2007 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
The actual state of amateur group activities and their consumption of entertainments in Shanghai during Republic era : focusing on the generation of "guoyue"(national music)
| Project/Area Number |
18520082
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Aesthetics/Art history
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| Research Institution | Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music |
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Principal Investigator |
ODAKA Akiko Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, Music Department, Lecturer (00397019)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2006 – 2007
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| Keywords | Chinese music / Republic of China / Shanghai / Eastern history / art studies / modernization / city |
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| Research Abstract |
In my research, I examined the real state of entertainment activities practiced by many amateur groups in Shanghai during the Republic era. Shanghai studies including arts have been very active from the 1990's. However, they scarcely reference amateur's activities in spite of their historical importance. Shanghai, as a stronghold of social, economical, political and educational activities, had diverse private societies. They established variable hobby groups since they thought much of communication among members. At the same time, participating in hobby groups was thought to be a fruitful way to spend their leisure time which high economic development yielded at that time. They earnestly practiced Peking opera, bamboo ensemble, Western music and so on. Aside from their own enjoyment, their entertainments also had other functions: one was performing to collect donations. Another function was a kind of self-expression as a member of Shanghai society: they aggressively took part in variou
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s official performing parties such as new-year ceremonies and commemorating the victory of republic party. The third function was an additional entertainment for popular enlightenments: many amateur activists of social education not only delivered lectures to the general public, but also performed music and dramas by themselves to attract people.
The amateur groups helped each other through the entertainments to pursue their aims of activities. We can observe that entertainments promoted people to share a sense of social solidarity, at the same time, people were proud of their performing abilities as invisible properties as Bourdieu pointed out in his Distinction : A Social Critique of the Judgment of Taste. Actually, their skills sometimes surpassed and affected the professionals.
In terms of construction of "national music", the existence of amateurs was essential. This notion appeared as a kind of expression of nationalism raised by the new cultural activity and the May forth activities. We cannot deny such an element as a motive of national music's creation. But Shanghai, a large emigrant city, was the most nurturing environment for it. Many amateurs bravely tried to blend different regions music considering "what is our national music?" So, at the first step, the national music merely meant that general term of their familiar music genres surrounded them. Ultimately, it turned into a new, representative music style created after several attempts. Less
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Research Products
(9 results)
