The Evolution of Chinese Popular Music: Modernization and Globalization, 1927 to the Present

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Ya-Hui Cheng

The Evolution of Chinese Popular Music

Modernization and Globalization, 1927 to the Present

Ya-Hui Cheng

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English

Routledge
18 December 2024

Theory of music & musicology; Rock & Pop music; Rap & Hip-Hop

Series: Ashgate Popular and Folk Music Series

Ya-Hui Cheng examines the emergence of popular music genres – jazz, rock, and hip-hop – in Chinese society, covering the social underpinnings that shaped the development of popular music in China and Taiwan, from imperialism to westernization and from modernization to globalization. The political sensitivities across the strait have long eclipsed the discussion of these shared sonic intimacies. It was not until the rise of the digital age, when entertainment programs from China and Taiwan reached social media on a global scale, that audiences realized the existence of this sonic reciprocation. Analyzing Chinese pentatonicism and popular songs published from 1927 to the present, this book discusses structural elements in Chinese popular music to show how they aligned closely with Chinese folk traditions. While the influences from Western genres are inevitable under the phenomenon of globalization, Chinese songwriters utilized these Western inspirations to modernize their musical traditions. It is a sensitivity for exhibiting cultural identities that enabled popular music to present a unique Chinese global image while transcending political discord and unifying mass cultures across the strait.

By: Ya-Hui Cheng
Imprint: Routledge
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 156mm,
ISBN: 9781032314044
ISBN 10: 1032314044
Series: Ashgate Popular and Folk Music Series
Pages: 218
Publication Date: 18 December 2024
Audience: College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , Primary , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Acknowledgments; Preface; 1. Introduction; 2. Early Western Sounds: from Christian-based Music to the Shanghai Modern Song; 3. Music in Taiwan: Migration, Westernization, Campus Folksongs, and Rock Music; 4. The Collective Sound: From Propaganda Music to Sent-Down Youth Songs; 5. Modernizing Chinese Vernacular Music: From Red Songs to Rock Music in China; 6. Global Image, Chinese Wind, Rap, and Hip-Hop; 7. The Chinese Dream and the Latest Popular Music Scene in Greater China; Bibliography; Index

Ya-Hui Cheng is Assistant Professor of Music Theory at the University of South Florida.

Reviews for The Evolution of Chinese Popular Music: Modernization and Globalization, 1927 to the Present

""Cheng’s book is an essential resource for scholars seeking profound insights into the historical development of Chinese popular music and its significance on a global scale. It conducts an archeological study of sounds, society and modernity during particular periods of mainland China and Taiwan’s modern histories. The book offers a comprehensive overview of the evolution of Chinese popular music over the past nearly 100 years, taking into consideration various factors such as reform of the political system, improving cross-strait relations and the collision and fusion of Chinese and Western cultures. In addition, the book is valuable for music theory researchers interested in the continuation of Chinese classical music and opera in modern popular music. Written in accessible language with clear structure, precise terminology and extensive references, it is also suitable for a general audience interested in Chinese popular music studies."" Nianyi, Ling, Book Review, European Journal of Cultural Studies (2024) ""The Evolution of Chinese Popular Music: Modernization and Globalization, 1927 to the Present stands out by holistically addressing the hundred-year history of Chinese popular music. Full of carefully researched observations on music, lyrics, performers, composers, and historical and contemporary currents, it also fills a clear niche by focusing on the music-theoretical content of these repertories. The book will engage a broad cross-section of readerships, from popular music studies to musicology and Asian studies, and is sure to enjoy a lengthy shelf-life as a central reference in the field of Chinese popular music studies."" Dr Lijuan Qian, Senior Lecturer at University College Cork, the author of The Tolerated Mainstream: Chinese Popular Music in the 1980s (Guilin: Guangxi Normal University Press, 2016).