About
Chapter 7 introduces the music and associated cultural activities from East Asia, including the countries of China, Mongolia, Korea, and Japan, as well as the autonomous region of Tibet. Four different sites (Guqin, the “silk and bamboo” ensemble, Beijing Opera, and Revolutionary Opera) from China are offered, which help to illustrate the philosophical and political influences on music from the country. Other theatrical traditions, including Korean P'ansori and Japanese Kabuki, are introduced, along with prominent traditional music from throughout the region, such as Mongolian throat (overtone) singing, Japanese taiko (drums), Zen Buddhist shakuhachi performance, and Tibetan Buddhist ritual music. Classical sankyoku, a small chamber music from Japan, introduces not only the shakuhachi, but also the koto and shamisen, two important instruments from East Asia. An overview of popular music from the region is also offered in an Explore More feature box.
Key Terms
- A-ak
- Bayin
- Biwa
- Bon
- Bugaku
- Bunraku
- Chobo
- Chou
- Ch'un Hyang Ka
- Cultural Revolution
- Dan
- Diao
- Dizi
- Dung-chen
- Dung-kar
- Erhu
- Gagaku
- Geisha
- Harhiraa
- Hichiriki
- Jing
- Jinghu
- Jingju (also Jingxi)
- Kabuki
- Kang dung
- Kayagum
- Key
- Khoomei
- Kisaeng
- Komuso
- Koto
- Ko-tuzumi
- Morin Huur
- Nga bom
- Node
- Noh
- Nokan
- Nongak
- Overtone
- P'ansori
- Pipa
- Puk
- Qin (also Guqin)
- Ryuteki
- Samul-nori
- Sanjo
- Sankyoku
- Shakuhachi
- Sheng
- Sho
- Sizhu
- Suona
- Taiko
- Urtyn Duu
- Yang ban xi
- Yang qin
- Yue qin
- Zheng
Flashcards
Practice Quiz
Audio Examples
7.1
China: The guqin (seven-string zither). “Yangguang sandie” performed and recorded by Bell Yung, Pittsburgh, PA, 2002. Used by permission.
7.2
China: Sizhu “Silk and bamboo” ensemble. “Huan Le Ge,” recorded in Shanghai, People’s Republic of China, 2007, by Terry E. Miller.
7.3
China: Beijing opera (jingju). “Tao Ma Tan" (role), aria from Mu Ko Chai (opera), from the recording, The Chinese Opera: Arias from Eight Peking Opera, Lyrichord LLST 7212, n.d. Used by permission, Multicultural Media Inc.
7.4
China: Chuida “Wind and percussion” ensemble. "China: Taizi you" by The Peartree Orchard (Liyuan Xi) opera troupe of Quanzhou from the recording entitled Musical Sources, UNES08100, courtesy of Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. (p) (c) 1971. Used by permission.
7.5
Mongolia: Long song with “throat” singing. "Urtïn duu: Sűnder Mountain" from Mongolia: Living Music of the Steppes/ Instrumental Music and Song of Mongolia,
7.6
South Korea: P’ansori. “P’ansori, Ch’un-Hyang-Ka, Song of Spring Fragrance” sung by Mme. Pak Chowol with drum accompaniment by Han Ilsup, recorded by John Levy, from Korean Social and Folk Music, Lyrichord LLST 7211, n.d. Used by permission, Multicultural Media Inc.
7.7
Japan: Gagaku. “Entenraku,” performed by the Kyoto Imperial Court Music Orchestra; from Gagaku: The Imperial Court Music of Japan, Lyrichord LYRCD 7126, n.d. Used by permission, Multicultural Media Inc.
7.8
Japan: Kabuki theater. Excerpt from "Dozyozi [Dojoji]” performed by the Kyoto Kabuki Orchestra, recorded by Jacob Feuerring, from Japanese Kabuki Nagauta Music,
7.9
Tibet: Buddhist ritual. “Genyen gi topa (In praise of Ge-nyen),” performed by the monks of Thimphu and nuns of Punakha, recorded by John Levy, from Tibetan Buddhist Rites from the Monasteries of Bhutan, Volume 1: Rituals of the Drukpa Order, Lyrichord LYRCD 7255, n.d. Used by permission, Multicultural Media Inc.
Video Links
For more world music videos, visit the World Music YouTube Channel .
- Kabuki – Noh Theater
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoK3Pa9BK-U
- Japanese Ceremonial Court Music
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SKZwsAdpco
- Tibetan Monks Praying
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=STTLXH46iZ8
- Chinese Peking Opera
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0qEEv43GDc
- Mongolian Throat-Singing
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOsGvs1FZDs
- Traditional Pipa Solo by Liu Fang
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZmAgFyVo48
- Tao Chu-Shen – Guqin
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvhKTFzQG8Y
Audio Book
Coming soon...
On Your Own Time
Links and further resources
- Book:
- Yung, Bell. The Last of China's Literati: The Music, Poetry and Life of Tsar Teh-yun. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 2008.
- http://www.hkupress.org/Common/Reader/
- Website:
- North American Guqin Association
- http://www.guqin.org/
- Website:
- Chinese Guqin Playing and Notation
- http://www.peiyouqin.com/
- Book:
- Thrasher, Alan. Chinese Musical Instruments. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001.
- http://www.oup.com/us/catalog/general/subject/Music
- Book:
- Joshua Goldstein. Drama Kings Players and Publics in the Re-creation of Peking Opera, 1870–1937. Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press, 2007.
- https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520247529/drama-kings
- DVD:
- Farewell My Concubine. Dir. Kaige, Chen. Miramax, 1993.
- http://www.illuminatedlantern.com/cinema/review/archives/farewell_my_concubine.php
- Book:
- Lu, Xing. Rhetoric of the Chinese Cultural Revolution: The Impact on Chinese Thought, Culture, and Communication. Columbia, SC: The University of South Carolina Press, 2004.
- https://www.sc.edu/uscpress/books/2004/3543.html
- Popular Artists from China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan:
- Jackie Chan
- Teresa Teng
- Faye Wong
- Anita Mui
- Cui Jian
- Book:
- Levin, Theodore. Where Rivers and Mountains Sing: Sound, Music, and Nomadism is Tuva and Beyond. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2007.
- https://iupress.org/9780253044716/where-rivers-and-mountains-sing/
- Audio:
- Tuva: Voices from the Center of Asia. Smithsonian-Folkways, SF40017, 1990.
- http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/tuva-voices-from-center-asia/id95703572
- DVD:
- Genghis Blues. Dir. Belic, Roko. Wadi Rum Productions, 1999.
- http://www.genghisblues.com/
- Website:
- Mongolian Music Blog
- http://mongolianmusic.blogspot.com/
- Popular Artists from Mongolia:
- Kongar-ol Ondar
- Nominjin
- DVD:
- Chunhyang. Dir. Im Kwon-taek. CJ Entertainment, 2000.
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chunhyang_(2000_film)
- Book:
- Park, Chan E. Voices from the Straw Mat: Toward an Ethnography of Korean Story Singing. Honolulu, HI: University of Hawaii Press, 2003.
- https://uhpress.hawaii.edu/title/voices-from-the-straw-mat-toward-an-ethnography-of-korean-story-singing/
- Audio:
- Korean Folk Music — Four Thousand Years. (Digitally Remastered.) Essential Media, 2009.
- http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/korean-folk-music-four-thousand/id292787678
- Popular Music Artists from Korea:
- Seo Taiji
- Shinwa
- SHINee
- Rain
- Girls' Generation
- Website:
- The International Shakuhachi Society
- http://komuso.com/top/index.pl
- Book:
- Blasdel, Christopher.The Shakuhachi: A Manual for Learning. Tokyo: Printed Matter Press (Reprint), 2008.
- http://www.shakuhachi.com/PG-Blasdel.html
- Website:
- Shochiku Kabuki Official Website
- http://www.kabuki-bito.jp/eng/top.html
- Book:
- Brandon, James R., and Samuel L. Leiter. Masterpieces of Kabuki: Eighteen Plays on Stage. Honolulu, HI: University of Hawaii Press, 2004.
- https://uhpress.hawaii.edu/title/masterpieces-of-kabuki-eighteen-plays-on-stage/
- Book:
- Foreman, Kelly M. The Gei of Geisha: Music, Identity and Meaning. London: Ashgate, 2008.
- https://www.routledge.com/The-Gei-of-Geisha-Music-Identity-and-Meaning/Foreman/p/book/9781138251816
- Website:
- San Francisco Taiko Dojo
- http://www.sftaiko.com/
- Website:
- Kodo (Taiko Ensemble) Official Website
- http://www.kodo.or.jp/news/index_en.html
- Popular Artists from Japan:
- Mr. Children
- Hikaru Utada
- Namie Amuro
- Gackt
- Ayumi Hamasaki (Ayu)
- Audio:
- Tibet Buddhist Rites from the Monasteries of Bhutan. (Four Volume Series) Lyrichord, LYR 7255, 1993.
- http://lyrichord.com/tibetanbuddhistritesfromthemonasteriesofbhutanvolumeiritualsofthedrukpaorderfromthimpuandpunakhavariousartists.aspx
- Book:
- Jansen, Eva Rudy. Singing Bowls, A Practical Handbook of Instruction and Use. Havelte, Holland: Binkey Kok Publications, 1992.
- Website:
- Gyuto Monasteries and Centers
- http://www.gyuto.org/