Behind the scenes of music education in China: a survey of historical memory

TitleBehind the scenes of music education in China: a survey of historical memory
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2013
AuthorsWai-Chung Ho
JournalDiscourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education
Volume34
Issue5
Pagination673-688
ISSN01596306
Abstract

This study explores how the government of mainland China values Chinese nationalism as a component of its historical memory and traces its relationship with music education from the twentieth century to the global age within broader social contexts. In a rapidly commercializing and modernizing China, nationalism remains the main driving force shaping Chinese music education, while historical nationalism and familial relationship have been reinforced by the current regime's educational socialization. Love for country and family and an emphasis on nationalism and Confucianism are the pragmatic tools employed by Chinese authorities to maintain their primacy in and power over education, particularly song teaching.

DOI10.1080/01596306.2013.728363
Short TitleBehind the scenes of music education in China