Westernization and Music in China during and after the Qing Dynasty

Before the Revolution of 1911, China was a mighty empire dominated by various Chinese ethnic groups in different time periods.In particular, the Han people of the Tang 1 and Ming Dynasty and the Man people of the Qing Dynasty 2 were enthusiastic in establishing and maintaining contacts with foreigners while retaining a strong political influence over the complex culture in China.When explorers, missionaries, or ambassadors travelled to the Chinese empire, they often brought fine commodities made with foreign technologies and crafts to the emperor as a sign of good faith and respect.Initially, these arts and advanced Western technologies of the late eighteenth and nineteenth century was not recognized as important academics studies by the Chinese scholars; in fact, they were only perceived as delicate artifacts 3 .It was not until roughly the twentieth century that some Chinese scholars then realized the importance of military powers and skilled economic trades and productions that were fostered by Western scholars, and then began to promote and study Western technologies and sciences in China 4 .In other words, after the Revolution of 1911, Western arts and technologies gained recognitions and supports by the Chinese scholars, and became dominant elements facilitating the social changes in China. Introduction: Interactions before the Opium Wars between the East and the WestSurviving records indicate that musical interactions between China and Western nations began prior to the seventeenth century.Since Catholicism has played a major role in Western music history, early musical communications from Western nations to China often shared a similar agenda -to preach the word of the Lord to non-believers.However, when the Jesuit missionaries arrived in China before the seventeenth century, they encountered an empire with a culture that inhibited the dissemination of Catholicism: a culture supporting feudalism, multi-god faiths, and with a dominating sense of imperial pride unyielding to foreign cultures.As a result, Catholicism at the time failed to receive prominent support from the Chinese, and so was Western music.Even though the dissemination of Catholicism and Western music was unsuccessful, the Jesuit missionaries continued their religious journey to China throughout the following centuries, and one in particular, became first of the influential figures in leading cultural exchanges between the East and the West; his name was Matteo (Matthiou) Ricci 5 .Matteo Ricci arrived in Macao in 1582, where he stayed to learn the Chinese language and to wait for permission to enter the mainland China.Between

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