The "Silk and Bamboo" (sizhu 絲竹) ensemble music of Shanghai is generally known as a traditional Chinese genre. Its sounds are commonly celebrated as embodying the Chinese ideals of harmoniousness and blendedness. Despite these traditional images, however, the genre established its present-day urban identity largely through modern developments in the early twentieth century, when Shanghai grew as a semi-colonial metropolitan. In this period, especially during the interwar decades, musical reformers of diverse visions and backgrounds were gathering increasing social and political capital to pursue their modernity agendas. Those who advocated Western classical music as the foundation of modern Chinese music clashed with those who defended the validity of native musical establishments and sounds. Many of the latter, whom I describe as defenders in the politics of Chinese musical modernity, drew from "Silk and Bamboo" music and ideals to maintain a refined Chineseness in the rapidly changing soundscape of modern China. But these defenders also embraced selected Western musical practices to pursue their modernity interests. In the lecture, I will examine the development and discourses of "Silk and Bamboo" music as a constitutive force of Chinese musical modernity. Development of the genre after 1949, especially in the past two decades, will also be discussed.

Lecture is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served.

This lecture is organized in conjunction with

Performance by Chamber Ensemble of the Shanghai Chinese Orchestra

Presented by University Musical Society, sponsored by the Confucius Institute at U-M.
Friday, February 10 | 8 pm
Rackham Auditorium
For tickets to the performance, please visit www.ums.org