Suzhou Pingtan, a traditional performing art from Suzhou, China, skillfully integrates narration, singing and music to convey rich stories and profound emotions. This study is dedicated to profoundly analysing the close relationship between the musical elements of Suzhou Pingtan and the formation of cultural identity. Through a detailed analysis of core aspects such as melody, lyrics, performance style, and cultural context, we explore how Suzhou Pingtan symbolically shapes and reflects the Suzhou region's unique cultural identity and values. Specifically, this research will examine how musical elements such as scales, instrumental, vocal styles and narrative content jointly promote the construction and inheritance of cultural identity in Suzhou Pingtan. Through an in-depth study of this musical tradition, we aim to enhance understanding of the dynamic interplay between music, culture and identity, thereby revealing how Suzhou Pingtan is a carrier of culture in history, representing and passing down the local cultural values, traditions and collective memories.
Athanasopoulos, G., Eerola, T., Lahdelma, I., & ???????????-??????????, ?. (2021). Harmonic organisation conveys both universal and culture-specific cues for emotional expression in music. PLOS ONE, 16(1), e0244964.
Baker, S., Strong, C., Istvandity, L., & Cantillon, Z. (Eds.). (2018). The Routledge companion to popular music history and heritage. London: Routledge.
Baker, S. C., Sparling, H., & MacIntyre, P. D. (2024). A good return on investment? Cultural identification through learning traditional music and language in Gaelic Nova Scotia. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 45(1), 59-71.
Benítez?Burraco, A., & Nikolsky, A. (2023). The (Co)Evolution of Language and Music Under Human Self-Domestication. Human Nature, 34(2), 229–275.
Bennett, A., & Janssen, S. (2015). Popular Music, Cultural Memory, and Heritage. Popular Music and Society, 39(1), 1–7.
Bläsing, B., & Zimmermann, E. (2021). Dance Is More Than Meets the Eye—How Can Dance Performance Be Made Accessible for a Non-sighted Audience? Frontiers in Psychology, 12.
Bolderman, L. (2022). Detroit Music City: Analyzing Detroit’s Musical Urban Imaginary Through a Cultural Justice Lens. Space and Culture, 27(1), 14–30.
Chappell, M. J., & Varelas, M. (2019). Ethnodance and identity: Black students representing science identities in the making. Science Education, 104(2), 193–221.
Chao, Y. R. (1947). Cantonese primer. Harvard University Press.
Chao, Y. R. (1980). language problem. (Language Matters).
Chen, L. (2017). The modern transformation of Chinese traditional music: A case study of Pingtan. Musicology Research, 3(1), 20-35.
Chen, M. Y. (2000). Tone sandhi: patterns across Chinese dialects. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Chen, X. (2015). The performance art of Pingtan. Journal of Suzhou University, 3, 78-82.
Chen, Y. (2002). Chinese narrative singing: Storytelling through music. The World of Music, 44(1), 9-26.
Cheng, M., Pang, B., Zeng, X., Xu, W., & Chang, Y. (2022). Integration of the traditions of folk-instrumental art into the works of Chinese composers of the 20th and 21st centuries. Rupkatha Journal on Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities, 14(2), 1-17.
Cheung, K. H. (1986). The phonology of present-day Cantonese. University College London.
D’Agostino, M. E. (2020). Reclaiming and Preserving Traditional Music: Aesthetics, ethics and technology. Organised Sound, 25(1), 106–115.
Du, J. (2019). An analysis of the musical characteristics of Suzhou Pingtan. Art Observation, 000(025), 1-1.
Gejin, C. (2019). Chinese folklore studies today: discourse and practice. Indiana University Press.
Graber, K., & Sumera, M. (2020). Interpretation, resonance, embodiment: affect theory and ethnomusicology. Ethnomusicology Forum, 29(1), 3–20.
Hitch, J. (2023, August 10). History of Music | Origin & Timeline. Study.com. https://study.com/academy/lesson/history-of-music-origin-timeline.html
IPA. (1999). Handbook of the international phonetic association: A guide to the use of the International Phonetic Alphabet. Cambridge University Press.
Juslin, P., & Laukka, P. (2003). Communication of emotions in vocal expression and music performance: Different channels, same code? Psychological Bulletin, 129(5), 770–814.
Kirana, M. W., Alberthiene, A., & Rusdi, F. C. (2023). Semiotic Dimension Deconstruction in the First Movement of “Spring” by Vivaldi. JSM (Jurnal Seni Musik), 12(1), 25–33.
Lama, S., & Sherpa, A. (2022). Ethnic and Cultural Identity in Music: Study of the Ethnomusic of Some of the Ethnic People of Darjeeling. In Darjeeling (pp. 329-343). Routledge.
Lei, W. (2015). Thoughts on the ecological construction of Suzhou Pingtan art from the perspective of Transmission science. National Art Research, 4, 91-97
Lewis, D., Rodgers, D., & Woolcock, M. (2021). The Sounds of Development: Musical Representation as A(nother) Source of Development Knowledge. Journal of Development Studies, 57(8), 1397–1412.
Manuel, P. (1995). Music as Symbol, Music as Simulacrum: Postmodern, Pre-Modern, and Modern Aesthetics in Subcultural Popular Musics. Popular Music, 14(2), 227–239.
McKerrell, S. (2021). Towards practice research in ethnomusicology. Ethnomusicology Forum, 31(1), 10–27.
Micallef Grimaud, A., & Tuomas Eerola. (2022). Emotional expression through musical cues: A comparison of production and perception approaches. PLOS ONE, 17(12), e0279605–e0279605.
Moore, A. J. K. (2003). The pipa | essay | The Metropolitan Museum of Art | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. The Met’s Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. Retrieved on August 16, 2023, from https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/pipa/hd_pipa.htm.
Natalya, Ivanovna, Kashina., Natalia, G., Tagiltseva. (2022). Musical culture in the development of the cultural identity of the individual. ??????? ???????? ???????????????? ????????????, 32-40.
Neiger, M., Meyers, O., & Zandberg, E. (2011). Tuned to the nation’s mood: Popular music as a mnemonic cultural object. Media, Culture & Society, 33(7), 971–987.
Ozaki, Y., de Heer Kloots, M., Ravignani, A., & Savage, P. E. (2023). Cultural evolution of music and language.
Perkins, R., Mason-Bertrand, A., Fancourt, D., Baxter, L. A., & Williamon, A. (2020). How Participatory Music Engagement Supports Mental Well-being: A Meta-Ethnography. Qualitative Health Research, 30(12), 1924–1940.
Rasmussen, S. J. (2005). A Temporary Diaspora: Contested Cultural Representations in Tuareg International Musical Performance. Anthropological Quarterly, 78(4), 793–826.
Rainer, Polak., Nori, Jacoby., Timo, Fischinger., Daniel, Goldberg., Andre, Holzapfel., Justin, London. (2018). Rhythmic prototypes across cultures: A comparative study of tapping synchronization. Music Perception.
Sadad, A., & Masduki, F. (2020). Cultural Conflict: The Process of Cultural Identity Change in The Civilization. International Journal of Education, Culture and Society (IJECS), 2(1), 12-17.
Savage, P. E. (2019). Cultural evolution of music. Palgrave Communications, 5(1).
Shelemay, K. K. (2011). Musical Communities: Rethinking the Collective in Music. Journal of the American Musicological Society, 64(2), 349–390.
Shi, Y. (2016). Performing Local Identity in a Contemporary Urban Society: A Study of Ping-tan Narrative Vocal Tradition in Suzhou, China (Doctoral dissertation, Durham University).
Suzhou Pingtan Museum. (2023). Suzhou Pingtan Museum. Retrieved from http://www.pingtanjidi.com/museum/ index.html
Supyan, Hussin. (2020). Identity Through Culture and Arts Education. doi: 10.2991/ASSEHR.K.200804.089
Thompson, W. F., Bullot, N. J., & Margulis, E. H. (2023). The psychological basis of music appreciation: Structure, self, source. Psychological Review, 130(1), 260–284.
Trehub, S. E., Becker, J., & Morley, I. (2015). Cross-cultural perspectives on music and musicality. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, 370(1664), 20140096.
Turino, T. (2008). Music as social life: The politics of participation. Bibliovault OAI Repository, the University of Chicago Press.
Ullrich, Kockel., Máiréad, Nic, Craith., Cristina, Elena, Clopot., Baiba, Tjarve. (2019). Heritages, identities and Europe: Exploring cultural forms and expressions.
Vannini, P., & Waskul, D. D. (2006). Symbolic Interaction as Music: The Esthetic Constitution of Meaning, Self, and Society. Symbolic Interaction, 29(1), 5–18.
Wang, J. (2016). The historical evolution of Pingtan art. Journal of Fujian Normal University (Philosophy and Social Sciences Edition), 6, 95-101.
Wang, Y. (2021). Integrating Chinese Folk Art Styles into Pinter's The Room. Journal of Nanjing Normal University (Arts and Humanities Edition), 000(004), 101-108.
Xu, D. (2008). A study on the singing style of Suzhou Pingtan's Ma Diao system. (Doctoral dissertation, Shanghai Conservatory of Music).
Xiao, Y. (2020). An exploration of the metaphorical expressions in the commonly used terms of Suzhou Pingtan. Quyi, 12, 3.
Yende, S. J. (2023). Gospel Music and Liturgical Hymns to the Researcher’s Spiritual Healing during the Covid-19 Pandemic: An Autoethnography Biblical Perspective. E-Journal of Religious and Theological Studies, 182–193.
Zaatar, M. T., Alhakim, K., Enayeh, M., & Tamer, R. (2024). The transformative power of music: Insights into neuroplasticity, health, and disease. B Lama n, Behavior, & Immunity - Health, 35, 100716–100716.
Zajda, J., & Majhanovich, S. (2021). Cultural identity in the global era. Globalisation, Cultural Identity and Nation-Building: The Changing Paradigms, 1-16.
Zhang Li (2008). Historical Evolution and Development of Suzhou Pingtan. Popular Literature and Art (Theory), 4, 4
Zhang, Y. L. (2014). A Study on the Mechanism of Pingtan School. Music Art: Journal of Shanghai Conservatory of Music, (3), 10.
Zhu, D. L. (2005). Cultural Suzhou—Pingtan: The Most Beautiful Sound of China. Literary Controversy, (1), 112-115.
