Searching for Modernity and Self- Consciousness: A Study of China’s Serious Music in 1980s

[[abstract]]自從中國進行音樂改革以來，中國的嚴肅音樂至少產生了三波不同的音樂風格，第一波是20世紀初期到50年代中後期的風格，以黃自、馬思聰、丁善德、賀綠汀為代表；第二波是文革時期的「高快硬響風格」；第三波是延續至當代音樂創作的80年代新潮風格。 本論文的目標是在社會與文化脈絡中描述中國80年代的嚴肅音樂的現狀，以思考第三波音樂風潮成型之原因。首先，文革結束後中國對內改革國家經濟和邁向現代化，對外則國門大開，接收新的西方知識與觀念。我從「改革開放」中舉出「追尋現代性和自我意識」作為貫串全文的核心概念，將音樂界區分為音樂理論者(包括樂評)與作曲家兩個團體，以這對概念分析他們在音樂界的活動。譬如，音樂評論者在什麼時候重新發現主體性；急於邁入現代化國家之林的焦慮感如何成為現代音樂再次進入中國的契機。 第二步是分析當音樂評論者與作曲家都接受到了「追尋現代性與自我意識覺醒」的作用後，又轉而在音樂界的評論與作曲方面發生了什麼效應。當主體性的概念在作曲家的身上作用越深，他們發展了什麼相應的措施保護作品與作曲家的「自我」以避免政治迫害；當現代音樂逐漸在中國流傳後，作曲家如何結合西方的現代音樂與中國的音樂情境，並且在什麼因素的推波助瀾下新潮音樂成了中國嚴肅音樂的新一代經典，而現代音樂風格則漸漸成為中國當代音樂的主流；音樂評論者發現主體性後他們如何看待中國既有的文藝評論並對之做出新的評價，以及音樂評論者和作曲家雙方對音樂的理解之差異何在。 上述分析必須參照中國80年代的社會與文化脈動以求更清楚觀測嚴肅音樂界的各項變化，故本論文另製作了年表以供參考。在與年表相互配合之下將會看到，文藝各界與政治界是「相互影響」並「相互制衡」的關係。主體性的問題不只發生在音樂界，也以不同的方式與面貌出現並帶給文學界、美術界不同程度的衝擊，主體性的討論卻必須歸功於一個特定的政治事件與哲學界的聯合討論，但卻在80年代反過來吞噬了政治界而導致1989年的64學運。這股急於邁入現代國家之列的焦慮感之所以成為「全體中國人的共感」同樣來源於一個直接的政策與政治口號，統治當局卻沒預料到這個急於邁入現代化國家之林的願望也成為諸文藝界引入新觀念、新理論的動力，進而成為批判統治者與各種意識形態的武器。 最後，我借布迪厄「場域」概念說明音樂理論/批評工作者與作曲家都在嚴肅音樂場域的範圍內進行他們的創作與批評活動，並且在活動的過程中不間斷地型塑此場域。接著，再把此時期的嚴肅音樂創作擴大為當代世界音樂場域內的參與者，即分析當中國的音樂場域被放置在一個更大的「現當代世界音樂場域」中，作曲家與音樂批評者如何建立中國80年代嚴肅音樂作品在世界音樂範疇中的地位與價值。[[abstract]]After China carried on a revolution in music, there has been three different style of serious music. The first one occurred from early 20th century to late 1950s, we can use Huang Zi (黃自)、Ma Si-Cong (馬思聰)、Ding Seng-De (丁善德) and He Lu-Ting (賀綠汀)’s works as representatives. The Second style is the official music style of the Cultural Revolution Period which can be concluded in 4 words as “high, fast hard and loud”. The third one is the New Wave style (or xin cao/新潮) which happened during the 1980s and has continued to nowadays’ China’s contemporary serious music. The goal of this thesis is to depict the status quo of the Chinese serious music in 1980s, so we can reflect on the reason why the third style was produced and maintain for 30 years (1980-2010). Firstly, after the Cultural Revolution, China carried on an economical reform inside the country and “opened the gate” for the outside (對內經濟改革，對外開放) policy ,so to accepted western countries and also some new knowledge , ideas and theories. Therefore, I cite two ideas──Searching for Modernity and Self-Consciousness──from this “reform and open progress” to run through my whole thesis, dividing the serious music world of China into two different groups of people : composers and critics, so to analyze their activities in the musical world by using those two ideas. For example, when did the critics discover their subjectivities; and how did this urgent desire for becoming a modern country turns out to be an anxiety, which aroused by the illusion of modernity become a juncture for modern music to enter China again? Secondly, I will analyze this one situation: when composers and critics both were affected by this “searching for modernity and self-consciousness”, what would they do when composing or criticizing a new music work? When composers realized how important their subjectivies are, what did they do to protect their works and their “self-ness” so to avoid capital punishment from the governments and authorities? When modern music circulated in China, how did they combine western modern music with a Chinese context, and in what reason this combination result (as we call “new wave style works in the 80s”) became the new canon of China’s serious music, and this unique style has gone mainstream since the 90s. After their subjectivies were discovered by critics, how did they look upon some existing art theories and make a new appraisal of it. And what is the differences between critics and composers in understanding “music”? Social and cultural context should be consulted when trying to analyze those questions above, therefore I’ve manufactured a chronological table of China’s 1980s. It is interesting to see that there are some strong influences and checks and balances between art, culture and politics. Not only subjectivity happened in music world, it also occurred in fine art and literature world in different ways, which produced some varying degrees of results. Thanks to a specific political event and a joint discussion held by philosophy and politic, both happened during the early 1980s, subjectivity was introduced to China’s artists and intelligentsias. But once self-consciousness was discovered by artists and intelligentsias, it cannot be stopped and instead it engulfed and overrode political power, and led to the Tiananmen Incident of 1989 (六四學運)。The reason why this urgent desire of becoming a modern country has become a sensus communis of all Chinese also came from a direct policy and a political slogan. What the authorities didn’t realize is that the desire is also a dynamic when introducing new ideas and theories into China, and those theories and ideas turned out to be so powerful and formidable, that can be used to criticize the government and the ruler, and almost destroy some very important and specific official ideologies. Finally, I will borrow Pierre Bourdieu’s “field” idea to explain that all composers and critics’ movements (including composing or criticizing a music work) took places in a serious music world (field), and the field is being shaped from composers and critics’ activities in the progress. After that, I will enlarge China’s serious music field in 1980s as an agent who takes part in global contemporary music field, so we’ll see when China’s serious music field was placed to a bigger “global modern and contemporary music field”, how did the critics and composers built a status and value for China’s serious music in this global contemporary music category.[[note]]碩