1st Edition
The Instrumental Music of Wutaishan's Buddhist Monasteries Social and Ritual Contexts
By Beth Szczepanski
Copyright 2012
200 Pages
by
Routledge
200 Pages
by
Routledge
200 Pages
by
Routledge
Also available as eBook on:
Beth Szczepanski examines how traditional and modern elements interact in the current practice, reception and functions of wind music, or shengguan, at monasteries in Wutaishan, one of China's four holy mountains of Buddhism. The book provides an invaluable insight into the political and economic history of Wutaishan and its music, as well as the instrumentation, notation, repertoires,... Read more
Contents: Preface; Part I The Music of Mañjusri's Mountain: A history of Wutaishan Buddhist music; Wutaishan and its Buddhist music today. Part II Music in Ritual at Wutaishan: Donor-sponsored ritual; Funeral observances; Calendrical observances. Part III Wutaishan's Shengguan Music: Shengguan instrumentation; Notation; Transmission of Shengguan practice; Shengguan repertoires. Part IV Buddhist Music in a Material World: Buddhist Shengguan in concerts, festivals and recordings; The politics of Buddhist music; The business of Buddhist music; Conclusion; Bibliography; Index.
Biography
Dr Beth Szczepanski, Lecturer, Ohio State University, USA
'Though primarily an ethnography of contemporary shengguan practice, the book traces this music back to its legendary origins in the Tang dynasty (618-907 CE) and follows it through more recent travails in the last two centuries.' Journal of Folklore Research
