The history of the development of Buddhist music in China
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22149128 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Lu Yan (0000-0001-8408-0404, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Issue | 5 |
| Pages | 281-296 |
| Publication date | 2026-05-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Культура и искусство (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2454-0625 • E-ISSN: 2454-0625 |
| Publisher | Aurora Group, s.r.o (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.7256/2454-0625.2026.5.79274 |
| OpenAlex | W7163152305 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 7 |
The article is dedicated to the history of the development of Buddhist music in China as a specific form of religious-artistic practice that emerged at the intersection of intercultural borrowing, linguistic adaptation, and the internal evolution of Chinese musical tradition. The relevance of the topic is dictated by a quite specific research situation: Buddhist music in China is still often described either as a peripheral addition to the ritual or as private ethnographic material. However, its real historical role is much broader and touches upon issues of intercultural exchange, the dynamics of the canon, regional stylistics, and the preservation of intangible heritage. The goal of the article is to reconstruct the main stages of the formation and development of the Buddhist musical tradition in China, to identify the mechanisms of its sinicization, and to show why the analyzed sphere has become one of the most important channels for the rooting of Buddhism within Chinese civilization. A historical-genetic method was employed, which helped trace the evolution of musical forms from the early dynasties to the present. A structural-functional analysis was applied to reveal the role of sound and chants in religious ceremonies. A comparative-historical approach was utilized, through which the specificity of Chinese Buddhist music was assessed in the context of pan-Asian culture. The author concludes that the history of Buddhist music in China represents not a linear accumulation of genre features but a multilayered process of cultural translation, in which melodic patterns, principles of text, voice, ritual action, and acoustic space changed. The conclusion is substantiated that Buddhist music influenced both the internal life of the monastery and the broader musical environment of China, including the intonational models of secular culture and contemporary compositional practices. The novelty and author's contribution manifest in that the issues are examined not fragmentarily (separately as ritual, genre, or monument of tradition) but as a coherent historical-cultural system. The practical value of the work lies in the fact that its propositions can be used in musicology, cultural studies, religious studies, programs for the protection of intangible heritage, and educational courses on the history of Chinese art
Buddhism · China · Ethnography · History of China · Melody · Music history · Musical · Chinese history and philosophy · Diverse Musicological Studies · Ideological and Political Education
| Highly cited | No |
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