Traditional Music of China's Ethnic Minorities

Author: Tian Liantao
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-05-01
Features: This book is the fruit of years of painstaking labor by numerous Chinese ethnomusicologists, born after extensive fieldwork, comprehensive collection, meticulous research, and repeated verification. It is divided into 56 chapters. In the introductory chapter, it comprehensively discusses the traditional music of China's ethnic minorities from various aspects. In the subsequent 55 chapters, it introduces the history, culture, and way of life of China's 55 ethnic minorities, and as far as possible, elaborates on the categories and basic musical characteristics of their traditional music. At the end, there are 5 appendices that introduce the traditional music of five smaller ethnic groups with uncertain tribal affiliations, which have been largely overlooked. This book is a large-scale monograph that comprehensively introduces and discusses the traditional music of 55 ethnic minorities in China (including folk music, religious music, and court music). Each ethnic group is treated as an independent chapter, focusing on the historical and cultural background of the group, as well as the origins, categories, morphological characteristics of traditional music, and the relationship between music and life. Each chapter includes multiple typical musical examples. The 5 appendices following the main text introduce the traditional music of ethnic groups with uncertain tribal affiliations, such as the Kemu, Pumi, Sherpa, Mang, and Kongge people. This book is the collective achievement of many Chinese ethnomusicologists, and the content of the entire book is based on in-depth field research.