A Study Of Chen Yang's Life And The Background Of His Yue Shu

A native of Minqing County in Fujian Province, Chen Yang was a jinshi (a palace graduate) in China's North Song Dynasty, who later served in the Ministry of Rites. His Yue Shu, a scholarly work with a huge mass of valuable information on Song- and pre-Song-Dynasty music, is of great historical and cultural significance. Generally regarded as the earliest encyclopedic volumes of musicology in Chinese history, and perhaps even in world history, Yue Shu has been an important and indispensable work of reference in the study of Chinese music. The 200-volume masterpiece, noted for its early date of publication and wide coverage梤anging over a period between the Han-Tang Dynasties and the Ming-Qing Dynasties, is a rare collection in the treasure of Chinese musicology. This master of Chinese musicology and the academic value, historical status and cultural significance of his Yue Shu, thus merit ampler attention.A survey of existing scholarship shows that since the 20th century most of the studies of Chen Yang and his Yue Shu, have been conducted from historical perspectives. The present study attempts to approach the subject from the perspective ofEthnomusicology, and, against the socio-cultural background of the North Song Dynasty, explore Chen Yang and his Yue Shu in the context of cultural and historical development.Based on genealogical information and historical accounts obtained from field work and drawing on relevant scholarship such as A History of the Song Dynasty, this study presents fresh information about Chen Yang's life, including dates of birth and death, date of conferment of his academic title, place of his appointment to the office, and a Chronicle of Chen Yang. After a background study of his scholarly work in the political, economic, cultural and educational contexts of North Song Dynasty, this thesis comes up with the view that the creation of Yue Shu was motivated by the intention to restore the practice of liyue zhiguo, and that to some extent Yue Shu was influenced by the historiography and epigraphy of the North Song Dynasty.