중국음악사 시대 구분 시론: 음악 양식의 변천을 중심으로

Abstract

After completing “New History of Korean Music” in 2000, the my research has been preceding on the studying of the mutual interchange of music within many countries in Asia. Thereupon choosing a geographically close nation, the outline on the history of Chinese music came to mind. While reading it, a quiet interesting fact was discovered. What it was that within the history of Chinese music, the time before Xinhai Revolution of 1911 was all classified as the Ancient Times. Generally the existence of the Ancient Times, the medieval times, the modern age and contemporary are all expected but only the Ancient Times was there. A book dealing with the entire era before the fall of Ch’ing Dynasty in 1911 is literally named as “History of Chinese Music of the Ancient Times”. 1911 is mostly treated in West as the contemporary that has passed through the Middle Age and the Modern Age. But in the understanding of Chinese, this is seen as “the Ancient Times.” Chinese scholars defining 1911 in this way was quite intriguing. As will be discussed the next time, not only native Chinese scholars that are educated under the socialist regime have, but also the scholars of Taiwan have been writing within the same context. Yang in lieu, Yang En, lieu Jai cheng, Suk xiung hwa, Jin xe hai, Xio Jiap phong are all dividing each eras alike. As the above, the classification of the eras on the most outlines of the history of Chinese music is very much depended on the shift of dynasty. Some book does divide the Ancient Times using such terminology as primary ancient, middle ancient, modern ancient but nevertheless it still relies on the changes of the history of dynasty. The change of music does get influenced by the shift of dynasty but does not mean it coincides with it. So when writing “New history of Korean Music”, it took much hesitation and revaluation but still less satisfaction to come to a decision of classifying each period on the criterion of the changes of music styles instead of the changes of dynasty. This present study is about raising such an issue and attempting the classification of Chinese Music according to the shift of music style. In this dividing, particulars should be attended especially. First, when possible, the shift of music style should be the focal point instead of the shift of dynasty. Secondly, to find out how the music style has changed, what is needed to be found is the time when the important Chinese music style has appeared and make it as the source of the classification of eras. Thirdly, make a notice on the growing numbers of respondent of the music. In other words, court music or festival music was only taken a place within the Royal Court or at a banquet where common people would not have been able to participate in. But since then, literati music must have been expanding its respondents and a play must have become the genre where not only people within the Court but the common were given the opportunity to take a part in. Fourth, as mentioned before, in a vast open land, countless things happen with continuity or discontinuity or sometimes happen even simultaneously. Within these events, pick a certain one that is a worth to look into and enumerate them and arrange a flow of music style with it. As this debate is the attempt that even Chinese have not tried, setting forth several people’s views would therefore be a good way to go. Hopefully this writing would be a help to understand the history of Chinese music in new perspective.