Ren, Meng
(2012)
WHY ARE THE FLOWERS SO “RED”: SCHOLARSHIP AND POLICY CHANGES ON HUA’ER (FLOWER SONGS) IN NORTHWEST CHINA.
Master's Thesis, University of Pittsburgh.
(Unpublished)
Abstract
Hua’er, literally “flowers,” is a folk-song tradition in Northwest China named after the custom of comparing female beauty to flowers in the lyrics with most songs written about love and sex. Shared by people of over nine different ethnic groups in the northwestern region—Han, Hui, Tibetan, Bao’an, Dongxiang, Sala, Tu, Yugu, and Mongol—hua’er is recognized by the people that practice or research on it as an important artistic medium of cultural expression and communication. The ups and downs of hua’er, influenced by various socio-political climates since the establishment of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in 1949, are directly embodied in the development of the hua’er scholarship in the Northwest of China.
This thesis highlights the development of hua’er studies and the changing cultural policies on the hua’er tradition in the PRC since 1949; more specifically, it investigates how the scholarship on hua’er is influenced by social changes and political upheavals in China, and why a musical tradition (which was once forbidden in the 1960s and 1970s) has become a national cultural heritage. The paper focuses on how the State (the Chinese government) acts on behalf of its own interests by instituting policies that serve the government’s sovereignty and well-being.
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Details
| Item Type: |
University of Pittsburgh ETD
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| Status: |
Unpublished |
| Creators/Authors: |
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| ETD Committee: |
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| Date: |
30 May 2012 |
| Date Type: |
Publication |
| Defense Date: |
30 March 2012 |
| Approval Date: |
30 May 2012 |
| Submission Date: |
16 April 2012 |
| Access Restriction: |
5 year -- Restrict access to University of Pittsburgh for a period of 5 years. |
| Number of Pages: |
102 |
| Institution: |
University of Pittsburgh |
| Schools and Programs: |
Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences > Music |
| Degree: |
MA - Master of Arts |
| Thesis Type: |
Master's Thesis |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: |
hua'er, hua'er studies, policy changes, the State, Northwest China |
| Date Deposited: |
30 May 2012 20:17 |
| Last Modified: |
30 May 2017 05:15 |
| URI: |
http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/11835 |
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