Negotiating Decades of Change in America: The Houston Chinese Traditional Music Group
Yuxin Mei
- Resource Type:
- Thesis/Dissertation (Online)
- Publication:
- [Denton, Texas] : University of North Texas, 2017
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- Summary:
- Abstract: For over two hundred years, Chinese immigrants have brought ancient customs and musical traditions to their new homes in America. As in many immigrant communities, a new heritage that embodies and exhibits both the quintessential features of American culture and genuine Chinese heritage have come together to form new expressive cultures that are uniquely "Chinese American." As the youngest of the major American Chinese immigrant centers, the city of Houston, Texas provides an exemplary example of a distinct cultural cohesion that, in part, resulted from significant cultural and political upheavals in the latter half of the twentieth century. During this era of political unrest, many Chinese people's attitudes towards their traditional culture changed drastically. The Houston Chinese Traditional Music Group (HCTMG) is a Chinese orchestra comprised of amateur and professional musicians ranging in age from 13 to over 60 years old. Performing regularly for the Chinese immigrant population in Houston, HCTMG's take on traditional Chinese music deviates greatly from that of older, more established immigrant communities on the East and West Coasts and in some parts of mainland China. Via participant observation, interviews, and analysis of source materials, this paper examines how changing political and economic climates in China during the 1960s to the 1990s—when the majority of HCTMG musicians lived in China –are reflected in the musical decisions of HCTMG and the greater Houston Chinese immigrant community at large.
- Table of Contents:
- Introduction. Literature review ; Three waves of Chinese immigration to the United States impact musical expression ; The Houston Chinese Traditional Music Group (HCTMG) and statement of research problem
- The HCTMG comes into its own. The erhu group ; Zhang Xin taking the position of art director
- Going to the field. The first observation ; The second observation ; Going onto the stage with the HCTMG
- Negotiating with sound. Two layers of listening ; The sound niche
- Conclusion. The collective memories: Zhang ; The dream and the reality ; The past and the present: there and here.
- Author/Creator:
- Mei, Yuxin , author
- Contributors:
- Ragland, Cathy , major professor
- Languages:
- English
- Language Notes:
- Item content: English
- Main Work:
- Related Series:
- Genres:
- Dissertation Notes:
- M.A. ― University of North Texas, 2017.
- General Notes:
- Discipline: Ethnomusicology.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 91-93).
Description based on: Online resource; title from PDF title page (UNT Digital Library, viewed April 6, 2020). - Physical Description:
- 1 online resource (vi, 93 pages) : illustrations.
- Digital Characteristics:
- text file
- Call Numbers:
- Electronic Thesis
- OCLC Numbers:
- 1269310249