What Kind Of Soundscape Should Be Presented To You?

In the region of Li Xia He, north part of Jiang Yan in Jiangsu Province, there are two kinds of large-scale rituals-Hui Chuan and Long Hui. The Hui Chuan is organized to worship ghosts, while the the Long Hui is held to offer sacrifices to different gods. With the field work, the author found that the soundscapes of the two totally different rituals share the similarity surprisingly. Then why do the soundscapes used in the two rituals seem to be converging? For what reason do the soundscapes come up in the rituals mentioned?In order to solve the riddles, the author tried to make interpretations with diachronicity and synchronicity, from 3 different perspectives, that is, who choose the soundscape, how to choose and why to choose them. Who, What, and Why are included in the questions mentioned above, and the main body of the paper contains the relevant information on How, When, and Where.Based on the performance of rituals, the paper is started with the question of who choose the soundscape. From the view point the author, the soundscape chosen in the ritual are mainly affected by the ritual organizers, performers and participants, who are critical factors for the success of rituals. Therefore, the changes in their social status and ideas may have influences over the soundscape in ritual.The question of what kind of soundscape is chosen is subject to the ritual soundscape, and is answered by the synchronic comparison of soundscapes used in different village rituals. By following the clue, it is found that there are convergences as well as changes in the soundscapes between Hui Chuan and Long Chuan.Then theoretical interpretation on the phenomena is required. The author believes that the varieties of soundscapes in rituals and their convergence are a function of several factors. First of all, the soundscapes in ritual are related to the social status and age of the ritual organizers, performers, and participants, who share the similarities in terms of age and emotions, so they identify themselves with some soundscape emotionally. Furthermore, the two kinds of rituals represent the sacrifices in different villages and region, thus soundscapes are the symbols of social identification. Secondly, the choice of soundscapes is affected by the local cultural context. Thirdly, cultural diffusion also exerts influences over the formation of soundscapes. Fourthly, the historically traditional institutions have effects on social communities, and such effects are materialized by content or types of soundscape, which finally reflect or metaphorize the changes in life.Finally, analyzing the 2 kinds of rituals-Hui Chuan and Long Hui, the author wants to offer a solution to explaining why there are a great variety of soundscapes in the rituals with Chinese folk customs, in order to produce a positive response to one academic proposition in ethnomusicology-how and why human make music.