Harmony and Counterpoint: Ritual Music in Chinese Context (review)

Reviews 293 The Communists did not simply inherit the health infrastructure left behind by the Guomindang: continuities in the intentions ofboth leaderships are equally apparent, as the Communists also emphasize the subordination ofindividual health concerns to the national priorities ofstate building and economic might. There are substantial continuities in the philosophy, structure, programs, and even personnel ofhealth care between the two regimes, and, from that point of view, Yip Ka-che's study offers an important historical perspective to a better understanding ofdevelopments after 1949 that is urgently required. Finally, as the author thoughtfully points out in his conclusion, it would be misguided to assume that health planners in the PRC have solved the quality-versus -quantity or the urban-versus-rural dilemmas in the delivery ofhealth care: recent developments indicate growing disparities in which large sectors of the hinterland are politically and economically marginalized, as even the most basic medical facilities have become virtually nonexistent. This work is an invaluable contribution to a small body ofliterature on medical science, nationalism, and modernity that sheds much-needed light on the republican period, and, by refraction, on vital issues of the more recent history of China. Frank Dikötter School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London Frank Dikötter is Senior Lecturer in the History ofMedicine and Director ofthe Contemporary China Institute; he specializes in the study ofmedical science and ideas of 'race', nation, gender, sexuality, reproduction, criminality, and death. mm Bell Yung, Evelyn S. Rawski, and Rubie S. Watson, editors. Harmony and Counterpoint: RitualMusic in Chinese Context. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1996. xii, 324 pp. Hardcover $49.50, isbn 0-8047-2658-2. "The Master heard the shao in Ch'i and for three months did not notice the taste ofthe meat he ate. He said, ? never dreamt that the joys ofmusic could reach such heights."' This locus classicus from Confucius' Analects (VII.14) well illus-© 1998 by University üatgs ^ effect ^music C01U¿nave on meJ11n^ ^16 central character in Conawai 1 ressfudan teachings. To understand its exact meaning, however, one must be reminded that the shao was a ritual tune associated with the legendary emperor Shun (2255-2205 B.C.E.), whom Confucius revered for his ultimate perfection in 294 China Review International: Vol. 5, No. 1, Spring 1998 goodness. Thus, die final cause for Confucius' taking joy in the shao was not its aesthetic beauty but rather its ability to express moral goodness and to stimulate that goodness in the listener. Later Confucians followed in the steps of their teacher by considering music a most important means of moral education. In the Early Han (202 B.C.E.-9 ce.), the Yuejing (Classic of music) was engraved on stone stelae and proclaimed one of the texts required for study by future officials. Hereafter, music in China became synonymous with state affairs, and official ceremonies were traditionally held to the accompaniment of music, for which the melody and the instruments were carefully selected by the government. Despite the obvious importance of music in Chinese culture, the academic literature on the subject is scarce. The dramatic difference between the number of studies available on Chinese literature and on Chinese music serves as good evidence that the majority of sinologists still hold to a bias against nonverbal sources of information. Needless to say, under these circumstances, the publication of even an average study devoted to the musical legacy of China is much welcomed. Fortunately, Harmony and Counterpoint: Ritual Music in Chinese Contextdoes not fall under the "average" category, but presents us with a collection ofessays all marked by a high level of scholarly professionalism. Although these essays have been written by specialists from a variety of disciplines , including ethnomusicology, history, social anthropology, and Daoism, the result is a comprehensive coverage of the unique cultural phenomenon known as Chinese ritual music. The variety ofartistic forms and performative aspects ofthe music, as well as its different social, political, and religious roles from ancient times to the present century, are examined in historical perspective. Whereas the contributions cover a geographical range from Korea to Yunnan and from Taiwan to Peking, in terms of ritual practice they cover common rites such as funerals...