The Emergence of the Chinese Zheng: Traditional Context, Contemporary Evolution, and Cultural Identity by Mei Han M.A., The University of British Columbia, 2000 M.A., Music Research Institute of Chinese National Academy, 1995 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in The Faculty of Graduate Studies (Ethnomusicology) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) May 2013 © Mei Han, 2013 ABSTRACT The zheng is a Chinese long zither that was developed from a five-string folk instrument over two thousand years ago to become a concert instrument with approximately twenty million practitioners around the world today. The opposing forces of metamorphosis and continuation have dominated the evolution of the instrument with the most rapid and drastic changes to its conception and practice witnessed in the twentieth century. This dissertation is a musical and cultural study of the zheng’s living tradition from traditional practice to contemporary evolution, with an emphasis on the transformation of its musical and cultural identity. The studied areas include composition, dissemination, performance technique, and aesthetics. These discussions reveal an underlying ancient Chinese aesthetic principle drawn from both Confucian and Taoist philosophies that applies to all developmental periods of the zheng––the relationship between sheng (generated sound) and yin (cultivated sound). In addition to being a researcher, the author combines her four-decade long experience of performing and studying the instrument with the voices of four generations of zheng performers and those of Chinese and non-Chinese zheng composers and scholars to reveal the core musical and aesthetic elements of traditional zheng practice. Crucially this includes analyzing contemporary changes in Mainland China and North America since the twentieth century in the context of political influences, Westernization, and globalization. The author argues that the fundamental values of traditional zheng practice are still pertinent to the contemporary development of the instrument. ii PREFACE The study that formed the foundation of this dissertation required the approval of the RISe UBC Behavioural Research Ethics Board. The Principal Investigator (PI) was Nathan Hesselink, the Department Approver in the music department was Richard B. Kurth, and the Primary Contact was myself, Mei Han. The study, numbered H09-03060, was deemed to be a behavioural study of minimal risk. The initial approval date for the study was December 1, 2009, and the study required ethics reviews with annual renewals. Study completion occurred September 29, 2012. All photos are property of the author except where credited. All notation examples were transnotated by the author, except where credited. All other figures were produced by the author. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract.......................................................................................................................................ii Preface....................................................................................................................................... iii Table of Contents ....................................................................................................................iv List of Figures........................................................................................................................viii Glossary.................................................................................................................................... xii Acknowledgements.............................................................................................................xxx Dedication...........................................................................................................................xxxii 1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................1 1.1 Prelude ...................................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Studied Subjects, Personal Background and Perspective, and Research Process ................................................................................................................................................. 7 1.2.1 Organization of the Chapters......................................................................................................7 1.2.2 Personal Background and Perspective...................................................................................9 1.2.3 Research Process and Interviews.......................................................................................... 13 1.3 Literature Review................................................................................................................16 1.3.1 Historical References .................................................................................................................. 17 1.3.2 Twentieth-Century Zheng Literature................................................................................... 19 1.3.2.1 Historical Studies...................................................................................................................................20 1.3.2.2 Studies of the Traditional Zheng.....................................................................................................23 1.3.2.3 Studies of Contemporary Development ......................................................................................28 2 THE MUSIC AND CULTURE OF THE TRADITIONAL ZHENG............................... 31 2.1 Introduction to the Traditional Zheng .........................................................................31 2.1.1 Shandong Style............................................................................................................................... 33 2.1.2 Henan Style...................................................................................................................................... 35 2.1.3 Chaozhou Style............................................................................................................................... 38 2.1.4 Hakka Style...................................................................................................................................... 41 2.1.5 Fujian (Min) Style ......................................................................................................................... 43 iv 2.1.6 Zhejiang (Wulin) Style................................................................................................................ 45 2.2 Compositional Structure of Traditional Zheng Music .............................................48 2.2.1 Baban Beat-Form and its Variations .................................................................................... 49 2.2.2 Symmetry and Endnotes ........................................................................................................... 55 2.2.3 Section ............................................................................................................................................... 58 2.3 Sheng and Yin: Examining Performance Technique in the Context of Traditional Composition..............................................................................................................61 2.3.1 Right-hand Technique: Sound Initiation ............................................................................ 62 2.3.2 Left-hand Technique: Manipulating Sound....................................................................... 67 2.4 Notation and Oral Tradition.............................................................................................77 2.4.1 Notation and its Function in Traditional Performance Practice.............................. 77 2.4.1.1 Ersi Notation............................................................................................................................................77 2.4.1.2 Gongche Notation ..................................................................................................................................80 2.4.2 Oral Teaching Tradition............................................................................................................. 85 2.5 Cross-fertilization of Aesthetic Principles ..................................................................90 2.5.1 Social Harmony and Self-cultivation .................................................................................... 91 2.5.2 Performance Aesthetics............................................................................................................. 93 2.5.3 Spontaneity and Amateur Spirit............................................................................................. 98 3 MODERNIZATION, WESTERNIZATION, AND PROFESSIONALIZATION .......101 3.1 ModerniZation of Chinese Music from the Late Nineteenth to the Early Twentieth Centuries................................................................................................................... 102 3.1.1 Adopting Western Models ......................................................................................................102 3.1.2 National Music (guoyue) and Instrumental Reform ....................................................105 3.1.3 Initial Urbanization of the Zheng.........................................................................................108 3.2 The InstitutionaliZation