The history and heritage of the Pinghu Pipa School

This thesis investigates the historical evolution of the Pinghu Pipa School, a significant tradition within Chinese instrumental art, from its formative period in the 19th century to its contemporary status under intangible cultural heritage (ICH) safeguarding. Moving beyond narratives of linear progression or decline, this study asks: How has the Pinghu School sustained its cultural vitality across societal upheavals—spanning the late-Qing crisis, the New Culture Movement, wartime turmoil, socialist transformation, and globalising modernity—and what mechanisms have enabled its practitioners to navigate these changes? To answer this, the research employs a multi-method approach, combining historical ethnomusicology, archival analysis of critical scores, digital audio analysis of performance parameters (e.g., pitch, dynamics, tempo) and ethnographic fieldwork with contemporary inheritors. The analysis is structured around five pivotal historical phases, tracing the agency of key figures—from Li Fangyuan and Zhu Ying to Yang Shaoyi and two generations of present-day inheritors—in reinterpreting and transmitting their tradition. The findings reveal that the school’s continuity is characterised not by passive preservation but by strategic reinvention. Inheritors have consistently acted as cultural mediators, employing methods such as score compilation, national music reform, institutional integration, and, more recently, engagement with the ICH framework to ensure relevance. This study argues that the vitality of traditional arts stems from whether practitioners can, with clear cultural self-awareness, transform traditional spirit into practices that address contemporary issues. By providing a granular case study spanning nearly two centuries-long, this thesis contributes to broader discussions on cultural continuity, the modernisation of Chinese musical traditions, and the complex interplay between state-led safeguarding and living community practice in a globalised era.

Grantor dc:publisher

University College Cork

Year dc:date.issued

2026

Author dc:creator

• Yanming, Gao

Advisors dc:contributor.advisor

• Stock, Jonathan
• Khalil, Alexander

• Chinese pipa
• Chinese musical modernity
• Pinghu Pipa School
• Intangible cultural heritage (ICH)
• Cultural continuity

Statement dc:rights

• © 2026, Gao Yanming.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/10468/18860

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:cora.ucc.ie:10468/18860