Rachel Harris
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780197262979
- eISBN:
- 9780191734717
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197262979.001.0001
- Subject:
- Music, Ethnomusicology, World Music
The Sibe are an immigrant group, Qing dynasty bannermen who made a three-year ‘long march’ from Manchuria in the 18th century to serve as a border garrison in the newly conquered Western Regions of ...
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The Sibe are an immigrant group, Qing dynasty bannermen who made a three-year ‘long march’ from Manchuria in the 18th century to serve as a border garrison in the newly conquered Western Regions of the Qing Chinese empire. They preserved their military structure and a discrete identity in the multi-ethnic region of Xinjiang and are now officially recognised as an ethnic minority nationality under the People's Republic. They are known in China today as the last speakers of the Manchu language, and as preservers of their ancient traditions. This study of their music culture reveals not fossilised tradition but a shifting web of borrowings, assimilation, and retention. It is an informed account of culture and performance in the Chinese region of Xinjiang. The book approaches musical and ritual life in this ethnically diverse region through an understanding of society in terms of negotiation, practice, and performance. It explores the relations between shamanism, song, and notions of externality and danger, bringing recent theories on shamanism to bear on questions of the structural and affective powers of ritual music. The book focuses on the historical demands of identity, boundary maintenance, and creation among the Sibe, and on the role of musical performance in maintaining popular memory, and it discusses the impact of state policies of the Chinese Communist Party on village musical and ritual life. It draws on a wide range of Chinese, Sibe-Manchu language sources, and oral sources including musical recordings and interviews gathered in the course of fieldwork in Xinjiang.Less
The Sibe are an immigrant group, Qing dynasty bannermen who made a three-year ‘long march’ from Manchuria in the 18th century to serve as a border garrison in the newly conquered Western Regions of the Qing Chinese empire. They preserved their military structure and a discrete identity in the multi-ethnic region of Xinjiang and are now officially recognised as an ethnic minority nationality under the People's Republic. They are known in China today as the last speakers of the Manchu language, and as preservers of their ancient traditions. This study of their music culture reveals not fossilised tradition but a shifting web of borrowings, assimilation, and retention. It is an informed account of culture and performance in the Chinese region of Xinjiang. The book approaches musical and ritual life in this ethnically diverse region through an understanding of society in terms of negotiation, practice, and performance. It explores the relations between shamanism, song, and notions of externality and danger, bringing recent theories on shamanism to bear on questions of the structural and affective powers of ritual music. The book focuses on the historical demands of identity, boundary maintenance, and creation among the Sibe, and on the role of musical performance in maintaining popular memory, and it discusses the impact of state policies of the Chinese Communist Party on village musical and ritual life. It draws on a wide range of Chinese, Sibe-Manchu language sources, and oral sources including musical recordings and interviews gathered in the course of fieldwork in Xinjiang.
Evelyn S. Rawski
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520231269
- eISBN:
- 9780520927797
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520231269.003.0008
- Subject:
- History, Asian History
This chapter provides an account of the books written and published in non-Han languages in China during the Qing Dynasty. It describes the materials published in non-Chinese languages, and their ...
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This chapter provides an account of the books written and published in non-Han languages in China during the Qing Dynasty. It describes the materials published in non-Chinese languages, and their authors, publishers, and readers. The chapter argues that the publication of literatures in Manchu, Mongolian, and Tibetan languages was stimulated in both direct and indirect ways by Qing rule.Less
This chapter provides an account of the books written and published in non-Han languages in China during the Qing Dynasty. It describes the materials published in non-Chinese languages, and their authors, publishers, and readers. The chapter argues that the publication of literatures in Manchu, Mongolian, and Tibetan languages was stimulated in both direct and indirect ways by Qing rule.
