The Study Of "New Music" Research In China In Twentieth Century

Terminologies,different from common words,serve as the foundation of a certain discipline,therefore must be defined accurately.By referring to the academic books and papers over the issue of musical history of modern China,it is found that the term “new music” was first used by Zeng Zhimin in 1904.Since then,various definitions have been put forward by scholars in all sorts of papers,books and dictionaries.Some of them,taking “new music” as a political tool,place emphasis on its political connotation.Some of them,starting from the lyrics,pay attention to the content related to social reform.And some of them,offering explanations from the perspective of music noumenon,focus more on the theories of music creation.It is those diverse standpoints and views that generate the ongoing argumentation and even misunderstandings.Then,how many types of definitions on “new music”,similar or different,have appeared so far? And what are the thinking modes behind? These are the questions waiting to be answered.Correspondingly,the paper is designed to collect opinions on the “new music”,give an underlying outline,and then provide a summary on the research approaches behind.Hopefully in this way,certain reference and inspiration will be offered to later research on the “new music” and even the musical history of modern China as a whole in a deeper and more systemic manner.This paper,attempting to summarize,analyze and discuss the issues mentioned above from the perspective of musical history,can be divided into three parts.At first,various definitions on and research approaches to the term “new music” are offered.Based on that,research on the “new music” is to be further categorized and differentiated.At last,the thoughts and significance embedded in the research are concluded.