This thesis investigates the development of Buddhist songs, a significant part of the project to reform Chinese Buddhism in the early twentieth century. The study of Chinese Buddhist music did not come to the attention of the academic world until recent decades, and the early development of Buddhist songs in particular was rarely taken seriously as an academic topic before this investigation. Influenced by reform ideals, Buddhist songs were reconceived in the Western form and represented the new and progressive image of the newly reformed Buddhism. This thesis presents a historical investigation and a sociopolitical interpretation of the musical form of these songs. With the former, I describe the early development of the Buddhist genre in question, discussing its musical and lyrical styles and their Western and Japanese influences. With the latter, I engage in a reading of the sociopolitical meanings of the Buddhist musical form developed during a time of dramatic change in China. Topics of the individual chapters include (1) the general development of Chinese Buddhist songs in Shanghai in the beginning of the twentieth century; (2) the Buddhist-themed school songs of Li Shutong (李叔同) as the forerunners of the Buddhist genre; (3) Western and Japanese influences on Buddhist songs; and (4) Buddhist songs and the contemporary sociopolitical movements of the 1930s and 40s.
目次
ABSTRACT i DICTATION ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT iii CONTENTS iv LIST OF FIGURES vi INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER 1. CHINESE BUDDHIST MUSIC IN THE EARLY TWENTIETH CENTURY 5 A Historical Background 5 Educational Reform, Chinese School Songs, and Chinese Buddhist Songs 8 The Development of Buddhist Music in the Early Twentieth Century Shanghai 10 Conclusion 22 CHAPTER 2. LI SHUTONG’S BUDDHIST-THEMED SCHOOL SONGS AND THEIR IDEALS 24 Introduction 24 Li Shutong’s School Songs and the Japanese Influence 25 Influences from Chinese Literary Tradition and Chinese Buddhism 28 Case Study of “Lamentation in Autumn” 34 Case Study of “Seeing off a Friend” 36 Conclusion 37 CHAPTER 3. BUDDHIST SONGS AND THEIR WESTERN/JAPANESE INFLUENCES 39 Introduction 39 School Song, Buddhist Song, and the Compositional Practice 40 A Case Study of two Songs by Li Shutong 42 Conclusion 49 CHAPTER 4. THE NEW LIFE MOVEMENT AND BUDDHIST SONGS IN THE 1930s AND 1940s 51 Introduction 51 A Historical Background 51 Buddhist Schools and Buddhist Songs 54 Buddhist Songs and the Sociopolitical Movements 56 Conclusion 59 CONCLUSION 61 BIBLIGRAPHY 64 LIST of FIGURES Figure 1.1: Songs of Serenity 15 Figure 1.2: Sounds of Wonder 16 Figure 1.3: “Song of Peaceful Retirement,” (first of two pages) 17 Figure 1.4: Sounds of Ocean Waves 19 Figure 3.1: “Dreaming of Home and Mother” (Ordway 2001, 237) 48 Figure 3.2: “Ryoshu” by Indo Kyukei ([1907] 1908, 33–34) 48 Figure 3.3: Li Shu’tong’s “Seeing off a Friend” 49 Figure 4.1: Student choir in rehearsal, Jue Shi School in Shantou, Guangdong 55 Figure 4.2: Songs on New Life 58
