UC San Diego

This dissertation investigates the development of Chinese Buddhist songs in the twentieth century focusing on the creation of the genre in China in the first half of the century and its continued evolution in Taiwan in the 1950s and 1960s. Despite its significant role in the reform of Chinese Buddhism, research into the different aspects of the Buddhist musical genre has been, before this investigation, inadequate. This study, with its special focus, differs from the previous researches that centered on the modern transformation of Buddhist ritual sounds and therefore supplements our knowledge of Buddhist music history. Examining the historical processes, I identify two direct influences on the musical development: first, the introduction of Western musical form through Chinese school songs, and second, the concurrent culture movements beginning in the late 1910s. Through selected examples, I demonstrate how Buddhist musical culture adapted itself to sociopolitical changes of early to mid-twentieth century China and Taiwan. The influences were first seen in Buddhist songs' adoption of the Western-influenced musical form of Chinese school songs used for educational reform in the earlier half of the twentieth century in China. I use music examples drawn from both genres to demonstrate their shared characteristics and the evolution of the Buddhist musical form on the basis of school songs. Lyric materials are crucial for identifying the various types of sociopolitical influences on the music. Analyses of the song lyrics correlated with a study of the changing sociocultural context help reveal the espoused ideals and goals of the era in music. In addition to the study of the transformation of the genre, its form and concept, this dissertation contemplates the rich meaning of these musical developments in connection with Buddhists' pursuit of a new cultural identity