| This dissertation explores the emerging phenomenon of contemporary Chinese Christian "Praise and Worship" music. Of Pentecostal-Charismatic origins, since the 1990s this music has exploded into the churches and Christian music industries in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Chinese diasporic communities of North America, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, and New Zealand. It has recently reached mainland China as well.;I first describe the Praise and Worship movement in Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, offering a first-hand ethnographic account of the influential Korean organization All Nations Worship and Praise Ministries, which impacts Chinese Christian communities globally and locally. Then I focus on a prominent Taiwanese American group, Stream of Praise Music Ministries, whose CD sales, communal worship styles, and performance practices exert great influence in Asia itself. I explore both their songs and events and the lively overall Chinese Christian music scene to which they belong, investigating the creative process behind the staged and mediated products. Using A. J. Racy's "ecstatic feedback" model and Victor Turner's theory of communitas, I outline the unique nexus of Christian spirituality and Chinese identities that provides the cultural space for this vibrant scene. In addition, applying the notion of the "Asian Pacific" and Aihwa Ong's concept of "flexible citizenship," I elucidate how Stream of Praise uses capital flows, transnational business networks, and mass media to distinguish itself from other groups.;Other research foci include the rising mainland Chinese Christian songwriter Lu Xiaomin, whose unique contributions are shaped by her experiences and the local context of official "Three-Self'' and unofficial "house churches"; a global Chinese prayer and worship convocation held in 2005 in Hong Kong that showcased Praise and Worship music; and a second Taiwanese American group, Melody of My Heart Music Ministry, whose work represents the recent attempt by ethnically Chinese Christians to reach beyond accustomed linguistic and cultural spheres, seeking musical links to Jerusalem. In conclusion, I use James Clifford's concepts of "roots" and "routes" to visualize various kinds of trajectories that take people, products, musical ideas, and spirituality across and beyond the conventional religious, geographical, spatial, political, and cultural boundaries of the Asian Pacific. |
