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CHAPTER VI MUSIC IN THE QING DYNASTY

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Volume 6 A General History of Chinese Art
This chapter is in the book Volume 6 A General History of Chinese Art
CHAPTER VI MUSIC IN THE QING DYNASTYSection 1 Court Music in the Qing Dynasty1. The Evolution of Court Music in the Qing DynastyThe imperial court music of the Qing Dynasty has a history stretching over nearly 300 years, from the 1616 foundation of the Later Jin Dynasty by nurhaci in Shenyang to the abdication of the last emperor in 1912. This history can be divided into three main stages:The first, initial stage extended from nurhaci’s as-cension to the throne to the reign of the Shunzhi Emperor (1638–1661). The defining characteristic of court music at this time was the gradual transi-tion from Manchu-Han hybrids toward Han music, principally ceremonial court music (yayue雅樂). Before breaching the Great Wall and marching into China proper, court music was for the most part Manchurian. According to the official Draft History of the Qing, the traditional Manchurian song and dance style favored by the court was known as mangshi莽式. whose chants and heavy percussion »befitted the recounting of tales from the northeast plains« and »the cavalry standard, the yak-tail banner, the bow and arrow, and the spurring of horses on the eve of battle.« At this time the ruler revered Han Chinese culture, and attached great importance to the study of the rites and music of his new subjects. For example, early ceremonial music was mainly played when send-ing an army into battle or upon their triumphant return; later, this was extended to birthdays and weddings and then again to new year’s celebra-tions. not only Han ceremonial music was used but also Song-style dramas on special occasions. In the 9th year of Hong Taiji’s Tiancong reign pe-riod (1635), a Han minister submitted that this ar-rangement »does not befit your majesty’s palace.« This brought an end to mixed performances of cer-emonial music and traditional operas. After pass-ing through the Great Wall and entering China proper, a system of palace music centered around Han styles was gradually formed and perfected.The second stage covers the reigns of the Kangxi, Yongzheng, Qianlong, and Jiaqing emperors. This was the golden age of the Qing Dynasty and also a period of maturity for the development of impe-rial court music. The Kangxi Emperor ascended to the throne at the age of just seven, and in his later years consistently yearned to make cultural con-tributions. One of the most outstanding of these in the field of music was the Standard Interpretation of Harmonics (lulu zhengyi律呂正義), a text on past dynasties’ systems of rites and music com-piled by Kangxi himself, with contributions from Wei Tingzhen and Wang Lansheng. The biggest difference from the music works of the past dy-nasties lies in the addition of Western music the-ory and five-line staff introduced by the mission-aries Thomas Peirera (1645–1708) from Portugal and Theodoricus Pedrini (1670–1746) from Italy. However, from the viewpoint of musical tempera-ment, the contents of the book are both outmoded and preposterous. In order to make a display of novelty and differentiate this musical tempera-ment from that of the Ming Dynasty, he vilified the twelve-tone equal temperament of Ming Dynasty musician Zhu Zaiyu (1536–1611) and worked out his own fourteen-tone equal temperament which was neither fish, flesh, nor fowl. not only did it not
© 2022 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

© 2022 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter I
  2. CONTENTS V
  3. OVERVIEW 1
  4. CHAPTER I OVERVIEW OF OPERA IN QING DYNASTY AND THE PROSPERITY OF CHUANQI IN EARLY QING 15
  5. CHAPTER II THE RISE OF REGIONAL OPERA IN THE QING DYNASTY AND THE FORMATION OF THE FOUR MAJOR VOCAL TUNES 43
  6. CHAPTER III ACHIEVEMENTS IN PLAYWRITING AND THE PERFORMANCE OF REGIONAL OPERAS IN THE QING DYNASTY 79
  7. CHAPTER IV CONTINUITY AND TRANSFORMATION IN THE ARTS OF SINGING-STORYTELLING IN THE QING DYNASTY 101
  8. CHAPTER V ARTS OF SINGING AND CHANTING, XIANGSHENG, AND MANCHU PERFORMING ARTS IN THE QING DYNASTY 124
  9. CHAPTER VI MUSIC IN THE QING DYNASTY 143
  10. CHAPTER VII DANCE OF THE QING DYNASTY 170
  11. CHAPTER VIII THEORIES OF PERFORMING ARTS IN THE QING DYNASTY 190
  12. CHAPTER IX THE DEVELOPMENT OF SCROLL PAINTING AND THE REVIVAL OF CALLIGRAPHY AND SEAL CARVING IN THE QING DYNASTY I 208
  13. CHAPTER X THE DEVELOPMENT OF SCROLL PAINTING AND THE REVIVAL OF CALLIGRAPHY AND SEAL CARVING IN THE QING DYNASTY II 257
  14. CHAPTER XI SCULPTURE, FOLK PRODUCTS, FOLK PAINTING 299
  15. CHAPTER XII FLOURISHING CRAFT ARTS 330
  16. CHAPTER XIII ARCHITECTURE OF THE QING DYNASTY 361
  17. CHAPTER XIV ART THEORY AND CONNOISSEURSHIP 398
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https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110790931-007

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter I
  2. CONTENTS V
  3. OVERVIEW 1
  4. CHAPTER I OVERVIEW OF OPERA IN QING DYNASTY AND THE PROSPERITY OF CHUANQI IN EARLY QING 15
  5. CHAPTER II THE RISE OF REGIONAL OPERA IN THE QING DYNASTY AND THE FORMATION OF THE FOUR MAJOR VOCAL TUNES 43
  6. CHAPTER III ACHIEVEMENTS IN PLAYWRITING AND THE PERFORMANCE OF REGIONAL OPERAS IN THE QING DYNASTY 79
  7. CHAPTER IV CONTINUITY AND TRANSFORMATION IN THE ARTS OF SINGING-STORYTELLING IN THE QING DYNASTY 101
  8. CHAPTER V ARTS OF SINGING AND CHANTING, XIANGSHENG, AND MANCHU PERFORMING ARTS IN THE QING DYNASTY 124
  9. CHAPTER VI MUSIC IN THE QING DYNASTY 143
  10. CHAPTER VII DANCE OF THE QING DYNASTY 170
  11. CHAPTER VIII THEORIES OF PERFORMING ARTS IN THE QING DYNASTY 190
  12. CHAPTER IX THE DEVELOPMENT OF SCROLL PAINTING AND THE REVIVAL OF CALLIGRAPHY AND SEAL CARVING IN THE QING DYNASTY I 208
  13. CHAPTER X THE DEVELOPMENT OF SCROLL PAINTING AND THE REVIVAL OF CALLIGRAPHY AND SEAL CARVING IN THE QING DYNASTY II 257
  14. CHAPTER XI SCULPTURE, FOLK PRODUCTS, FOLK PAINTING 299
  15. CHAPTER XII FLOURISHING CRAFT ARTS 330
  16. CHAPTER XIII ARCHITECTURE OF THE QING DYNASTY 361
  17. CHAPTER XIV ART THEORY AND CONNOISSEURSHIP 398
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