Chinese musicology
The ancient Chinese defined, by mathematical means, a gamut or series of 十二律 (Shí-èr-lǜ), meaning twelve lǜ, from which various sets of five or seven frequencies were selected to make the sort of "do re mi" major scale familiar to those who have been formed with the Western Standard notation.
The notes of this scale are called gōng 宫, shāng 商, jué 角, zhǐ 徵 and yǔ 羽.
In the Shang dynasty, there were local noble children coming from neighboring regions to study, and the content includes martial arts and music.
At the same time, the Zhou emperors and its aristocracy incorporated foreign music into sacrificial ceremonies and feast performances.
[2] The Qin and Han dynasties had frequent contacts with Xiongnu (匈奴) in the north and music exchanges with the Western regions.
New instruments such as the Qiang flute (羌笛), the Pipa (琵琶), the Jia (笳), the Jiao (角), the Konghou (箜篌) were imported.
In addition, the Han music bureau recorded "Song of the Harp," (箜篌引) which originated in Korea (see the external link section).
[2] From the end of the Western Han dynasty, the turbulence of history stimulated the ethnic minorities in the northwest to migrate south.
[2] The unification of the Sui and Tang dynasties and the deepening of the relationship between different ethnic groups provided favorable conditions for the further integration of music culture.
The political and social turmoil significantly accelerated the decline of "elegant music" and the cultural exchanges between the Han nationality and other ethnic groups inside and outside China, especially in the Western regions, including Xinjiang, Central Asia, West Asia, and ancient India.
Influenced deeply by the tributary systems, these countries also sent oversea students and diplomats to China to bring back advanced music knowledge and other culture.
These two books explained European music's fundamental theories and practical techniques in an in-depth, easy-to-understand manner.
Over time, these instruments gained popularity in court and society, becoming a vital part of musical events.
[1] At the same time, the French missionary Joseph-Marie Amiot, who came to China in the latter half of the 18th century, also made significant contributions to Chinese music.
He introduced Chinese music theory systematically to France and Europe and wrote many articles explaining this knowledge in detail.
Chinese people's attitudes toward music have altered throughout this age of communication and integration, and the general public acknowledges its worth and spiritual significance.
In the pre-revolutionary ages, musicians did not have a high social status and they did not have a formal, standard way of training due to the Confucian ideology.
[4] From 1930 to the founding of PRC, music made great progress under the strong drive of political utilitarian purpose.
This notion of music criticism is condensed in Chairman Mao Zedong's Speech at the Yan'an Forum on Literature and Art, published in May 1942.
For instance, New China places a high value on participating in the World Youth Festival, putting together a competent team to choose the most representative repertoire and creative backbone to do so.
[4] The next period was marked by the reform and opening up that ushered in a significant turning point for Chinese music.
[7] A significant point in this period is the meeting "Forum of Young and middle-aged music Theorists" held in 1986, which was an excellent discussion of liberating the mind and pioneering the Chinese musicology circle after the reform and opening up.
[7] As an example of this time period, in 2000, composer Dun Tan (谭盾) wrote the famous music piece Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (卧虎藏龙), which mixed traditional Chinese instruments, such as Erhu (二胡) and Pipa (琵琶), with Western orchestral instruments (see the external link section).
At the same time, the boundary of music research is continually expanding, and it naturally interacts with and exchanges ideas with other social humanities disciplines, improving the meaning of musicology and raising that subject's status.
