CHINESE ZHENG AND IDENTITY POLITICS IN TAIWAN A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE DIVISION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI‘I AT MĀNOA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN MUSIC DECEMBER 2018 By Yi-Chieh Lai Dissertation Committee: Frederick Lau, Chairperson Byong Won Lee R. Anderson Sutton Chet-Yeng Loong Cathryn H. Clayton Acknowledgement The completion of this dissertation would not have been possible without the support of many individuals. First of all, I would like to express my deep gratitude to my advisor, Dr. Frederick Lau, for his professional guidelines and mentoring that helped build up my academic skills. I am also indebted to my committee, Dr. Byong Won Lee, Dr. Anderson Sutton, Dr. Chet- Yeng Loong, and Dr. Cathryn Clayton. Thank you for your patience and providing valuable advice. I am also grateful to Emeritus Professor Barbara Smith and Dr. Fred Blake for their intellectual comments and support of my doctoral studies. I would like to thank all of my interviewees from my fieldwork, in particular my zheng teachers—Prof. Wang Ruei-yu, Prof. Chang Li-chiung, Prof. Chen I-yu, Prof. Rao Ningxin, and Prof. Zhou Wang—and Prof. Sun Wenyan, Prof. Fan Wei-tsu, Prof. Li Meng, and Prof. Rao Shuhang. Thank you for your trust and sharing your insights with me. My doctoral study and fieldwork could not have been completed without financial support from several institutions. I would like to first thank the Studying Abroad Scholarship of the Ministry of Education, Taiwan and the East-West Center Graduate Degree Fellowship funded by Gary Lin. I also want to thank the donors and organizations of the Sumi Makey Scholars Awards, the Faith C. Ai Memorial Scholarship Fund, the John Young Scholarship in the Arts, the UH Graduate Student Organization, the UH Music Department Scholarship, the Chung-fong and Grace Ning Chinese Studies Fund, the Haigo and Irene Shen Scholarship, the East-West Center Association, the UH Outstanding International Student Scholarship, the June Chun Naughton International Student Services Scholarship, and the Louise Hess Miller Communication Awards. i I would like to thank my friends, especially Benjamin Fairfield, Kuan Yuan-yu, Yeh Jiuan-reng, and Jonathan Valdez, who provided constructive comments and encouragement during my writing process. Last but not least, I would like to express my deepest appreciation to my parents, my aunts, and my sister and brother for their endless support. ii Abstract This dissertation examines the ideologies and embodiments of identity politics of transplanted music by taking the Chinese zheng, also known as guzheng, in Taiwan as subject of study. Through examining state policy and Taiwanese zheng players’ musical behavior, I investigate Taiwanese musicians’ ambivalent identity constituted in zheng performance—from playing Chinese zheng music to creating Taiwanese zheng music—under the political tension between the Republic of China (ROC) and the People’s Republic of China (PRC). This dissertation examines the ways that Taiwanese musicians actively contribute to the body of zheng music. I demonstrate that cultural ideologies were instrumental during the musical transmission; additionally, I detail the individual approaches of executing these cultural practices. Given that the government policy was inseparable from the way Taiwanese zheng musicians played music, the zheng thus can be seen as a site of negotiating one’s position in the socio-political condition. This dissertation engages theories on nationalism and identity to demonstrate not only how cultural policies affect music but also how musicians make music and interact with the nations. Rather than viewing Chinese/Taiwanese zheng music as merely a musical product, I examine zheng performance in Taiwan as a social behavior that allowed performers to participate in a modern China that led to the creation of a local Chinese practice in Taiwan. As a result, the zheng became the only Chinese musical instrument that signified both Chinese and Taiwanese cultural identities. This research illustrates how the zheng, as a cultural instrument, builds social connections and negotiates identities and conflicts in everyday life. The complex issues of zheng music in Taiwan will provide a new understanding of modern iii Chinese/Taiwanese history with a focus on identity politics that relates to the cross-strait relationship. iv Table of Contents Acknowledgement ……………………………………………………………………….. i Abstract …………………………………………………………………….…………….. iii List of Figures ……………………………………………………………………………. viii List of Audio Examples ………………………………………………………………….. x List of Abbreviations …………………………………………………………………….. xi Note on Romanization …………………………………………………………………… xii Chapter 1: Introduction ………………………………………………………………... 1 Project Statement ………………………………………………………………………… 1 An Overview of Zheng …………………………………………………………………... 3 Ethnographic and Historical Background ……………………………………………….. 8 Literature Review ………………………………………………………………………... 11 Zheng Music ……………………………………………………………………….. 11 Nationalism ………………………………………………………………………... 13 Identity …………………………………………………………………………….. 15 Methodology …………………………………………………………………………….. 18 Positionality ……………………………………………………………………………… 20 Significance ……………………………………………………………………………… 22 Outline of Chapters ……………………………………………………………………… 23 Chapter 2: Performing Zheng, Playing Chineseness ………………………………… 25 Nationalizing Chinese Musical Culture …………………………………………………. 25 China as Nation, Taiwan as Local ………………………………………………… 26 Zheng and the Modern Chinese Orchestra ………………………………………… 27 Zheng and the Chinese Cultural Renaissance Movement …………………………. 29 Popularization and Institutionalization of Zheng Performance ………………………….. 34 Popularization of Zheng Performance ……………………………………………... 34 Institutionalization of Zheng Performance ………………………………………… 37 The Locals’ First Encounters with Zheng ………………………………………………... 41 Commodification of Zheng ………………………………………………………………. 43 Rarity of Zheng …………………………………………………………………….. 43 Prosperity in the Production of Zheng ……………………………………………... 44 Becoming Chinese Elite ………………………………………………………………….. 45 Silenced Local Zheng Music Practice ……………………………………………………. 47 Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………………….. 51 Chapter 3: Two Chinese Nations ………………………………………………………. 52 Cultural Ideology and Zheng Music Making in mainland China ………………………... 52 Creation of Modern Zheng Music ………………………….……………………… 53 v Unified Notation and Technical Symbols ………………………….………………. 60 Cultural Ideology and Zheng Music Making in Taiwan ………………………….……… 64 Multiple Sources of New Zheng Music ………………………….………………… 65 Diversity of Technical Symbols ………………………….………………………... 69 Contesting Chinese Nationalisms and Zheng Music …………………………………….. 72 Cultural Revolution Zheng Music ………………………….……………………… 73 Chinese Cultural Renaissance Movement and Zheng Music ……………………… 77 Beyond Contesting Chinese Nationalisms ………………………………………………. 78 Performing Cultural Revolution Zheng Music in Taiwan ………………………… 79 Re-contextualization of Cultural Revolution Zheng Music ……………………….. 82 The Politics of Zheng Performance …………………….………………………….…….. 83 Conclusion ………………………….………………………….………………………… 85 Chapter 4: One Cultural China ………………………….…………………………….. 87 Mainland Fever ………………………….………………………….……………………. 87 Chinese Zheng Pilgrimage ………………………….……………………………… 88 Musical Publications ………………………….………………………….………... 90 Evolving Techniques ………………………….………………………….………….…… 91 From Fingernails to Plectrums ………….………………………….……………… 92 From Tuopi to Yaozhi Technique ………….………………………….……………. 95 Changing Tempos ………….………………………….…………………………………. 99 Tempo on the Fingertips ………….………………………….……………………. 100 Timing and Tempo of Improvisation ………….………………………….……….. 106 Tempo of the Times ………….………………………….………………………… 107 Rethinking Authenticity ………….………………………….…………………………… 110 Musical Synchronization ………….………………………….………………………….. 113 Conclusion ………….………………………….…………………………….………….. 116 Chapter 5: Becoming Taiwanese …………….…………………………….…………... 117 Interplay of Cultural and Political Identities …………….………………………………. 117 Untuned Identities Between the Zheng and the Politics …………….…………….. 117 Re-centering the Cultural Identity of the Zheng …………….…………………….. 120 Construction of Taiwanese Zheng Music …………….………………………………….. 124 The Rise of Taiwanese Zheng Music …………….………………………………... 124 What is the “Taiwanese” in Taiwanese Zheng Music? …………….……………… 127 Who are the “Taiwanese” Playing Taiwanese Zheng Music? …………….………. 130 Musical Analysis of Taiwanese Zheng Music …………….……………………………... 133 Musical Infusion of Chinese Musical Culture …………….………………………. 133 Musical Infusion of Taiwanese Musical Culture …………….……………………. 138 Musical Infusion of Western Classical Musical Culture …………….……………. 142 vi Musical Infusion of Other Musical Cultures …………….………………………... 156 Zheng and Taiwanese Identity …………….………………….………………….………. 159 Conclusion …………….…………………………….…………………………………... 159 Chapter 6: Conclusion …………….…………………………….……………………... 161 Zheng and Overlapping Identities ……………….………………………………………. 161 Zheng and Identity Politics ….…………….………………………….…………………. 164 For Future Research ……………….………………………….…………………………. 166 Glossary ……………….………………………….……………………………………… 168 Names of Persons and Institutions ……………….………………………….…….. 168 Terms ……………….………………………….…………………………………... 173 Bibliography …………….…………………………….…………………………………. 178 List of interviewees …………….…………………………….………………………….. 198 vii List of Figures Figure 1.1 Supposed 5-stringed zheng ………………….………………….……………. 4 Figure 1.2 The 16-stringed zheng ………………….………………….………………… 4 Figure 1.3 The 21-stringed