Interpreting the domestic music salon (家庭音樂會) as an intangible cultural heritage in Kulangsu (鼓浪嶼)

Abstract

Kulangsu island (鼓浪嶼) has long been reputed as an island of music. Domestic Music Salon (家庭音樂會, DMS) is deemed to be a unique music legacy by locals. DMS is widely understood as an inter-family concert initiated by renowned musician families and held in the hosts’ private house. One of DMS’s features is its collaborative performance. The performers are the family members of the host family or their friends of them. DMS is currently under threat due to the serious population outflow of Kulangsu. This thesis examined the history of Domestic Music Salon (DMS) emergence in Kulangsu and interprets it as an Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) in the domain of social practices. Using UNESCO’s 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (CSICH) as the research pillar, this thesis demonstrates how DMS fulfils the definition of ICH for being community-based and continuously passed on from generation to generation. Other three criteria for ICH are also considered and discussed. Through surveys and interviews, the transformation of DMS at different eras is revealed based on oral history. Considering that DMS is held as a regular inter-family practice, it continues to contribute to the social cohesion of the Kulangsu community, or more broadly Xiamen city. The social values of DMS were determined. DMS is potentially qualified as an ICH because of its inclusive nature for being widely practiced by the community. Last but not least, this thesis discusses the loss of authenticity issue of the “public DMS” organized by governmental organizations. To safeguard DMS without losing authenticity, recommendations including retaining neighborhood networks and allocation of resources to the music education industry are made.