The Positive Role Of Homegrown Music In The 21^st Century China-U.S. Public Diplomacy

In the 21 st century, the most important bilateral relationship in the world is the China-U.S. relationship. In spite of converging interests in a wide range of areas, the two countries have divergences and even frictions from time to time. An important reason for this situation is the lack of social foundation and public support for this bilateral relationship. Public diplomacy, which can facilitate the communication and dialogues aimed to inform and influence the targeted foreign publics, can contribute to the stable and sound development of the new type of major-country relations between China and the United States. Music, the homegrown music in particular, serves as an indispensible avenue for the China-U.S. public diplomacy in the 21 st century as it embodies a country’s history, culture and its people’s spiritual world.This thesis first reviews the representative theories and interpretations of public diplomacy put forward by prominent scholars and senior diplomats and discusses the goal and role of public diplomacy, which provides a theoretical basis for the whole thesis. In the second chapter, an overview of the China-U.S. public diplomacy over the past three decades with the emphasis on milestones at some special historical junctures is presented. Meanwhile, a brief introduction of the musical activities in the China-U.S. public diplomacy is also given. In the third chapter, two cases are cited and analyzed. The first case is the famous Chinese folk song singer Song Zuying’s solo concert in the John F. Kennedy Arts Center in 2006. The second case is the “Road of Melodies: American Music in Foreign Countries”, a tour jazz concert in China in 2012. A comparison between the two cases is also made. Finally, the positive role of homegrown music in the 21 st century China-U.S. public diplomacy is concluded, that is enhancing mutual respect, mutual understanding and mutual trust between the two peoples, removing prejudices and strengthening social foundation and public support for the China-U.S. bilateral relationship.