Study on the Writing Strategies for Literature Pertaining to the Academic and Disciplinary Historiography of Traditional Chinese Music Theory

Abstract

Since the "Nanjing Conference" in 1980, ethnomusicology, under the concept of "Ethnomusicology" officially entered China as a discipline. Since then, the two disciplines of ethnomusicology and traditional Chinese music theory have continuously interacted and mutually influenced each other through exchanges. Following the conclusion of the Cultural Revolution, China’s various sectors faced an urgent need for recovery and development. As an integral component of Chinese traditional culture, traditional Chinese music increasingly drew attention from across society, with its value being rediscovered and emphasized. The establishment of influential journal media platforms and the gradual refinement of dissemination methods have since played a pivotal role in advancing the scholarly study and preservation of traditional Chinese music. To date, some domestic scholars have attempted to analyze relevant research achievements, delving deeply into ethnomusicology and traditional music theory from a theoretical perspective, and have published a series of valuable theoretical outcomes. This study is based on 135 research achievements on academic and disciplinary histories included in the " Cataloging of literary theory " section of the " Comprehensive Dictionary of Chinese Music". Based on the writing strategies of these articles, I categorize them into three major types: those arranged in chronological order, those based on research and classification methods, and those organized by issue. In the main body of the paper, I will conduct an in-depth examination of the writing methodologies employed in these research contributions, followed by a comprehensive assessment of their respective strengths and limitations.