Adaptation and appropriation of central Asian music at the Tang court, 620-820

Abstract

This thesis traces the political and cultural factors that swayed the extent to which huyue was appropriated in the early Tang court, from the early seventh century to the early ninth century. By reevaluating the influence of huyue, which was primarily considered to be Central Asian music in the Tang dynasty, this thesis seeks to argue that the inconsistent reception of huyue during this period was a result of individual political intentions, and shifting ideals about the legitimacy of rule, and Confucian musical concepts.

To make these claims, it is necessary to explain and define some divisions and categories of Tang music that are relevant to this thesis. The two fundamental divisions of Tang court music are yayue, state ritual music, and suyue, vernacular music. Within suyue, two categories are huyue, and yanyue meaning entertainment banquet music. By elaborating on these terms, the introduction provides a framework for the reevaluation of huyue in Tang court music. In chapter one, the arguments of Kishibe Shigeo (1912-2005) are challenged by demonstrating that erbuji, a repertory of yanyue, functioned as entertainment music in a formal court banquet. Contrary to his claims, this thesis asserts that erbuji was never established as a new yayue, or replaced the old yayue. Chapter two analyzes the waxing and waning of three dances used as yayue, which were composed under imperial authorship and incorporated undeniably huyue elements. This chapter reveals the tensions and changing balance between employing the three dances as a political gesture to legitimize imperial power and the Confucian concepts that justified the gesture itself. As a result of these tensions, the performance of three dances in yayue did not endure, rather, their qualification as yayue was seriously questioned in Emperor Gaozong's reign (649-683). The last chapter reevaluates the relationship between three Central Asian performances belonging to sanyue, various theatricals. By conducting a textual analysis of three key documents, all composed in the early eighth century, it reveals the reception of huyue not just at court but also in the peripheries. These documents are: a memorial by a low ranking official Lü Yuantai, a memorial and a suite of poems by high ranking official Zhang Yue. Emphasis in this chapter is placed on identifying the strong connection between political intentions, both imperial and official, and the reception of these three Central Asian performances in the Tang court by contextualizing the three documents in their contemporary political atmosphere. The last section provides a concluding discussion on how political purposes swayed the appropriation and reception of huyue in the early Tang court.