Multicultural Ethnic Music Education in Communist China

Abstract

The Central Communist Party (CCP) of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) describes China as a unified multinational country. National policies advocate cultural diversity in the educational system with particular emphasis on the notion that diverse ethnic minorities contribute to zhonghua minzu—a single united Chinese nationality. Drawing upon the theoretical frameworks of musical authenticity as well as two tenets of liberalism theory, equal concern and cultural neutrality, the study aims to understand how government-designed national K1–9 music textbooks represent the Chinese ethnic minority’s musical and cultural traditions.