Encounters: Musical Meetings Between Australia and China

Music is a revealing and significant area of exploration when examining the relationship between the western world and China. Australia, unequivocally a western nation situated in the Asia Pacific, has grappled to define and redefine its connection with the 'Middle Kingdom' since the earliest times of Chinese migration. The saga of musical encounters between Australia and China continues to this very day.

Addressing the themes of: music and history; tradition versus innovation; cultural diversity / intercultural creativity; and music and the related arts; this book focuses on encounters between China and Australia from the earliest imaginings and representations to the latest cultural exchanges.

Here, the reader will find of stories of forbidden love, prejudice and deceit, of gestures of harmony and the fulfilment of dreams and wishes. Ethnomusicologists, composers, performers, historians and cultural theorists alike explore the past, present, and future of a long, complex and culturally rich interaction. Their writings, so varied and diverse, celebrate a multiplicity of identities, and present a challenging array of research avenues and perspectives through which to view the Australian-Chinese connection.