Ritual and Music of North China provides historical background, descriptive ethnography, and in-depth reflection on Shawm band music in Shanxi, China. Jones explores how the Shawn band tradition exists within multiple ritual and ceremonial contexts. His study explores the tradition not only through the lives of contemporary local musicians but also by discussing the lives of musicians in different historical periods. Jones answers the question of how the music is historically connected to previous times, specifically, the pre-Communist era. Chinese scholarship has had two major approaches to this type of music--the diachronic approach, which addresses the tradition as remnants of pre-Communist traditions, and the synchronic approach, which describes the rituals as the scholar has observed them. Jones’ study confirms the synchronic approach as useful because he is most concerned with “describing the traditional ceremonial and musical repertories as performed today” (x). On the other hand, Jones also applies “fieldwork on living memory” (x), which reflects the living tradition within its historical background. Therefore, Jones’ approach to the history of rituals is not a conventional one emphasizing material documentation; rather, he recognizes the material as “provisional and sparse” when compared to the ethnography of the past.
This text has three parts. Part One provides the social and historical backgrounds of Shawm band music in two distinct ways. First, Jones includes summaries of the music of Shanxi province. Drawing from historical documents, he gives definitions and basic explanations of the topic, especially Yinyang and Gujiang with their general ritual and ceremonial background. The author uses "ritual" to refer to religious rites and "ceremonial" to refer to all kinds of customary practices, which may include ritual. Second, he offers what he calls “fieldwork on living memory” by using synchronic facts to illustrate the history. For example, he writes about his major informants, the Hua brothers, and their lives through the Cultural Revolution and the reform era since 1978. Finally, in Part One, Jones describes the lives of contemporary local musicians as well as his involvement with them during his study. Interestingly, in this section Jones highlights pop music and its involvement with Gujiang and Yinyang. Instrumentation is an example of how pop culture has been incorporated into the local contexts. In the end, Jones concludes that local folk music has remained resistant to authority and that the social relations of local musicians have been transformed from the pre-Communist era to the current era.
In Part Two, Jones offers a very detailed description of the ritual process of Shawm bands in comparison to Daoist ceremonial performance; the two ceremonial contexts are funerals and temple fairs. For example, Jones describes the two ceremonials: “The ritual sequence for both contexts is similar, both revolving around offerings to gods, ghosts, and ancestors. Gujiang and yinyang perform alternately; basically, in the morning the gujiang do four sets, the yinyang three; in the afternoon both do four sets; both take part in further rituals in the evening” (58).
Thus, using four elements (time, event, venue, and roles), Jones further illustrates how Yinyang and Gujiang participate and function in rituals. Jones claims that ritual practice in this area remains firmly in line with the historical, pre-Communist traditions: “Most of today’s performers were brought up under Maoism, but the ceremonies over which they preside are by no means ‘re-imaginings’ of those from before their memory.... Maoism had its own rituals, but they hardly replaced those of the traditional society” (86). Jones also concludes that pop culture has not had an impact on local Shawm bands’ music in the two ceremonies.
Part Three discusses the musical features of Shawm band music. Jones discusses instruments, scales, and classic repertories in great depth. Illustrations help readers to understand the style of the music, for example, the use of a scale with its transformation between tonic pitches and Gongche pitches. Also, Jones looks at repetition and variability of the pieces, drawing our attention to some cultural features of the music. Looking at these musical features helps readers understand the complexity of this type of music and its relationship to previous historical periods.
In general, this book answers the research question of how the Shawn band tradition exists within multiple ritual and ceremonial contexts. I regard this historical-ethnographic study as one that views tradition as dynamic and connective, and I consider it an important contribution to Chinese music studies. I recommend this book to those who are interested in music of the Northern Chinese Han people, to graduate and undergraduate students in anthropology and ethnomusicology, and to scholars in related fields. I shall give four reasons for this recommendation. First, its method, ethnography of living memories, helps readers digest the historical complexity of the Chinese social context. Second, its narrative style is neither too specific nor too general, offering a good opportunity for reading musical ethnography. Third, the author gives many annotations and explanations of Chinese terms. Fourth, the packaged DVD that provides visual and audio assistance is a great asset of the publication.
My one concern with this study lies in historical periodization. Jones uses a politicized historical frame to explore his research question. For example, the author isolates two time periods, the “pre-Communist” time and “Maoist” time. This approach to periodization is useful when one is discussing a tradition with regard to political authority. However, it is questionable when one discusses how traditions change in the transition from one authority to another. I believe it is a misconception to imagine, as the author does, that the “pre-Communist” era was a time with no political authority.
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[Review length: 920 words • Review posted on September 17, 2008]