Generally speaking, the music clubs in Hong Kong not only performs in their clubs, but they also perform in other contexts.

The CCMMAS, founded in 1930, is the parent organization of the MD and one of the earliest Chaozhou organizations aimed at facilitating the commercial and trading activities among its members. In facts, before the establishment of the CCMMAS, musical activities had already taken place for years in the

Juyihujushe (see note 25 in Chapter Two), the predecessor of the CCMMAS.

Not much information on the situation of the musical activities in the Juyihujushe

can be found, except for the names of a few founders and the kinds of music

performed in the music club. According to the Liu Fu-guang, not only the

xianshiyue, but also the waijiang yinyue and the hanqu严 were performed in the

Juyihujushe about 1930 (Liu 2000:158).

The musical activities of the former Juyihujushe continued under the new

name of "The Music Troupe of the Chiu Chow Merchants Mutual Assistance

28 In Chinese operatic music, the Chinese character qu 曲，in contrast to ju 劇（or xi 戲）’ refers to the performance without stage gestures, make up or costumes. In the repertoire oi qu may be an excerpt ofju, or a newly composed piece written in the style of the music of Ju. The term hanqu here refers to the non-theatrical vocal performances of hanju.

53 Society" (Liu 2000:158) for the first decade after the establishment of the

CCMMAS (1930-1940). The performing troupe was financially independent,

and was simple in its organizational structure. It was led by two

persons-in-charge and another two persons who were responsible for the financial

affairs (ibid: 158). The musical activities of the performing troupe, however,

were interrupted due to the Japanese invasion in WWII (1941-1944). While

most of the participants fled from the war to the Chaozhou region, a few of them

stayed and maintained communication with each other, giving a chance for

rejuvenation of the music club in the future. After the war, in 1945, the musical

-activities were resumed, and the performing troupe finally became a division of

the CCMMAS and adopted the present name, The Music Division of The Chiu

Chow Merchants Mutual Assistance Society (ibid: 159). Nowadays, the MD is

managed by a division head and a vice division head, who are generally also the

committee members, elected according to the constitution, of its parent

organization, the CCMMAS.

Outsiders will seldom be able to join the MD without a middleman's

invitation. The author would like to take Li Tong-yi, an erxian virtuoso aged

about thirty-five, who has recently registered as a member, as an example to

illustrate the way in which a person obtains his membership in the MD. Li is

54 experienced in the accompaniment of chaoju and learned the music before migrating to Hong Kong. However, after migrating to Hong Kong, he found that he could not make a living from his musical talent and thus begun to run a car repairing shop in Sham Shui Po 深水埗.His wife, a Hong Kong-born second-generation Chaozhou woman, was an active participant in the Chaoyishe

(mentioned in the Introduction) in her teens. As they have spent most of their time working and looking after their child, they had not taken part in the xianshiyue activities for years after they married. But on one evening in 1999, the couple visited the Chaoyishe. For his musical talent and enthusiasm, Li passed the "jury exam" and quickly began to appear frequently in the performances of the MD and the Lafuruyueshe (see below). In 2000, Li was

invited to join the CCMMAS and has registered as a member according to the

constitution of the CCMMAS.

In the case of Li, we can observe an individual's motivation for participating

in the xianshiyue activities, and see how a new participant enters into the network

of xianshiyue activities. And it is through this intricate network that the MD

acquires its new members. At present, there are forty-six registered members in

the MD, and most of them are Chaozhou migrants who learned the music before

55 . 29 migration..

From Waijiang Traditions to Chaozhou Traditions

While music clubs in Hong Kong today merely perform xianshiyue, the waijiang traditions (including both operatic music and ensemble music) had once been significant and dominant in the CCMMAS before 1959 (Liu 2000:159-160).

In fact, as suggested by Xiao Yao-tian, the situation in which the waijiang traditions are regarded as more “elegant,’ and "higher level" than the Chaozhou traditions by intellectuals (literati) and elders (Xiao 1988:84), can still be observed

in the MD and the music clubs in Singapore today.^^

The waijiang traditions not only play a vital role in the history of the MD,

but also tell us something about the changes in the social structure of the

Chaozhou community in the past. However, in many previous studies,

definitions of the terms related to waijiang traditions, including waijiang ruyue,

waijiang yinyue, waijiang xi, hanju, and Guangdong hanyue, are rather confusing.

The term waijiang is generally applied to people or things which came from

29 The only Hong Kong bom second-generation participant in the MD is Zhu Jin-qiang, who learned to play pip a and xianshiyue in Hong Kong. 30 The author did not conduct fieldwork in Singapore. He obtained the information through communication with Ye Wei-zheng (in the summer of 2000), a graduate student of the National University of Singapore, who studies the music clubs of the Chaozhou community in Singapore from historical perspectives.

56 other regions, transmitted either by Chaozhou (Xiao 1988:85, Chen 1989:25) or

Kejia people (Jones 1995:325). According to Xiao and Chen, to Chaozhou people, waijiang music refers to the music of hanju (Xiao 1988:88, Chen

1989:25), a regional opera developed in the Hanshui region (YYS 1985:144, Xiao

1988:86), sung in guanhua (literally the "official language") of the Qing dynasty, and widely transmitted to different regions (YYS 1985:144). As hanju was from other regions, it was commonly called waijiang xi in both ethnic groups.

After 1949, the relationship between waijiang yinyue and hanju seems to have been intentionally blurred by Chinese musicologists and, maybe accidentally, by western ethnomusicologists. The music of hanju, or the so-called waijiang yinyue, commonly transmitted in the Kejia region, has been renamed as guangdong hanyue (YYS 1985:129, Dujunco 1994:56, Jones 1995:324-325).

Since then, in the writings of both Chinese and western scholars, guangdong

hanyue has been described as a musical genre independent of its original operatic

background (YYS 1985:129 [the entry of “gucmgdong hanyue”], Jones 1995:325).

Similar situation also happens in the studies of xianshiyue, in which the

relationship to chaoju is seldom mentioned. The author believes that the

situation is a result of the classification of the field of study of Chinese music into

four main genres in the mainland conservatories.

57 Waijiang yinyue is believed to have entered the Chaozhou region during the

“middle part of the Qing dynasty period and in the beginning, was popular "only among the upper and middle classes" (Chen 1989:25, Dujunco's translation in quotation marks, 1994:55). As mentioned in the previous section, the waijiang traditions are regarded as more "elegant" and "higher level" than the Chaozhou traditions by intellectuals (literati) and elders in the Chaozhou region (Xiao

1988:84). Two reasons are suggested by Xiao: the waijiang xi were written in a more literary way than the Chaozhou xi which were sung in dialect, and the former were performed by adult performers, the latter by children (ibid). As waijiang xi was so favorably received in the upper and middle classes, many ruyueshe (literally the music clubs of literati), usually patronized by rich people, were set up.^' The ruyueshe also followed the Chaozhou migrants to Hong Kong

(The MD was regarded as ruyueshe by Chaozhou people in the past), Singapore

(such as Yuyuruyueshe) and other Southeast Asian countries (ibid:84, 94-96).

According to the author's personal communication with Qiu Shi-jun (the

Honorary President of the CCMMAS, who claimed to have learned to play

touxian from Zhang Han-zhai, a renowned Chaozhou musician from Chao'an

31 The nature of the ruyueshe is like that of the piaofang of Peking opera (Xiao 1988:84). The people who take part in the performances of piaofang are call piaoyou, and in the piaofang, qu (see note 28) are performed. The terms piaofang and piaoyou are also commonly used in Cantonese opera. It should be noted that the Chinese character "ru" in the ruyueshe is not related to Confucianism, but only refers to the literati in Chaozhou region (ibid:94).

58 county [Xiao 1988:99] specializing in guangdong hanyue, before he came to

Hong Kong when Zhang was employed in Qiu's father's rice trading company in

Chaozhou), it seems that learning waijiang music had once been a common phenomenon among rich people (the so-called "upper and middle classes") in

Chaozhou society. Moreover, before 1959, not only waijiangyinyue, but also hanqu and hanju were performed in the MD (Liu 2000:159-160).

However, after 1959, the waijiang traditions vanished as fewer and fewer instructors and participants would take part in the performances of hanju and hanqu. Meanwhile, after 1949, chaoju, a regional opera sung in Chaozhou dialect which was originally favored by the lower class, has gradually become

more and more popular. This was mainly because the genre was dignified by the

government, and was taught, studied and performed by the PRC government

funded performing troops. In 1960, the Guangdong Chaojutuan visited Hong

Kong and performed several reformed plays. The performances changed a lot of

people's minds, in that chaoju was previously not taken seriously among

Chaozhou people, and activated the development of chaoju performances in Hong

Kong (Liu 2000:160). Due to the performances of chaoju developed in Hong

Kong on the one hand, and the political instabilities in China in the 1960's on the

other, many virtuoso performers and accompanists migrated to Hong Kong.

59 Most of the new migrants with chaoju expertise, such as Liu Fu-guang, joined the

MD, and contributed to the rise of the Chaozhou traditions. Nowadays, the MD is dominated by the Chaozhou traditions, and only one musician, Qiu Shi-jun, the

Honorary President of the CCMMAS, still performs on the touxian, a leading

32 instrument in the waijiangyinyue ensemble.

Unlike the music clubs in Hong Kong, the waijiang traditions are retained in the music clubs in Singapore. According to Ye Wei-zheng (Ye 2000), waijiang yinyue is still being performed in some music clubs in Singapore, such as the

Yuyuruyueshe.33 Despite the unique geographical and political connections with

China, the changes in performing traditions in Hong Kong have demonstrated how the performing arts were used as a tool by the PRC government to articulate the local ethnicity of Chaozhou people. In the case of the MD, it is not the

traditional essence (the music of both waijiang and Chaozhou traditions) itself that

manipulates the performances and values of an individual, but is the interpretation

by the ethnic group of the changes in their surroundings that does so.

32 According to the author's observation, the music performed by Qiu was different from the music of xianshiyue. The performance by Qiu, playing a leading instrument in the ensemble, was generally less ornamented, especially in the cui sections. Although a difference in performing style usually leads to a musically unharmonious atmosphere, Qiu was still invited to perform in the xianshiyue ensemble. 33 Although it is outside the scope of this thesis, it will be an interesting topic if comparisons are made between Hong Kong and Singapre.

60 Performances in the Music Club Context

According to Dujunco, the music clubs in Chaozhou are themselves a performance context, in which the performances take place in the so-called

"primary performance setting of xian shi yue and the main meeting ground for xian shi yue musicians and enthusiasts" (Dujunco 1994:120). The pattern and practice of the xianshiyue performances of the MD in the music club context is similar to the “typical music session" of music clubs in the Chaozhou region described by Dujunco (1994:121-123). The typical music session of the MD is as follows.

The MD holds music sessions every Friday evening, except for public holidays and festivals. Also, when the music club is occupied for other purposes,

or when both the division head and vice-division head are not available to be

present, the music session will be suspended. The music session usually begins

at half past seven and ends at about ten. Before the music session, participants

also have dinner provided by the CCMMAS in the apartment. In fact, a few

people, mainly retired elders, show up as as early as five, and they prepare the

seats and start to tune the instruments while they chit-chat, inevitably in the

Chaozhou dialect. Most of the time they start to perform even if there are only a

few people. More and more participants come as the performance goes on.

61 The number of participants is not constant and may fluctuate, and there will be more participants if visitors from China or other regions come.

The dinner is prepared in the kitchen of the apartment, as the apartment of the CCMMAS was originally for residential purpose. Qiu Shi-jun told the author that, in the past, most of the participants of the MD were engaging in trading business in the Sheung Wan district, and it would be convenient for them to have a meal in the MD before the music session. Also, when there are visitors from China or Thailand, they are invited to join the dinner with local musicians before the music session begins. In addition to its social function, the dinner has

become a part and a unique feature of the xianshiyue activities of the MD.

The dinner usually lasts not more than half an hour. While some remain

seated at the table, some musicians approach to the circle formed by chairs and

pick up their instruments. After tuning the instruments (see Chapter Four) and

when everybody is ready, the erxian player plays the first few notes of a piece to

signify which piece is to be performed. As it is the performance practice that

performers should perform the music without a score, and the combinations of

performers may vary from time to time, the erxian player has to consider choosing

the pieces that will surely be familiar to other musicians, such as Hanya Xishui

and Pingsha Luoyan, so as to guarantee that the performance can finish

62 successfully. Although it is claimed that there are more than several hundred pieces in the repertoire of xianshiyue, only about thirty-to-forty pieces are often

perfonned.34 ^hen the performance begins, participants can listen to the

performance quietly, or engage in social activities like chatting with others in a

very low volume or enjoying the gongfucha, and people come and go freely

throughout the evening.

In the music club context, participants can freely choose to be the performers

or the audience members. Also, the participants have freedom to take part in the

performance, and the performers seldom occupy the instruments for a long time

when there are many participants. To take part in the performance, a participant

may wait until the instrument that he wants to play is available, or wait for the

invitation by others. After performing a piece, the ensemble members "pause for

a while for a change of personnel" (Dujunco 1994:121). The xianshiyue

performances of the MD are patterned by the repetitions of change of personnel,

tuning, and performing throughout the evening,^^ and are in an atmosphere of

34 The author brought a photocopy of a xianshiyue anthology, Chaozhou Yuequxuan (Cai 1992), to Chaoyishe in Kwun Tong when he visited there for the second time. Chen Yan-pao, an erxian player, who came from Fujian province and is a very active performer in the xianshiyue activities in Hong Kong, has placed marks on forty-three pieces that were frequently performed by musicians. But, according to the author's experience in the MD, the number should be about twenty to thirty. 35 Although it is rare, the performance of xiyue (literally the small ensemble) may take place after the performance of xianshiyue. Xiyue includes the plucked instruments pipa, sawcian, and zheng, and sometimes the bowed instrument ye/zw. The zheng is regarded as the core instrument in this type of ensemble.

63 relaxation.

The seating of the performers of core instruments in the circle is fixed. In

the circle formed by the core instruments, the erxian player sits opposite to the

yangqin player. On the left hand side of the erxian player, there are the tihu (also

called erhu) player and the pipa player, while the yehu (a two-strings fiddle with

coconut shell as resonator) player is on his right hand side. Players of other

optional instruments, such as zheng, sanxian and dahu (a two-stringed fiddle

similar to but much larger than the tihu), are not in the circle and they may even

be somewhat far away from the circle. Learners who are not familiar with the

piece or those who do not want their performance to be heard by others may take

the instruments with a soft sound, such as the yueqin, nanhu and damao, and they

sit further far away from the circle. The players of non-core-instruments

including the percussionist can freely choose a place to sit. The seating

arrangements of the MD are more or less the same as those of the music clubs in

Chaozhou described by Dujunco, and they are found to serve the same functions

described by her:

“This is a good way to hone one's skills in the performance of a semi-oral music tradition such as xian shiyue, which calls for a lot of variation and improvisation in the individual instrumental parts and yet, at the same time, also requires coherence and integrity with the rest of the ensemble. The club music sessions provide just the right kind of setting

64 wherein budding xian shi yue players can listen to and play together with more competent musicians, a process through which not only can they ‘internalize’ the music, but which also enables them to develop a fine sense of balance between communality and individuality." (Dujunco 1994:123)

The performances of xianshiyue in the music club context can be observed in two other music clubs: the Chaoyishe in Kwun Tong and the Lafuruyueshe

(literally the ruyue music club in Lafu [Lok Fu 樂富]).36 Although the way in which the xianshiyue performances goes on in both music clubs is similar to the

MD, they are unique in their organizational structure.

The Chaoyishe is the first place where the author began to conduct fieldwork in the study of xianshiyue. It is located in the Guantang Shequ Zhongxin

(Kwuntong community center), a multi-purpose complex run by the Civil Affairs

Department of the SAR government. The person in charge of Chaoyi Yinyueban

is Wu Zhen-guan,37 ^^ experienced dizi and yangqin performer. According to

Wu, the Chaoyishe, founded in the 1960，s, was an independent organization.

After the establishment of the community center, it was invited to move into the

center and subsidized by the government. There were once more than seventy

participants joining not only the music class, but also the classes on other

36 The address of the Lafuruyueshe is 18/F, Wang Chak House, Wang Tau Horn Estate, Lok Fu, Kowloon. 37 Wu is also a member of the MD, but the author has never seen him attend a performance of the MD. Although he likes to play on the yangqin during the performances, he is a specialist on the dizi. His name is seen in the discography of Lingxianhua and Meiguhong (Tang Nan Ah Co. 1990, 1991 respectively).

65 Chaozhou art forms like Chaozhou opera and Chaozhou tea in the 1960，s and

1970，s. Obviously, the number of participants at present is far fewer than the

past, when the development of the Kwun Tong district was still in its infancy in

the 1960，s. Among the participants, many were the female industrial workers

who worked and lived in the district. However, after they had married, they had

to take care of their families and thus seldom took part in Chaoyishe activites. In

recent years, the number of participants has dropped to about 20 people (no

female participants among them), and only the music classes, in which the

xianshiyue is performed in a music club context, are still maintained.

The music classes, called Chaoyi Yinyueban (literally the music classes by

the 'Chaoyi Society，)，are held regularly on every Tuesday and Thursday evening,

starting from seven-thirty to nine-thirty (as the center is closed at nine-thirty),

unless the community center is closed for public holidays or due to bad weather

such as a typhoon or heavy storm. Although any person is eligible to join the

music classes, similar to the case of the MD, outsiders will seldom join without

invitation from a middleman or from within the participants' network. The

author formally joined classes at the very beginning of his fieldwork. All one

has to do to join the classes is to sign up as a member of the community center

and pay the registration and tuition fee. The register fee is ten dollars and the

66 tuition fee for about twenty-six music classes is one hundred and seventy dollars.

Existing as one of the special interest groups in the community center, the

Chaoyishe is unavoidably competing with other groups for the limited resources

of the community center. But, in fact, it can only struggle for its survival. As

the number of participants is decreasing, resources put into the Chaoyishe by the

community center are obviously less than for other activities organized by the

community center. For example, advertisements of the Chaoyi Yinyueban could

only be seen in the newsletter of the members of the community center and inside

the general activities room, while others were posted up on the boards in the main

entrance. At present, based on the author's experience in contacting the officials

of the community center when signing up for the class, their attitude towards the

Chaoyishe is discouraging but laissez-faire.

In the past, according to Wu, a huge subsidy was given by the community

center to the Chaoyishe in order to keep the fees of the classes on different

Chaozhou art forms relatively low. As the demand for classes gradually dropped

and only the music classes persisted, the subsidy has been cancelled in recent

years. In the case of the music classes, every participant has to pay one hundred

and seventy dollars quarterly, which is a considerable expnse for retired persons,

to the community center as the tuition fee for Wu. Yet, according to Wu, the fees

67 of most participants, especially those who are retired, were actually paid by himself in order to encourage the existing participants to keep on signing up for

the music class, and part of his salary received from the community center is spent

on the expenses like repairing instruments and buying tea-leaves.

The author is curious about this phenomenon and asks the following question:

"Why do xianshiyue performances of the Chaoyishe have to take place in form of

music classes?" The situation might be that the officials would probably further

reduce the subsidy or even stop lending an activity room to the Chaoyishe, if they

had to sit for the music classes. The answer may be that although it is suggested

and known by insiders that the music club context is a transmission context for the

genre, and thus a context where the music is being "taught" and “learned” in a

traditional manner, to outsiders, the xianshiyue performances of the Chaoyishe

seem to be social gatherings rather than music classes. It is an unreasonable

expectation and, certainly, not an obligation for the government to lend a venue to

any ethnic group for the purpose of social gatherings. Thus, in order to have a

place for survival, the Chaoyishe must put the xianshiyue performances in the

form of music classes, and maintain a certain number of participants. Under

such circumstances, the Chaoyishe strictly obey the regulations set by the

community center, such as finishing the performance punctually at nine-thirty.

68 The Lafuruyueshe is another music club in which xianshiyue performances take place in a music club context. The author has visited the music club once.

It was on June 11, 2000, a Saturday evening at about half-past six, when the author received a phone call from Li Tong-yi, saying that a performance would be held in the music club in Lok Fu and he would like to invite the author to take part.

The author had heard about the music club many times during his visits to the MD,

but he did not have a chance to visit until that evening.

The author was told to wait at the Mass Transit Railway Station in Lok Fu at

half-past seven. Later he was led to the music club and several participants were

already there. The music club is located in one of the apartments of a public

housing estate in Lok Fu rented and occupied by the person in charge of the music

club. According to the participants of the Lafuruyueshe, the music sessions

are initiated by the participants, and whether or not a session can be held depends

on how many performers are available and willing to take part. Thus, the music

session of the Lafuruyueshe are not held regularly and frequently. Besides, as it

is held in a private apartment, there is no constraint on the duration of the session,

and the length depends on the participants' desire to perform. The music session,

similar to that of the MD and Chaoyushe in the aspect of performance practice,

ended at midnight.

69 In the Lafuruyueshe, the author witnessed the process which “led to the development.. .of its (individual music club's) style" suggested by Dujunco

(1994:124). A standardized individual music club's style, according to Dujunco, is ‘‘characterized by proficient playing by all the musicians and a coordination of the various instrumental parts in such a way that they are all together yet, at the

same time, also beautifully ‘out of sync，”（124). In addition, it is a result of “long

period of association and interaction with one another, both musically and

socially" (124). However, during his fieldwork in Hong Kong, the author

discovered that, in amateur music clubs, style is not one set of standardized

treatises but a set of opinions. Also, the process of style development is not

realized in the individual music club, but among a group of performers.

Although they cannot be ignored, it is not the duration of association and

interaction, but the common cultural background that plays a vital role in the

process. The performances of the Lafuruyueshe are exactly projections of the

result of this process. Compared to the MD and the Chaoyishe in which

xianshiyue is performed in music club contexts, the Lafuruyueshe itself is unique,

and it is quite similar to the context of "private music-making sessions" which

indirectly implies exclusive membership and enables the performers to perform

music in their style, or, in other words, enables the performers with the same

70 attitude towards the aesthetics of music to perform together. In addition to the motivation of performers in the private music-making sessions in which performances are largely for “the genuine desire of the individuals to play music for their own pleasure and entertainment" (Dujunco 1994:129), the performers in the Lafuruyueshe have a closer social relation and are tied together by more or less the same aesthetics toward the music. Compared with the MD and the

Chaoyishe, the participants of the Lafuruyueshe are in general younger than those of both the MD and the Chaoyishe. When the author discussed the music and aesthetics with some of them, such as Li Tong-yi and Zhu Jun-qiang, whose

musicality was, respectively, primarily in the areas of reformed xianshiyue and

minyue which blossomed after 1949, they generally believed that the music

performed by older performers is less refined, such as in the lack of contrasts in

dynamics.

The MD, the Chaoyushe and the Lafuruyueshe are local amateur music clubs

in which xianshiyue performances in the music club context take place. They are

similar in the aspects of performance practice, and their performances are for the

purposes of social gathering and self-entertainment. Although they share such

common characteristics, they are totally different in their organizing structure and

their form of existing, and it is these differences that make the music clubs in

71 Hong Kong uniquely different from those in Chaozhou.

Performances in the Concert Hall Context

Although they are very rare, the MD, as a xianshiyue performance troupe, also has opportunities to perform in the concert hall context. During fieldwork, the MD's only performance in the concert hall context was an invitation to perform as ensemble accompaniment in a recital held in the concert hall of the

Tuen Mun Town Hall, on the evening of March 11, 2000, by a zheng performer,

Xu Ling-zi, a conservatory-trained professional performer. In this concert, the

MD only needed to perform Hanya Xishui, a very famous and popular piece

frequently performed in the MD and the Chaoysishe, and a representative piece in

both the xianshiyue repertoire and the Chaozhou zheng solo tradition. One week

before the performance, Xu came to the MD and rehearsed with the ensemble, and

this was the only rehearsal. As the ensemble performed as accompaniment, it

had to perform the piece in a way slightly different from the usual one. The most

obvious feature was that the leading instrument was no longer the erxian but the

zheng, although the former was still in use. However, as the ensemble, or be

accurate, the individual performers, on the one hand, were so accustomed to the

style that they had performed countless times, and, on the other, the soloist, who

72 had received training in conservatoire, had her own interpretation of the piece, the

performance of the soloist and the ensemble seemed to hardly blend with each

other. It could be observed that the ultimate goal of the rehearsal was not for a

refined performance, but for a smooth performance without serious mistakes.

In spite of the rehearsal, the performance in the concert hall was regarded as

unsatisfactory by the members of the ensemble. According to the erxian player,

Du Neng-mu, a reputed performer who was once a professional erxian

accompanist in the local chaoju performing troupes, the tempo of the zheng in the

cui (literally acceleration, a variation technique unique to the xianshiyue music)

sections was not with the ensemble. It is not within the scope in the present

study to discuss who was responsible for the unsatisfactory performance or what a

successful performance should be. But, in the author's opinion, inviting a

xianshiyue ensemble of a local Chaozhou organization to take part in the

performance of Chaozhou repertoire did have its function. Looking into the

programme, one would discover that Hanya Xishui is the only piece that is labeled

as traditional Chaozhou repertorie, and the rest are either newly composed pieces,

or rearrangements of ancient pieces or traditional folk tunes. It could be

imagined that the music would definitely be more authentic and convincing if the

performer who received formal conservatoire training had social connections and

73 performed with a xianshiyue ensemble of a local Chaozhou organization. After the rehearsal, both parties, the soloist and the ensemble, knew that only one rehearsal could not guarantee a successful and refined stage performance.

Maybe the expected outcome of the performance was not as important as the

presence of a xianshiyue ensemble of a local Chaozhou organization which surely

adds flavor to the performance of Chaozhou music.

Apart from the MD, the Xianggang Chaoyue Yanzoutuan (Hong Kong

Chaozhou Music Ensemble, abbreviated as XCY) was another performing

organization that would perform xianshiyue in the concert hall context. During

his fieldwork, the author attended three concerts by the ensemble, and they were

all presented in the various series of the "Chinese Arts Festival: A Celebration of

Music" jointly held by both the provisional Urban and Regional Councils from

October 22, 1000 to November 13, 1999. In Table 2, the xianshiyue

performances by the XCY in the concert hall are shown in chronological order.

Two of them attracted quite a large audience, but for the one held on November 13,

1999, only about twenty people attended the concert.

74 Date Venue Title Series Ticket price October 30, Hong Kong Chaozhou "Hong Kong Free admission 1999 Cultural Center String Music Traditional Foyer (潮州弦絲細 Music Special" m November 11, Hong Kong Hakka Han “Gems of $80-120 1999 City Hall Music and Guangdong Theatre Chaozhou Regional Music Music" (客家漢樂與潮 m November 13, Ngau Chi Wan Chaozhou "Hong Kong $60 1999 Civic Center String music Traditional ‘ Exhibition Hall (潮州弦詩及細 Music 樂） Workshop" Table 2: Xianshiyue performances in the concert hall context by the XCY

No matter whether the performers are from the MD or the XCY, they

generally treasure the chance to perform in a concert hall. It was reflected by

their formal dress and their seriousness during the performance on the stage,

which had never been seen during the performances in the music club context.

Such behaviors may be due to several reasons. As mentioned before, it was

quite unusual for the xianshiyue participants to perform in the concert hall. In

the author's opinion, to many xianshiyue performers, a sense of being Chaozhou

people, or the awareness of their ethnic identity, may not be so significant in their

daily life even when they are taking part in activities in which all the participants

are also Chaozhou people. It is in the xianshiyue performance in the concert hall

context in which audience members who are probably outsiders to the xianshiyue

75 traditions or are unfamiliar with the Chaozhou traditions, and in which the performers are regarded as the representatives to perform the music of Chaozhou culture in a formal and official venue, that the Chaozhou ethnic identity of the

performers has been emphasized and articulated to an extent it never reached

before.

Performances in the Chaoju Context

Similar to the situation in the studies of waijiang yinyue, both Chinese and

Western scholars have seldom mentioned the performance of xianshiyue in the

chaoju context. However, at least in Hong Kong, xianshiyue activities are

closely related to chaoju, although the relationship between the music of

xianshiyue and chaoju is not within the scope of the present study. Yet, in

general, according to Dujunco, the xianshiyue performed in the chaoju context

functions to accompany "the stage movements of the actors and provides the

musical interludes in between the scenes" (1994:34).

As mentioned in the previous section, many chaoju professionals came to

Hong Kong due to political instability in China in the 1960’s, and they had

contributed to the development of the local chaoju performance business and to

the shift of tradition in the MD from the waijiang one to the Chaozhou one after

76 they joined the MD. Coincidentally, many members of the MD were also the committee members of the Hanjiang Chaojutuan, one of the most famous chaoju performing troupes in Hong Kong. Since 1969, chaoju performed by the

Hanjiang Chaojutuan had become a major activity in the youyidahui (literally the

Entertainment Party), an event held annually by the CCMMAS. In 1974, the

MD had formally acquired the Hanjiang Chaojutuan, and it was hence responsible

for the accompaniment of the chaoju performance of the troupe. The Hanjiang

Chaojutuan was run and managed by the MD until 1986. After 1986, the

performances of chaoju in the youyidahui were replaced by chaoju troupes from

China, and the operation of the Hanjiang Chaojutuan was transferred to individual

member of the MD. (Liu 2000:160-162)

As chaoju is nowadays less popular then it was, it is only performed in

certain ritual contexts, such as the celebrations of traditional festivals (like the

Hungry Ghost Festival on the fifteenth day of the seventh month in the Lunar

calendar) and the birthdays of a few deities. Many local chaoju performing

troupes, which once had a consistent staff members including both actors and

musicians in the 1960，s and 1970’s, have reduced their scale, and their

performances are organized mainly by the banzhu (the impresario). According

to Liu Fu-guang, the vice-division head of the MD and at the same time the

77 banzhu of the Hanjiang Chaojutuan, as many chaoju professionals have passed away in recent years and fewer and fewer local Chaozhou people are willing to take part in chaoju, staff members of local chaoju performing troupes are usually

employed from China on a temporarily basis. Yet, local chaoju professionals are

still employed on some occasions, depending on the scale of the performances.

The author did not have a chance to observe the MD performing in the

chaoju context. But the ensemble had performed as accompaniment for chaoqu

during the music sessions in the music club.^^ When amateur chaoqu singers

(who were usually the wives of the committee members of the CCMMAS and

seldom visited the music club) paid occasional visits to the music club, the MD

was usually asked to perform as accompaniment for the chaoqu.^^ As both arias

and recitatives are in general included in a piece of chaoqu, and they are sung or

spoken with the music, a piece of chaoqu may comprise many excerpts from

various pieces of xianshiyue music. The performance practice of chaoqu is thus

different from that in the typical music session. Usually, participants aged below

forty who do not have a chaoju background are reliant on the score including the

music and the lyrics in the performances of chaoqu. But to those who are

See note 28 for discussion of qu and ju. It should be noted that not all participants welcomed such visits. To certain participants who simply wanted a typical music session, they had displayed an unwelcoming attitude to such visits in an implicit manner, as the weekly music sessions were interrupted. However, they still took part in the performances. 78 experienced in chaoju performances, such as the erxian player Du Neng-mu, who had once been the toushou (or touxian, the head melodic instrumentalist), and the percussionist Liu Fu-guang, who is still sometimes taking part as an the gushi (or sign, player in charge of the beat) in some local performances of chaoju, scores are just used for a reminder purpose. Similar to the performance of chaoju, the gushi takes an important role in the performance of chaoqu. During the performance, the gushi, who is responsible for several instruments such as the muban (wooden clapper) and zhegu (small drum), acts as a middleman between the singers and the ensemble accompaniment, not only manipulating the tempi of the performance, but also giving the ensemble signals, in the form of different rhythmic pattern, so as to co-ordinate with the performance of the singers.

Although the MD does not perform xianshiyue in the chaoju context, xianshiyue performances in the chaoju context by other chaoju performing

troupes can still be observed in other venues. On February 27, 2000, the author

was invited by Liu Fu-guang to see a performance by Yiilichun Chaojutuan, in

which he was the gushi, in celebration of the birthday of Guanyin (Goddess of

Mercy). Although Liu told the author it was a chaoju performance, it was

different from the author's expectation. It was a performance of “horizontal

stick puppets" (Werle 1973) rather than an operatic one, although the music,

79 including both the vocal and the instrumental parts, is more or less the same as the

latter. However, the scale of performance, in the aspects of the number of

participants and the size of the stage, is much smaller than that of the operatic

one.40 All the staff members of the troupe are local Chaozhou people.

Performances in the Gatherings of the Parent Organization

Apart from the typical music session held in the music club, the xianshiyue

performances in the gatherings of CCMMAS members is the second major

performance context of the MD. The reasons and the purposes of such

gatherings are manifold; they can be due to the celebration of the formation of

new committee board, the celebration of the Lunar New Year, and the recreational

functions such as the youyidahui and，to be discussed in this section, the visit to

the yongpeng in Shek O 石〉奥 beach.

It was a shiny Sunday on June 25. 2000, the mid-summer when beaches were

usually crowded during holidays. The yongpeng was situated in the residential

area crowded with two- to three-storied houses juxtaposed with the beach. The

author arrived at the yongpeng at about nine thirty in the morning, when the

performance not yet began. The yongpeng was a two-storied building, where the

Although written in the 1970’s, the report on a performance of puppets chaoju by Werle is solid and has no big difference with today's situation.

80 ground floor was the toilets and changing rooms and the second floor and the roof were placed with chairs for resting.

At about ten o'clock, the performance began. However, the performance practice was slightly different from that in the music club context. From the

seating of the ensemble, it was obvious that the performers were aware that their

performance was being watched by other non-MD members of the CCMMAS.

Furthermore, performers, especially the players of the erxian, who were free to

perform at any time they wanted during the typical music sessions, were arranged

to perform in order, starting with the most reputed members of the CCMMAS to

the new members of the CCMMAS. Qiu Shi-jun was thus the first person to

perform on the waijiang touxian (as he never perform on a Chaozhou erxian),

followed by Du Neng-mu.

Without the music of xianshiyue, the gathering of the members of the

CCMMAS might have had no big difference from a normal social function of an

ordinary organization. In the case of the gathering in the yongpeng, social and

recreational activities such as swimming in the sea for the younger generations

and chit-chat for the elderly would still take place even without the music of

xianshiyue. But it was exactly the performance of xianshiyue that made the

gathering of the CCMMAS different from other organizations. The performance

81 was used as a functional and symbolic tool to articulate Chaozhou ethnicity: on

the one hand, as an essence of traditional Chaozhou culture, it had provided a

concert to members in the yongpeng; on the other, it had persuaded them of a

sense of being Chaozhou by constructing the ethnic trajectories and defining the

content not only within the music, but also in the performers' behavior.

Summary of the Performance Contexts of Xianshiyue in Hong Kong

In summary, xianshiyue in Hong Kong is performed in four contexts. These

include the performances in the music club context, the concert hall context, the

chaoju context (or the chaoqu context), and the gatherings of the parent

organization. Although the music performed in the various contexts is called

xianshiyue, an object to be perceived as a "means of constructing trajectories" and

“by which people recognize identities and places and the boundaries which

separate them" (see Introduction) in this study, it serves various purposes

accordingly and was manipulated by different organizations. Under the parent

organization the CCMMAS, the xianshiyue performances by the MD in the music

club context (including the performance of chaoqu) are a means by which the

CCMMAS acquires new members, although, to most of the participants, the

performances serve merely the purposes of self-entertainment and social

. 82 gatherings. In the concert hall context, xianshiyue, or to be accurate, the

“ethnicity’，is staged by individual performers and even government authorities so as to add Chaozhou flavor to the functions. In the gatherings of the parent

organization, the performances of the MD not only serve as background music,

but they were explicitly used as a means of constructing the trajectories 4�

41 The present chapter has discussed the several xianshiyue performance contexts, but they are restricted to live performances. It should be noted that commercial recordings, although outside the scope of present study, are also a medium of transmission of xianshiyue in Hong Kong.

83 CHAPTER FOUR: THE MUSIC OF XIANSHIYUE

In Chapter Three, the author looked into the xianshiyue performances in different contexts in Hong Kong. As performance contexts of the music may

change, the musical content of xianshiyue is observed to change accordingly. In

this chapter, the author would like to explore new perspectives in research on the

music of xianshiyue. Facts, or the so-called performance practice, that affect the

musical sound of xianshiyue are discussed. In this chapter, the author will take

the tuning process of the performances in the music club context as an example to

discuss how musical performance functions as a social process in the construction

of ethnic trajectory.

Many musical analyses have been done and conclusions made on the basic

characteristics of the music in previous studies by both Chinese musicologists and

western ethnomusicologists (such as the works of Thrasher [1988], Dujunco

[1994]). The author does not plan to summarize their discussions in detail.

Instead, after considering the nature of performance of xianshiyue in the music

club context in Hong Kong, the author decided to describe the tuning process

instead of taking part in the discussion on the nature of the temperament. In fact,

it is not appropriate to establish an authoritative conclusion on a folk tradition that

allows variation in different aspects of actual practice. Let us take the

84 performance of xianshiyue in Hong Kong as an example. During fieldwork, the author observed that the boundary of a good performance—in another words, its aesthetics-is always blurred by non-musical elements. A respected member of the music club who produced pitches on the touxian that were almost all not in

concord with the rest of the participants also received heated applause.

Meanwhile, the author does not deny there is objective aesthetics exist among the

xianshiyue participants in Hong Kong, such as in the case of the performance in

the concert hall context by the MD. But, because of the generosity allowed to

variation in the performance standard among participants in the actual

performances in Hong Kong, not only do objective aesthetic standards exist, but

the aesthetics are also related to many other non-musical concerns.

If we want to know what a music is, e.g. the temperament of xianshiyue, we

should know how the music is produced, and in what circumstances it is produced.

Although almost always performed in amateur music clubs where social activities

usually take place, xianshiyue is still a collaborative musical performance and

there are some fundamental rules that have to be followed by the performers. It

should be known that the information presented here has been obtained during

fieldwork in Hong Kong, and the performance practice in other music clubs

elsewhere may be different.

85 Setting Up the Temperament

It is the temperament, believed to be the factor dominating the distribution of the heptatonic scale degrees, that has long been the major concern in music

studies by scholars in China (see pp. 6-8 in the Introduction). As different points

of view and samples (e.g. recordings) were used among these studies, the

conclusions are inevitably different. The scholars with different viewpoints can

be divided into two camps: one camp holds the opinion of pro-equidistant

temperament and one does not (Dujunco 1994:64-69). Although the number of

scholars who hold the latter opinion seems to be higher than that of the former,

Dujunco, commenting on the above situation, recognizes that "it is difficult to

generalize and make conclusive statements" (68) as to the temperament of

xianshiyue. The results of analysis differ as different performance practices of

xianshiyue are adopted in different regions where the musical samples are

extracted. As it is believed that there is a close relationship between the

linguistic tones of the Chaozhou dialect and the music, and that in fact the

linguistic tones vary in different regions, the temperaments of the music are hence

also accordingly different (Dujunco 1994:68).

The following description attempts to explain these rules by which the

temperament is set in the actual performance. However, according to the

86 author's observation in Hong Kong, for most of the performers and audience who never received formal western musical training, the ability for or awareness of using a correct or comfortable temperament is based on personal musical

experience and feeling.

The application of personal musical experience to determine a correct or

comfortable temperament can be illustrated by the process of tuning the

instrument yangqin. Before the performance begins, the yangqin, usually after

being left idle for a few days, is tuned with reference to the tone produced by a

pitch pipe.42 Not all the strings on the yangqin are tuned according to the tone,

but only those strings tuned to shang (a solmization syllable in the gongche

notation system) 43 After shang is fixed, the other scale degrees are tuned based

on personal aural experience. The musical backgrounds of the many tuners may

42 The pitch pipe is seldom used for the rest of the xianshiyue performance. It is used once before the performance. The tone produced by the pitch pipe is F. 43 Most of the informants told me that do (here meaning one of the solmization syllables from the tonic sol-fa system) is equivalent to F (or the key of F) in western music. Certainly, there are many differences between the concept of traditional Chinese music theory and that of western music. The adaptation of the tonic sol-fa system (which is generally applied to represent a diatonic scale no matter whether in major mode or minor mode) by the informants to describe their music has shown on the one hand how common the jargon of western music has become in this context, and, on the other, their incomplete understanding of western music theories. The reason for using the pitch of F as shang is still uncertain. Dujunco stated that it is because the huang-zhong, the name of the first and fundamental pitch in the ancient Chinese twelve-tone system (the absolute pitches of the system are also uncertain as the pitches varied in different dynasties), is equivalent to the pitch of F and hence adapted by the musicians (1994:82, notes 1 and 2). But according to one of the informants Liu Fu-guang, the pitch of shang was determined by the range of the actors in chaoju, an opera sung in Chaozhou dialect with most of its melodies from the fixed tunes (actors were mainly children or early teens whose voices usually were in a higher range in the past [Zhang 1983:10]). The first one who stated that shang (" 1，，was used in the article) is equivalent to F is Zheng Bo-jie. In his article (1983:9), the result was obtained by measuring the tuning of a yangqin used by the Yuanzheng Chaojutuan (Yuanzheng Chaoju Performance troop) in 1953.

87 be different to a certain extent, but all of them have demonstrated a common behavior during the tuning process: after the instrument is tuned, they play the scale several times along with an excerpt from a familiar tune in order to check whether the instrument is correctly tuned or not. Thus, at least in the aspect of

the tuning process of the yangqin, it is improper to generalize about an

authoritative temperament of xianshiyue in a scholarly study, as it is in practice

the outcome of personal experience. ,

The temperament of xianshiyue is nevertheless not totally grasped in the

hands of the yangqin players. It still needs several additional steps to settle

down. The open strings of other plucked and bowed instruments are tuned based

on the tones played by the yangqin player.44 The tuning process ends as the

performance of the piece begins. However, during the performance, performers

can resume the tuning at any time if necessary after listening and inspecting the

pitches of the open strings of their instruments or their playing with reference to

the playing of the erxian and yangqin, in which the former is usually regarded as

44 Wind instruments such as the dizi, which unlike the modem reformed model, is unable to tune its pitch by adjusting the length of its vibrating cylinder, are seldom used in performance. It is because of, on the one hand, the extreme difficulty of producing the correct pitch on the instrument, and on the other, the non-adjustable character of the instrument that has restricted its use in Hong Kong. However, the dizi was used in the performances on some recordings in the seventies (Tang Nan Ah Co. 1990, 1991).

88 the ultimate measuring standard.45 The self-monitoring or self-tuning process proceeds until the end of the performance of the piece.

For those plucked instruments such as pipa’ yueqin and qinqin, fixed pitches

are relatively more easier to produce than on those bowed and wind instruments.

It is because there are xiang[s) and pin(s) (frets) installed on their

resonating-fingering boards.46 According to informant Zhu Jun-qiang, a pipa

virtuoso, these xiangs and pins of the pipa are arranged to the equidistant

heptatonic scale." The pitches of the pipa generally fit the ideal pitches most of

the time. However, when playing some special tones where the gongche scale

degrees are variable and regarded as the places to display the yunwei of apiece,

on the pipa they can be adjusted to suit the ideal temperament by using the tui and

48 la techniques.

Above all, it can be said that the temperament of each xianshiyue

performance is the result of the process of a combination of the personal

experiences of and a series of compromises between individual players. Because

45 Erxian also has another name: zixian. Although they use different Chinese characters, both of them have the same pronunciation in the Chaozhou dialect. Here, the author wants to point out that, in fact, the ability of certain erxian players to perform the correct pitches is known by the performers. Thus, it is possible that the performers of other instruments may not follow the pitches played the erxian performer. 46 Both xiang and pin are installed on the pipa, while only pin are installed on the qinqin and yueqin. 47 Of course, the pipa mentioned here refers to the one used only in the MD. 48 Yunwei has been a term in the aesthetics of traditional Chinese music. It is as usual to say that one's performance has or does not has yunwei so as to comment on whether one's performance is in the appropriate manner and style.

89 of the structure of certain instruments which are not able or not intended to provide the ideal pitches, the performers can use various techniques in order to obtain the ideal pitches. The author suggests that most of them may not be

aware of the way in which the temperament is constructed, or even that it has

never been a concern among them, as all the processes go on as naturally as daily

life. When the author asked them about the temperament of their music, a few of

them tried in vain to answer precisely and concisely while most of them simply

provided answers like "key of F，，.49 Conspicuously, this tells us that the tuning

system, which has attracted both Western ethnomusicologists' and Chinese

scholars' attention in the past two decades, has never been a concern among the

performers. In fact, from the tuning of the yangqin to the end of a performance

of apiece there is a circulating tuning process, and it is in this the circulation

process, which repeats throughout the evening of the xianshiyue performance, that

the temperament is finally set up.

Tuning Process as Social Process

As mentioned in the previous section, the boundary of a good performance is

always blurred by many non-musical elements. But, at the same time, it cannot

49 See note 43.

90 be denied that a good performance does exist. Although it may only be an

objective one among a certain number of performers, a good performance,

whatever else the performance is, implies the sharing of common aesthetics

toward the musical sound. By discussing the tuning process leading to a good

performance with reference to actual performances, insight on the nature of the

music of xianshiyue can be obtained.

One of the fundamental conditions for a good performance of apiece is to be

able to obtain a unified temperament. Although the tuning process mentioned in

previous sections was observed to exist, it might not necessarily lead to a unified

temperament. According to the author's experience in performing in the music

club context, it is necessary for performers other than the erxian players to

perform at a low volume in order to listen to the exact pitch levels produced by

the erxian player and the yangqin player. The state of an individual being able to

compare his playing with others while not disturbing them in doing so is called

gongming (resonance and blend together), a term coined by Wu Rong-Hua, the

pipa teacher of Zhu Jun-qiang, when he discussed aesthetics with the author.

However, in fact, as it was in the performance practice of the music club context

that generosity allowed considerable variation in the performance standard among

performers, it was usual that one or two performers unintentionally played at a

91 high volume and caused disturbance to others. All that other performers can do

is to stare at those performers with a smile and expect that they will lower the

volume. The xianshiyue performances in the music club context not only require

skills and techniques, but also an awareness of others' expressions.

It was in these subtle forms of communication during the musical

performances that the tuning process had become a social process in which

perceptions and expectations were expressed. These perceptions and

expectations were answered with changes in the musical performances, such as

the dynamics and ornamentation, etc. The xianshiyue performances in the music

club context were appeared to be merely musical performances, but in fact, they

were also a form of communication and a display of interaction among

participants. This is the reason why a good performance definitely contributes to

harmonious atmosphere for a gathering in the musicl club context, where

xianshiyue performances are mainly for the purpose of self-entertainment. And

it is this embedded social process in the xianshiyue activities in the music club

context, in which the participants are experiencing other forms of communication

and interaction, that the ethnic trajectories and identity are respectively

constructed and articulated.

92 CONCLUSION

In the previous chapters, the author has looked into the background of the xianshiyue activities in Hong Kong (Chapter One and Chapter Two), the various

contexts of the performances of xianshiyue (Chapter Three), and the musical

content in relation to the performance practice (Chapter Four). From observing

the performances of music in various contexts, we can see how xianshiyue fits

into these contexts so as to serve different purposes for different parties. The

author would like to conclude with a discussion of the characteristics of ethnicity

in Hong Kong, with reference to the case of local Chaozhou people, and how it is

articulated by the performances of xianshiyue based on observation in Hong

Kong.

To begin with, according to Stokes, the term “ethnicity” is “to be understood

in terms of the construction, maintenance and negotiation of boundaries. • • [which

define and maintain social identities" and "can only exist in 'a context of

oppostition and relativities'" (Stokes 1994:6, quoting Chapman, M., M. Mcdonald

and E. Tokin, “Introduction” to E. Tonkin, M. McDonald and M. Chapman (eds),

History and Ethnicity, London, Routledge, 1989). In Hong Kong, the

significance of various ethnic groups has been minimized to an extent that

diversity is almost invisible. The author believes that the imbalanced

93 development of social norms and values mentioned in Chapter One contributes not entirely but largely to the situation. To many Chaozhou migrants, the unique ethnic content of their culture seems to be unrelated and a poor fit to their material environment, but most of the Chaozhou migrants have been successful in adapting and blending into the local life to an extent that opposition and relativities can hardly be observed.

But it is exactly the performances of xianshiyue that still articulate the ethnicity of some local Chaozhou people and the identity of being Chaozhou people, no matter which context it is performed in. The xianshiyue performances by the MD in a music club context serve not only the purpose of self-entertainment, but also as a social function in which participants can socialize with each other and by which the parent organization recruits new members.

When it is performed in the gatherings of the parent organization, it becomes a

symbolic tool by which the ethnic gatherings are clearly labeled. In the concert

hall contexts, xianshiyue, performed by a music club affiliated with local

Chaozhou organization, becomes a tool of "great persuasive power", used by

other parties to "authenticize" the promoted items (Stokes 1994:7).

The author suggests that, in the music club contexts, xianshiyue is unique in

constructing ethnic trajectories not because of its musical content, but because of

94 the social process embedded in its performance practice. The social process

discussed here does not refer to the chit-chat during the usual gathering, but the

communications that go on during the performances. The communications are

subtle, expressed in the form of facial expressions and expected to be responsed to

with musical sound. And it is exactly such a kind of communication that makes

xianshiyue performances unique in constructing ethnic trajectories.

95 GLOSSARY OF CHINESE CHARACTERS

A'bing 阿辆 ban 才反 banzhu 班主 Beijinghua 北京話 Chao'an 潮安 chaoju 潮虞 ij chaoqu M曲 Chaoshan 潮、；山 Chaoyang 潮陽 Chaoyangjun 潮陽郡 Chaoyishe 潮藝社 Chaoyi Yinyueban 潮藝音樂班 Chaozhou 潮升 Chenghai 澄海 Chenghaishi 澄海市 Chang] iang 長江 Chen Yan-pao 陳炎豹 Cishi 刺史 cui 催 dahu 大胡 damao 大冇 Dabu 大埔 Daye 大業 diaoshi 調式 dijishi 地級市 ditao 笛套 dizi 笛子 Donghua 東華 Donghuasanyuan 東華三院 Du Neng-mu 杜能穆 erhu 二胡 ersipu 二四譜 erxian 二弦 Fengshun 豐順 fu 府 Fujian 福建 Gangkou Laoren Jule Zhongxin 港口 老人倶樂中心 gaohu 高胡 gongche 工尺 gongming 共口鳥 Gongfangyan i 方言

96 gongfucha 功夫茶 Guangdong 廣東 guangdong hanyue M Guangfu Yici 廣福義祠 guanhua 胃 Guantang 觀塘 Guantang Shequ Zhongxin 勸,塘社區中心 Guanyin 觀音 gushi 言支師 Han 蓋 hanghui 行會 hanju Hanjiang 韓江 Hanjiang Chaojutuan 韓江潮劇團 hanqu 漢^ Hanshui 漢水 Hanya Xishui 《寒鵁戲水》 Han Yu 魅 Henan 河南 Huanghe 黃河 huang-zhong 黃鍾 Huilai AA Jieyang 揭陽 Jinshanzhuang 金山莊 jun 郡 Juyihujushe 聚益互助社 Juyitang 聚益堂 Juyintang 聚賢堂 Kai-huang 開皇 Kejia Kej iafangyan 客家方言 Kongzi iLi la 拉 Li Tong-yi 李統一 Lianjian 練江 Liu Tian-hua 劉天華 Longjiang 龍江 luogu 錄鼓 lu 律 Minbei Mit Minbeifangyan 闓 3匕方言 Ming 里 Minnan 間南

97 Minnanfangyan 間南方言 minyue 民樂 muban *才反 Nan'ao 南澳 Nanbeihang 南北行 Nanbeihang gongsuo 南北行公戶斤 Nanhaijun 南海郡 nanhu ^& Nanyangzhuang 南洋莊 Nanyue 南越 pengdingyue 相月頂樂 piaofang 票房 piaoyou 票友 pin 品 Pingsha Luoyan 《平沙落雁》 pipa 琵琶 Puning 普寧 qin 琴 Qin 秦 Qing it qinqin 秦琴 Qiu Shi-Jun 丘仕俊 Raoping 饒平 Rongjiang 標江 rujiayue 儒家樂 ruyueshe 儒樂社 sanxian 三弦 shang 上 Shantou 油頭 Shenlung shenzhupai 才申主牌 shi 市 sign 司鼓 Shi-huang 始皇 shi, nong, gong, shang 士、農、工、商 Song 宋 Sui Ft suona qupai 哨明曲牌 Taipingtianguo 太平天國 Tang M. Tianbao 天寶 tihu 提胡 tongxianghui 同鄉會

98 toushou 頭手 touxian 頭弦 tui 推 waijiang 夕卜 waijiang ruyue 夕卜江儒樂 waijiang xi 夕卜江戲 waijiang yinyue 夕卜江音樂 Wanli ^AK Wufangyan 差方• Wu Zhen-guan 吳振光 xian 縣 Xiangfangyan iil 方言 xiang 才目 xianji 縣級 xianshi 弦涛 xianshiyue 银祷 ^ xianyue 银 _ Xu Ling-zi 許菱子 yangqin 揚琴（also 洋琴） yehu 椰胡 Yi'anjun 義安郡 yici 義祠 yinjie 音階 yongpeng 泳相月 Yuan 孟 Yuanzheng Chaojutuan 源正潮劇團 Yuefangyan i 方言 yueq in 月琴 yunwei 韻味 Yuyuruyueshe 餘娱厲樂社 Yulichun Chaojutuan 玉梨春潮劇團 Zhang Bo-jie 張伯杰 Zhang Han-zhai 張漢齋 zhegu 哲鼓 zheng 箏 Zhide zhou 州 ZhuJiang ii^ Zhu Jun-qiang 朱俊強 zixian 子弦

99 BIBLIOGRAPHY

A. Reference Books and Articles English Language Sources

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Census & Statistics Department 1981 Hong Kong 1981 Census District Board Tabulations. Hong Kong: Census & Statistics Department.

Dujunco, Mercedes Maria 1993 "Variation in the Performance practice of Chaozhou Xian Shi Yue：' Association for Chinese Music Research Newsletter 6(1): 34-37.

1994 “Tugging at the native's heartstrings: Nostalgia and the post-Mao ‘revival’ of the xian shiyue string ensemble music Chaozhou, - South China." Ph. D. thesis, University of Washington.

2002 “Xianshiyue；, In the Garland Encyclopedic of World Music: East Asia: China, Japan, and Korea (ed. R.C. Provine, Y. Tolumaru, J. L. Witzleben). New York: Garland Publications.

Jones, Stephen 1995 Folk Music of China: Living Instrumental Traditions. New York: Oxford University Press Inc..

Lau, Frederick 1993 “Minjian Music Activities in Chaozhou: A Fieldwork Report." Association for Chinese Music Research Newsletter 6(2): 18-21.

1994. "Chaozhou Music in the 1990s." In Chaozhouxue guoji yantaohui lunwenji(vol. 1) (ed. Zheng Shu-liang). Guangzhou: Ji'nandaxue chubanshe, p. 441-455.

1998 “Chinese Music in the Diaspora: The Case of Teochew Music in Thailand." Journal of the Asian Music Research Institute 20: 107-117.

Slobin, Mark 1993 Suhcultural Sounds: Micromusics of the West. Hanover: University Press of New England.

100 Sparks, Douglas W. 1976a “The Teochiu: Ethnicity in Urban Hong Kong.” Journal of The Hong Kong Branch of The Royal Asiatic Society 16: 25-56.

1976b ‘‘Interethnic Interaction-a matter of Definition: Ethnicity in a Housing Estate in Hong Kong." Journal of The Hong Kong Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society 16: 57-80.

1978 ‘‘Unity is Power: The Teochiu of Hong Kong." Ph.D. dissertation (Anthropology), University of Texas at Austin.

Stokes, Martin 1994 "Introduction: Ethnicity, Identity and Music." In Ethnicity, Identity and Music (ed. Martin Stokes). Oxford: Berg Publishers, p. 1-27.

Suryadinata, Leo 1997 "Ethnic Chinese in Southeast Asia: Overseas Chinese, Chinese Overseas or Southeast Asians?" In Ethnic Chinese as Southeast Asians (ed. Leo Suryadinata). Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, p. 1-24.

Thrasher, Alan 1988 "Hakka-Chaozhou Instrumental Repertoire: An Analytic Perspective on Chinese Creativity." Asian Music 19(2): 1-30.

1989 “Structural Continuity in Chinese Sizhu: The Baban Model." Asian Music 20(2): 67-100.

Werle, Helga 1973 “Swatow (Ch'auchow) Horizontal Stick Puppets." Journal of The Hong Kong Branch of The Royal Asiatic Society 13: 73-84.

Witzleben, J.L. 1993 "Ethnicity, Aesthetics, and Identity in Amateur Music th Organizations in Hong Kong.,, Paper read at the 3 8 Annual Meeting of the Society for Ethnomusicology. Oxford, Mississippi.

2000 "Musical Systems and Intergenre Relationships in Hong Kong." The world of Music 42(3): 79-92.

101 Chinese language Sources^^

Cai, Yu-wen and Shi-min Zheng (蔡余文、鄭詩敏） 1996 Guangdong Chaozhou Xianshiyue. (Chaozhou Xianshiyue in Guangdong,�廣東潮州弦詩樂》）Beijing Zhonggu: o Wenluan Chubanshe.

CCMMAS ^ 1997 Youyidahui Tekan. (Programme of Entertainment Party,《遊藝 大會特子ij�)Hon gKong: Chouweihui bianjixiaozu.

2000a Youyidahui Tekan. (ibid.) Hong Kong: Chouweihui bianjixizozu.

2000b Chengli Qishi Zhounian Jinian Tekan. (Memorial brochure to the seventieth year since its establishment) 《香港潮商互助社成立 七十週年特刊》）Hong Kong: CCMMAS.

Chaozhou Tongjian Chubenshe (潮州通鑑出版社 Chiu Chow Director Editors) 1970 Directory ofChiuchow Resident, 1969-1970.(《潮橋通鑑》 1969-1970) Hong Kong.

Chen, Shou-ren (陳守仁 Sau Y. Chan) 1996 Shengongxi Zai Xianggang: Yueju, Chaoju and Fulaoju. (Cantonese opera, Chaozhou opera and Hoklo opera in ritual context in Hong Kong,《神功戲在香港：粵劇、潮劇及福姥劇》） Hong Kong: Joint Publishing (H.K.) Co., Ltd.

Chen, Jun-lin (陳俊麟）and Cai Sheng-tong (蔡聲桐）et al. 1989 Chaozhoushi Minjian Yinyuezhi. (The history of Chaozhou folk music,�潮州市民間音樂志》）Chaozhou [？: ].

Chen, Lei-shi (陳蕾士） 1978 Chaoyue Juepu Ersipu Yuanliukou. (The history of ersipu,�薄月 樂絕譜二四譜源流考》）Hong Kong: Hong Kong Book Store.

1981 "Chaoyue juepu ersipu yuanliukao." (The history of ersipu,厂潮樂 絕譜二四議源流考」）InMZM/lT. 2(2): 41-52.

Chen, Tian-guo(陳天國）

50 The Hanyu Pinyin transliterations are for convenience's sake only, not part of the original titles. The English transliterations of authors' names after the Chinese names are provided if they were seen in published materials. The English translations of publishing information are literal.

102 1981 "Guangdong minjianyinyue de qipingjunlu." (The hepta-equidistant temperament in the folk music of Guangdong province, 「廣東民間音樂的七平均律」）In Zhongguo Yinyue. (Chinese Music,《中國音樂》)vol. 4, p. 7-8.

1992 “Jin shinian lai Chaozhouyinyue yanjiu gaikuang." (Survey of research on Chaozhou music in the last decade,「近十年來潮州音 樂研究相兄况�) IZhongguon Yinyue Nianjian 1992. (Yearbook of Chinese Music 1992,中國音樂年鑑 1992) Shandong: Shandong Jiaoyu Chubanshe p.57-68.

1994 “Chaozhouren yu Chaozhouyinyue." (Chaozhou people and Chaozhou music, �潮州人與潮州音樂」） InCGL, p.456-464.

Chen, Yong-shi (陳詠詩） 1998 "Chaozhou xianshi chutan." (Chaozhou Xianshiyue,厂潮州弦詩初 探」）A paper handed in for the partial fulfillment of the Selected Study seminar.

Du, Song-nian (杜松年） 1994 Chaoshan Dawenhua. (The Culture of Chaozhou region,�譯月、；山 大文化》）Beijing: Zhongguokexuejixu chubanshe.

Huang, Ren-yu (黃仁宇 Huang, Ray) 1999 Wenlishiwulian. (1587, A Year of No Significance,《萬歷十五 年》）Taibei: Taiwanchihuo chubansh6.

Lin, Chun-jun (林淳鈞） 1993 Chaoju Wenjianlu. (Seeing and Hearing Chaozhou Opera,�薄月虞ij 聞見錄》)[？]： Zhongshandaxue chubanshe.

Lin, Mao-gen (林毛根） 1994 "Chaozhou yinyue de xiezou xinnengji qi ningjuli." (The concord and unity of Chaozhou music, �潮州音樂的協奏性能及其凝聚 力」）In 二 P. 412-415.

Liu, Fu-guang (劉福光） 1999 "Chaozhou yinyue yishu jianshi." (An explaination on Chaozhou music,�潮州音樂藝術簡釋」）Articl presentee d in Chinese Arts Festival: A Celebration of Music, Hong Kong 1999. Hong Kong.

2000 "Chaoshanghuzhushe yinyue, xiqu yishu de fazhan." (The development of music and operatic music in the CCMMAS,厂潮 商互助社音樂、戲曲藝術的發展」In CCMMAS ed. Chengli Qishi Zhounian Jinian Tekan, p. 158-165.

103 Luo, Bing-quan (羅秉權） 1999 ‘‘Guantang (Kwun-tong) shequzhongxin 'Chaoyi yinyueban' yinyuehuodong yu shidikaocha de taolun.” (The fieldwork and musical activities in Chaozhou music class in Kwun-tong Community Center,�觀塘社區中心『潮藝音樂班』音樂活動與 實地考查的討論」）Report handed in for the partial fulfillment of the Fieldwork seminar.

Mo, Kai (莫凯） 1997 “Xiandai moyitixi de chengzheng guocheng." (The development process of the modem trading system,厂現代貿易體系的成長過 程」）In Hong Kong History: New Perspectives vol. 7, p. 281 -324. Hong Kong: Joint Publishing (H.K.) CO., LTD..

Rao Zong-yi (饒宗頤） 1965 Chaozhouzhi Huibian (section 4). (The Collection of Chaozhou history: Section 4,�潮州志匯編》：第四部）Hon gKong: Longmen shudian.

Wang Gang-wu (王賡武） 1997 "Jielunbian: Xiangang xiandai shehui." (Conclusion: The modem Hong Kong society,「結論篇：香港現代社會」）hi Hong Kong History: New Perspectives vol. 2, p. 859-867. Hong Kong: Joint Publishing (H.K.) CO., LTD..

Wei, Fei (魄带） 1994 "Chaozhouxue fafan.，，(The beginning of Chaozhou studies,�潮州 學發凡」）In(::GX,p.21-33.

Xian, Yu-yi (洗玉儀） 1997 "Shehui zhuzhe yu shehui zhuanbian."(Social organizations and the change of the socity, �社會組織與社會轉變」)I nHong Kong History: New Perspectives vol 1, p. 157-210. Hong Kong: Joint Publishing (H.K.) CO., LTD..

Xiao Yao-tian (蕭遙天） 1985 Chaozhou Xiju Yinyuezhi. (The Chaozhou Operatic Music,�潮州 戲劇音樂志》）Peneng: Tian-feng Chuban Gongshi.

Ye, Dong (葉楝） 1983 Minzu Qiyue De Ticai Yu Xingshi. (The form and structure of Chinese instrumental music,�民族器樂的體裁與形式》） Shanghai: Shanghai Yinyue Chubanshe.

104 Yu, Shao-hua (余少華 Yu Siu Wah) 2000 Out of Chaos and Coincidence: Hong Kong Music Culture. Hong Kong: Oxford University Press (China) Ltd..

Yuan, Jing-fang (袁靜芳） 1987 Minzu Qiyue. (Chinese Instrumental Music,�民族器樂》）Beijing: Renmin Yinyue Chubanshe.

YYS (Zhongguo Yishu Yanjiuyuan Yinyue Yanjiusuo Zhonggue Yinyue Cidian Bianjibu中國藝術研究院音樂研究所《中國音樂詞典》編輯部） 1985 Zhongguo Yinyue Cidian. (The Dictionary of Chinese Music,�中 國音樂詞典》)Beijing: Renmin Yinyue Chubanshe.

Zhang, Bai-jie (張伯杰） 1983 “Chaoju yinyue jianjie." (The music of Chaozhou opera,�潮劇音 樂簡介」）In Chaoju Yinyue. (The music of Chaozhou opera,�潮 劇音樂》）（vol. 1, ed. Guangdongshen Xiju Yanjiuhui Shentou zhuanqufenghui) Guangzhou: Huacheng Chubanshe, p. 9-30.

Zheng,Shi-min (鄭詩敏） ，， 1997 "Zhongguo minzu minjianyinyue de guibao : Chaozhou Yinyue." (A fortune of Chinese music: Chaozhou music,「中國民族民間音 樂的5鬼寶 潮州音樂」）In Chaozhou Yuequ Sanbaishou. (An anthology of 300 Chaozhou music pieces,�泽月州樂曲三百首》） Beijing: Zhongguo Xiju Chubanshe, preface.

Zheng, Shi-min and Yu-wen Cai (鄭詩敏、蔡余文） 1981 "Chaozhou yinyue diaoshi chutan." (Mode of Chaozhou music, 「潮州音樂調式初探」）InMZM/lT. 1(1)： 34-53.

1987 “Chaozhou Xianshiyue de juzhong jiben bianzou shoufa." (Melodic variations in Chaozhou Xianshiyue,「潮州音樂的幾種變奏手法」） InMZMJYY. 27(4): 24-28.

Zhou Zhao-jing (周昭京） 1995 Chaozhou Huiguan Shihua. (The history of Chaozhou Clubs and Organizations,�潮州會館史話�)Shanghai Shangha: i Guji Chubanshe.

105 B. Anthologies

Cai Shu-hang (蔡樹航） 1992 Chaozhou Yuequxuan (erbai shou). (Selected Pieces of Chaozhou Music [two hundred pieces],《潮州樂曲選》）Published information unknown.

1997 Chaozhou Yuequ Sanbai shou. (Three Hundred Pieces of Chaozhou music,�潮州樂曲三百首》）Beijing Zhonggu: o Xiju Chubanshe.

Chen Tian-guo, Su Qiao-zheng (蘇巧箏）and Chen Wen (陳威） 2001 Chaozhou Xianshi Quanji. (Full Collections of Chaozhou Xianshi Music,�潮州弦詩全集》）Guangzhou Huachen: g Chubanshe.

Guangdongshen Xiqu Yanj iuhui Shantou Zhuanqu Fenhui (廣東省戲曲研究所油 頭專區分會）and Guangdong Chaojuyuan Yinyue Bianxiezhu (廣東潮劇院音樂 編寫組）ed. 1983 Chaoju Yinyue. (two volumes) (The music of Chaoju,�潮劇音樂》） Guangzhou: Huacheng Chubanshe.

106 C. Discography

PAN Records ；?] PAN2030CD. Ethnic series: Chamber music of South China Silk Bamboo.

Tang Nan Ah Co.(東南亞唱片公司） 1990 TCD-92. Zingx/ao/zi/a.(凌霄花）

1991 TCD-94. Meiguihong.(玫塊紅）

107 D. Sources in Other Forms

Qiu Shi-jun (丘士俊） 1999 Personal communication. On 29'^ October 1999. About the aims of the CCMMAS.

2000 Personal communication. On 22"^ October 2000. About the music learning experience of Qiu.

Wu, Jun-hai (吳俊凯） 2001 Xuexi Chaozhou Xianshiyue.(《學習潮州弦絲樂》）.CD-Rom published by The Hong Kong Institue of Education.

Ye Wei-zheng (Yap Wee Cheng 葉偉征） 2000 Personal communication. Ye was a graduate student of the National University of Singapore and her thesis was about the Chaozhou music clubs in Singapore.

108 APPENDIX A: AN INQUIRY ON THE PLACE OF ORIGIN OF HONG KONG CHINESE PEOPLE

From:HKSAR GCN To:s982011 @mailserv.cuhk.edu.hk Subject:Enquiry on place of origin Date:2000 年 1 月 14 日 PM 03:46

Dear Mr. Law,

I refer to your e-mail enquiry of 12.1.2000.

Information on place of origin of Hong Kong residents was collected in the 1961, 1971 and 1981 population censuses and the 1966 population by-census, related statistics can be obtained from the corresponding census reports. However, such information was not collected in the last three censuses conducted in 1986, 1991 and 1996, therefore no updated statistics can be sought.

You may make reference to the census reports in our Kai Tak Sub-office at: Census and Statistics Department Kai Tak Sub-office 7/F Kai Tak Multi-storey Building 2 Concorde Road Kowloon Hong Kong

Should you require other information, please contact us at our enquiry hotline 2716 8345.

(Billy LI) for Commissioner for Census and Statistics

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