The SoundScape of China: The Role ofHUGO CDs in Chinese Cultural Memory Wong King-chung A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Philosophy In Ethnomusicology © The Chinese University of Hong Kong January 2005 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. N^^BRARY SYSTEMx^W Abstract The SoundScape of China: The Role of HUGO CDs in Chinese Cultural Memory Abstract Wong King-chung Audio-visual media, such as cassette tapes, CDs, VCDs, MDs, DVDs, and MPS have fostered and indeed accelerated changes in musical cultures around the world. People not only leam music from scores and manuscripts, but also leam and experience from recordings. In addition, audio-visual media not only record music, but also provide a new kind of aural transmission. As a window of China, Hong Kong began her cooperation with Chinese record companies to record music in the early 1900s. Indeed, the recording industry of Hong Kong was established in the 1920s. The flourishing development of the recording industry in the territory was marked by the establishment of both foreign-owned and Chinese record companies. They produced numerous records of Guangdongyinyue (廣東音樂）[Cantonese music] andj^weyw (專劇）[Cantonese opera]. The broadcasting industry in the Guangdong area was congenial to the development of the recording industry, and it undoubtedly facilitated the growth of record companies in Hong Kong. In this thesis, the author will propose the study of Chinese music through a case-study of a Hong Kong-based record company, HUGO Production (HfC) Ltd. (hereafter HUGO) which was established in 1987，with the aim of examining the cultural implications of consuming Chinese music outside of mainland China. In addition, this project focuses on the role of HUGO in the production and consumption of Chinese music CDs, which in turn maps Chinese music in the collective aural memory of Chinese people. The thesis will be based on the comparison of similarities and differences between the HUGO CD catalogue and Chinese music reference books (including dictionaries of music, encyclopedias and textbooks) with regard to the classification systems of Chinese music. i Abstract (Chinese) 唱片中國 雨果唱片在塑造中國人文化記憶中所扮演的角色 中文摘要 王景松 十九世紀末，人類的音樂進入科技化年代° Thomas Edison (1847-1931)於 1877年發明了唱筒式留聲機（Phonograph) ’人類展開了一個記錄音樂的新年代。 隨後 Emile Berliner( 1851-1929)於 1882 年發明了 唱盤式留聲機（Gramophone) ’ 以唱盤（黑膠唱片，record, disc)代替笨重的唱筒（cylinder)�而踏進二十世紀， 形形色色的錄音工具不斷被改良’記錄音樂的媒介更改為以錄音帶、CD�VCD� MD�DVD�MP3等聲音媒體（Audio Media)代替傳統的唱盤，更將音樂的記 錄模式由模擬形式（Analogue)提升到數碼形式（Digital)的層面。 聲音媒體的出現對以樂譜為記錄及傳播音樂的傳統方法，提供了 一個接觸及 轮聽音樂的新途徑。由於新的傳播媒體興起（Internet...),人類不需要實際地參 與表演活動，亦能跨聽及觀看到不同類型的音樂表演。誠然，這些聲音媒體改變 了音樂傳播的方法，而其傳播速度及層面亦較以往的方式更快及更廣。 隨著錄音科技進步，唱片工業更於十九世紀末得到重大發展。多所國際性的 唱片公司相繼成立，如哥林（Columbia)�謀得利（Gramophone)及勝利（Victor) 等，她們更著力擴展海外市場’在世界各地設立分公司，並錄製當地民間及傳統 音樂。各分公司的設立’更令市場湧現一批規模較小的本土唱片公司，若以香港 為例，於八十年代時’已超150所外資或華資的唱片公司在香港成立。 面對著幕多的唱片公司，本論文將選擇於八十年代末於香港成立的一所以錄 製中國音樂為主的唱片公司——雨果（HUGO)及其創辦人易有伍先生為對象’ 結合民族音樂學及傳播學的理論，分析其唱片目錄，並揭示雨果唱片所投射的一 幅中國音樂地圃。繼而揉合二十世紀有關中國音樂的論述，探討一所海外唱片公 司如何理解中國音樂，並如何塑造國内、外華人的中國音樂觀念。 ii Acknowledgement Acknowledgement As many science students told me, it is hard for a science-based student to write out his idea into lengthy articles. However, it comes possible for me to finish this thesis finally. Although it is not a brilliant and comfort in writing, it is a mark and a record for my academic life. I would like to say thanks to most people who help me in different stages of writing this thesis. Without any of them, this thesis may not be finished. First, I thank to the members of my thesis committee, Professor Witzleben, Lawrence, my supervisor who pays much effort to correct my writing and suggest all possibilities in shaping my idea. He also explores the perspective of Chinese music in Western scholarship. Professor Yu Siu-wah lets me know historical, theoretical and cultural aspects of Chinese music in my academic journey. His suggestions help me much to shape my thesis in preliminary stage. Professor Chan Sau-yan expresses his attitude of doing research. He requests us to be a serious student in his lesson that is unforgettable in my future life. Also, much thank has to express to all professors in music department, CUHK who bring me into the musical world. I cannot forget all my classmates in graduate school. Special thanks to Wong Chuen-fung who encourages me every time and let me joining academic chatting. Also thanks to Cheng Yin-hung, So Hon-tou, Law Bing-kuen, Zhang Zhan-tau and Zang Yi-bing. My two English editors, Lorraine Wong and Leung Sok-yee, paid much of their time to correct and polish my English grammar. Without them, I cannot imagine what English will be written. iii Acknowledgement Thanks for my informants, especially Mr. Aik Yeh-goh. His story lets me know part of history of Hong Kong from perspective of a musician. After chatting with him, I ensure HUGO CD story not only the story of him but also a story of Hong Kong musical culture. Last but not least, to my family, especially my wife, Wai-tak, for her patience and support all the times. iv Table of Content Table of Contents Abstract i Abstract (Chinese) ii Acknowledgement iii Table of Contents v List of Figures and Tables vii Chapter 1—Introduction A New Age of Sound 1 Academic Background and Related Studies 2 Chinese Music and the Media 4 The Present Study and Methodology 5 Chapter 2—SoundScape of China: The Influence of Ethnomusicology in China in the 1980，s Introduction 8 From Comparative to Cultural: Chinese Music Scholarship in the Twentieth 10 Century Mainland China Revealing a Soundscape of Chinese MusicDevelopment of Musical Genre 13 Study Concluding Remarks 18 Chapter 3^Mapping a Soundscape: Analyzing the HUGO CD Catalogue(s) Introduction 20 Classification, Category and Catalogue 20 Recording Industry in Hong Kong 22 Aik Yeh-goh and HUGO Production (HK) Ltd. 28 HUGO'S Label Division 29 Statistical Analysis of HUGO CD Catalogues 31 An Aural Map~Soundscape of China 3 8 Concluding Remarks 42 V Table of Content Chapter 4—Whose Music? The Role of the HUGO CD Catalogue in Chinese Cultural Memory Introduction 44 Communication Theory in Studying Recording Industry 46 Lass well's 5-W Formula as a System 46 Lewin's Gatekeeping Theory 50 The Role of HUGO CD: Imagination of Chinese Music outside Mainland 52 China Concluding Remarks 54 Appendix A: Name List of Record Companies in Hong Kong before the 1990，s 56 Appendix B: The Catalogue of the HUGO CDs 58 Selected Bibliography 66 vi List of Figures and Tables List of Figures and Tables Table 3.1 The Statistic of HUGO CD Catalogues from 2001-2004 32 Table 3.2 The Summary of the Label HUGO 33 Table 3.3 The Summary and Statistic of HUGO CD Catalogue 2004 (web 36 version) Table 3.4 The Comparison of Chinese Music Classifications between 39 HUGO CD Catalogue and Three Common Reference Books of Chinese Music Table 3.5 Ratios among Categories of Introduction by Page Numbers 41 Table 3.6 Ratios among Categories of the HUGO CDs Catalogue 42 2001-2002 by Number of CDs Figure 3.1 The Balance among the Various Large Categories in the 41 Introduction Figure 3.2 The Balance among the Various Large Categories in the 42 Catalogue 2001-2002 Figure 4.1 The Flow Chart of Message Transmission: System Theory 49 Figure 4.2 Simple Diagram of the Gatekeeping Concept 51 vii Chapter Three Chapter One Introduction A New Age of Sound As a form of cultural production, music is transmitted live in rituals, ceremonies, festivals, and concerts to participants therein. Around the turn of the twentieth century, new technology provided new media for the transcription and play-back of music. Audio-visual media, such as cassette tapes, CDs, VCDs, MDs, DVDs, and MPS have fostered and indeed accelerated changes in musical cultures around the world. People not only leam music from scores and manuscripts, but also leam and experience from recordings. In addition, people use audio-visual media not only to record music, but also to provide a new kind of aural transmission. Music transmission is a kind of human communication. Communication can be defined as “a process by which A sends a message to B upon whom it has an effect (Fiske 1994: 50)，’ which points to the carriage of messages in communication. In other words, understanding is deemed to be the ultimate goal in communicative practices. However, how does the process of comprehension occur? Lasswell (1948) problematizes communication from another perspective: “Who says what in which channel to whom with what effect?” Identifying different stages of communication, Lasswell in a way reminds us of the importance of the channel, or rather, the form of communicative practices. With reference to Lass well's model, no message can be transmitted without a channel (medium). In Helen Myers's book Ethnomusicology: An Introduction, media studies (the 1 Chapter Three recording industry) is recently acknowledged as an important new direction within the field of ethnomusicology (Myers 1994). However, the chapter's short bibliography (by Krister Malm) in relation to the recording industry reflects the fact that this topic is still relatively new and unexplored within ethnomusicology (Malm 1994). Academic Background and Related Studies Indeed, audio-visual media are inarguably one of the most important ways for cultural exchanges of modernity, but, ironically, they receive relatively little academic attention in communication studies. The relationship between music communication and cultural exchanges should be studied through an inter-disciplinary approach drawing analytical devices from the disciplines of anthropology, sociology, and ethnomusicology. During the earliest days of ethnomusicological studies, scholars were concerned with the management and use of recording technology in the field (Shelemay 1991: 277).