Research paper on Music of the Han Nationality

Published under category: Custom Writing | 2015-02-05 21:33:06 UTC

Context: Culture and music

Who are the Han Chinese? What music is associated with Han Chinese? The Han nationality accounts for 19 percent of the total world population. They are, therefore, the largest ethnic group in China and the whole world. Most of the population of the Han nationality lives in China although there are some who live abroad in countries like Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, North America, Thailand and some European countries. The traditional music of the Han nationality is made up of various types of instrumental music (solo and ensemble), musical theaters, folk songs from different regions, and musical narratives. This discussion will focus on one representative type. This representative type will be music for a seven-stringed zither that is known as “qin.” Qin is one of the most venerable instruments in China. Characteristics Han People’s Music Although the Han people are relatively homogenous in their cultural outlook and values, and all of them speak a number of related Sinitic languages that are known collectively as Chinese, the various dialects such as Putonghua (Mandarin), Xiang, Wu, Min, Hakka, and Yue (Cantonese) are mutually unintelligible when spoken. However, the Chinese use a common written language and ideographic writing system that enables all the literate Chinese to communicate with each other. The existence of many regional styles of Chinese music reflects this diversity, too. The major types of vocal music of the Han, such as musical narratives and musical theatricals, have been profoundly influenced by the linguistic characteristics of each region. Chinese statistics reveal that there are about 317 regional dramatic genres in China today. Instrumental music is also regional in character; for example, the Jiangnan sizhu is predominantly a genre of the Jiangnan region, whereas die Fujian province in the south has its own instrumental ensemble style that is known as the Fujian Nangu, and the Guangdong province in the deep south has its own Guangdong Tmyue. Some of the same instruments, however, are used in most major instrumental ensembles, such as the dizi and the yangqin. Despite the regional differences, there are some common stylistic characteristics that are as a result of extensive borrowing of musical styles from region to region. When a particular region style such as the famous jingju becomes widely adopted throughout the country, a national style is formed. For a complete research paper on Chinese music -> order at writingspro ORDER PLAGIARISM FREE PAPER