Research on the Communication Thought of Lin Qiansan and Guo Moruo in Music Historiography

Abstract

The exchange of musical historiographical ideas between Lin Qisan and Guo Moruo reflects the exchange of musical academic ideas between China and Japan in the early 20th century, and is a reflection of the exchange and convergence of historical views, perspectives, and research methods in Chinese and Japanese music historiography, as well as the formation of their musical ideas under the joint action of Japanese sinological and Chinese historical thinking. At the beginning of the 20th century, China was faced with a dilemma, both politically and culturally, as to whether to adopt full Westernization or to adhere to Chinese culture? Or should stick to Chinese culture? Many scholars went to Japan to search answers to the question of whether to adopt full Westernization or to adhere to Chinese culture, and how to learn from the success of Japan’s modern reformation. Chinese and Japanese cultural scholars, including Li Shutong, Zeng Zhimin, Guo Moruo and Lin Qiansan, all expressed their cultural orientation and research thoughts in the ideological dialogue of cultural exchange. Among them, Shutong Li, Zhimin Zeng et al.’s practice in music in the Academy, Lin Qiansan and Guo Moruo et al.’s exploration of music theory, Tanabe’s “History of Chinese Music”, and Lin Qiansan’s “Study on Yan Music in the Sui and Tang Dynasties” are all brief reflections of the musical cultural exchanges between China and Japan in the last century. In particular, Guo Moruo ‘s translation of Lin Qiansan’s “Study of Yan Music Tunes in the Sui and Tang Dynasties” has become an important academic reference for later scholars studying the culture of Yan music in the Sui and Tang Dynasties. At the same time, Qiansan Lin and Guo Moruo’s music thought also profoundly influenced the construction of music historiography in Japan and China. This paper argues that, if want to explore the spirituality of the ideas of Lin Qisan and Guo Moruo in the turbulent environment of the intersection and collision of Chinese and Japanese cultural thoughts in the 20th century, the cultural and ideological backgrounds of Lin Qiansan and Guo Moruo, their coinciding academic perspectives, and the revelation and significance of the interaction of musical ideas in their respective times should be analyzed and studied.