The Narrative Arts of Tianjin: Between Music and Language

Nonfiction, Entertainment, Music, Theory & Criticism, Ethnomusicology
Cover of the book The Narrative Arts of Tianjin: Between Music and Language by Francesca R. Sborgi Lawson, Taylor and Francis
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Francesca R. Sborgi Lawson ISBN: 9781351885317
Publisher: Taylor and Francis Publication: December 5, 2016
Imprint: Routledge Language: English
Author: Francesca R. Sborgi Lawson
ISBN: 9781351885317
Publisher: Taylor and Francis
Publication: December 5, 2016
Imprint: Routledge
Language: English

In studying one of the world's oldest and most enduring musical cultures, academics have consistently missed one of the richest forms of Chinese cultural expression: performed narratives. Francesca R. Sborgi Lawson explores the relationships between language and music in the performance of four narrative genres in the city of Tianjin, China, based upon original field research conducted in the People's Republic of China in the mid 1980s and in 1991. The author emphasizes the unique nature of oral performances in China: these genres are both musical and literary and yet are considered to be neither music nor literature. Lawson employs extensive examples of the complex interaction of music and language in each genre, all the while relating those analyses to broader cultural issues and to patterns of social relationships. The narrative arts known as shuochang (speaking-singing) are depicted as genres that constitute a unique communicative discourse”the communication of stories in song. The genres subsumed under the native conception of shuochang include Tianjin Popular Tunes, Beijing Drumsong, Clappertales and Comic Routines. The maximum utilization of shuo (speaking) and chang (singing) in all their varying manifestations constitutes the vitality of the traditional narrative arts in the city of Tianjin”the center for these arts in North China. The variety of narrative forms provides entertainment for audiences representing all social strata of Chinese society. The author argues that Chinese narrative traditions represent a foundation from which certain Chinese literary and operatic traditions have borrowed, such as how the novels from the Ming-Qing period draw on the performed narrative arts both in style and in content. Hence, an understanding of performed narratives is not only useful to scholars in Chinese literature and music, but also to scholars interested in broadening their understanding of China generally.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

In studying one of the world's oldest and most enduring musical cultures, academics have consistently missed one of the richest forms of Chinese cultural expression: performed narratives. Francesca R. Sborgi Lawson explores the relationships between language and music in the performance of four narrative genres in the city of Tianjin, China, based upon original field research conducted in the People's Republic of China in the mid 1980s and in 1991. The author emphasizes the unique nature of oral performances in China: these genres are both musical and literary and yet are considered to be neither music nor literature. Lawson employs extensive examples of the complex interaction of music and language in each genre, all the while relating those analyses to broader cultural issues and to patterns of social relationships. The narrative arts known as shuochang (speaking-singing) are depicted as genres that constitute a unique communicative discourse”the communication of stories in song. The genres subsumed under the native conception of shuochang include Tianjin Popular Tunes, Beijing Drumsong, Clappertales and Comic Routines. The maximum utilization of shuo (speaking) and chang (singing) in all their varying manifestations constitutes the vitality of the traditional narrative arts in the city of Tianjin”the center for these arts in North China. The variety of narrative forms provides entertainment for audiences representing all social strata of Chinese society. The author argues that Chinese narrative traditions represent a foundation from which certain Chinese literary and operatic traditions have borrowed, such as how the novels from the Ming-Qing period draw on the performed narrative arts both in style and in content. Hence, an understanding of performed narratives is not only useful to scholars in Chinese literature and music, but also to scholars interested in broadening their understanding of China generally.

More books from Taylor and Francis

Cover of the book Legacies of the Asia-Pacific War by Francesca R. Sborgi Lawson
Cover of the book English Pris&Borstal Ils 205 by Francesca R. Sborgi Lawson
Cover of the book The Works of Elizabeth Gaskell, Part II vol 4 by Francesca R. Sborgi Lawson
Cover of the book Shakespeare and Asia by Francesca R. Sborgi Lawson
Cover of the book Language, Labour and Migration by Francesca R. Sborgi Lawson
Cover of the book Dividing and Uniting Germany by Francesca R. Sborgi Lawson
Cover of the book American Penology by Francesca R. Sborgi Lawson
Cover of the book An Aging India by Francesca R. Sborgi Lawson
Cover of the book Beyond Measure by Francesca R. Sborgi Lawson
Cover of the book The Korean War at Sixty by Francesca R. Sborgi Lawson
Cover of the book The Hypocritical Imagination by Francesca R. Sborgi Lawson
Cover of the book Play-Based Interventions for Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders by Francesca R. Sborgi Lawson
Cover of the book InterMedia in South Asia by Francesca R. Sborgi Lawson
Cover of the book Robert Browning by Francesca R. Sborgi Lawson
Cover of the book Be Bad First by Francesca R. Sborgi Lawson
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy