The Evolution of National Vocal Music in the People’s Republic of China

Abstract

This thesis investigates the evolution of what is referred to as “Chinese national (minzu) singing” after the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949. The new political regime brought a series of social changes that had a major impact on musical development. The new PRC government first established music schools inspired by Western music conservatories. It soon became apparent, however, that a training system for Chinese minzu singing had to be instituted in these schools and developed as a particular singing genre for China, which at that time featured a spectrum of traditional techniques and regional practices. After a period of stagnation in the development of minzu voice teaching during the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), Voice Professor Jin Tielin at the China Conservatory of Music in the early 1980s began adapting European bel canto voice techniques to Chinese minzu voice and constructed the most successful Chinese minzu voice training system the country has seen. After more than thirty years of development, today it serves as one the main singing genres in China. This thesis traces the systemization and development of Chinese minzu singing since 1949. Here I argue that the development of this vocal music genre was influenced not only by Western classical singing but also by internal cultural, social changes and creative actions by singers themselves. In addition, starting from the 1980s, mass media has also played a significant role in the development of Chinese minzu singing. Media exposure launched the careers of many minzu singers, whose reputations reached phenomenal levels and accelerated the spread of this genre. At the same time however, media imposed problems since young minzu singers became inclined to sing only the songs they had learnt from established singers. Consequently, minzu singing in 1990s showed stagnant uniformity because the target of music critics. In recent years, in order to differentiate themselves from their predecessors and to avoid this banal uniformity, several young minzu singers have successfully refined their singing techniques and developed their own unique performing and musical styles, while still basing themselves in Chinese minzu music. My research has indicated that Chinese minzu singing will continue to remain under development and will be shaped and reshaped by the singers who constantly perform and challenge the limits of Chinese minzu singing can achieve.