A Study On Jules A. Van Aalst And His Chinese Music

Jules A.van Aalst(1858-1914),a foreigner staff in the Chinese Maritime Customs Service(CMCS),published the Chinese Music in 1884,which was the only work related to Chinese music in the "Special series" of the CMCS publications.It is an important cultural achievement in the history of musical communication between China and the West.Since its publication,it has become an important reference for Westerners and Chinese scholars to understand Chinese music and culture,and it is of great research value.However,as far as the current research status is concerned,the study on Aalst and his Chinese Music around the world is still not sufficient.Because of the lacking of historical materials and related literature,the image of Aalst,his understanding of Chinese music,the content of Chinese Music,and the source of his knowledge are still not very clear.For this reason,this study focuses on Aalst’s Chinese Music,through actively searching the relevant documents of the Qing customs,the correspondence between Robert Hart and others,and the original archives from the School of arts Gent,the above-mentioned issues will be discussed in depth.Hence,the thesis is divided into six parts.The first is the introduction,discussing the significance and value of the study by sorting out the research status of Aalst and his Chinese Music.The first chapter summarizes the Western research on Chinese music before the appearance of Chinese Music,trying to build the intellectual background of Aalst’s work;the second and third chapters mainly focus on Aalst’s musical life.From Aalst’s activities at the 1884 London International Health Exhibition,we can get a glimpse of his understanding of Chinese music.The fourth chapter is the key point of this thesis:firstly,the author outlines the process of writing the book Chinese Music by means of close reading of the text,and then,by analyzing the structure and content of the book,the ideological interpretation of Aalst’s Chinese Music is completed;thirdly,the author believes that Aalst’s understanding of Chinese music has gone through a historical process of division,but at the same time,Western-centrism and sympathy to Chinese music co-exists in his understanding.In the remaining part,the author investigates the source of Aalst’s understanding of Chinese music.In conclusion,the study highlights that it has a significant significance in the current inter-culture communication between China and the West for the study of Aalst and his musical work.