This book comprises five invited papers, each of which touches on a topic directly or indirectly related to the music of China in the twentieth century. And it consists of the catalogue of library materials related to new music of China donated by Liu Ching-chih to the University of Hong Kong.

By the end of the nineteenth century, Chinese culture had fallen into a stasis, and intellectuals began to go abroad for new ideas. What emerged was an exciting musical genre that C. C. Liu terms "new music." With no direct ties to traditional Chinese music, "new music" reflects the compositional techniques and musical idioms of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century European styles. Liu traces the genesis and development of "new music" throughout the twentieth century, deftly examining the social and political forces that shaped "new music" and its uses by political activists and the government.

By the end of the nineteenth century, after a long period during which the weakness of China became ever more obvious, intellectuals began to go abroad for new ideas. What emerged was a musical genre that Liu Chingchih terms "New Music." With no direct ties to traditional Chinese music, New Music reflects the compositional techniques and musical idioms of eighteenth, nineteenth and early twentieth–century European styles. Liu traces the genesis and development of New Music throughout the twentieth century, deftly examining the cultural, social, and political forces that shaped New Music and its uses by politicians and the government.

Barbara Mittler's book is the first comprehensive monographic study of China's New Music written in a Western language. It deals with two key points of contention: the effects of politics on the development of Chinese New Music, and the importance of China's indigenous musical traditions for the development of her New Music. In many ways, it is a handbook to New Chinese Music as it provides biographical and musicological sketches of the greater number of China's composers. As a reference work it will thus be of interest to libraries as well as to musicologists and music impressarios. The book is unique as a comparative study of New Chinese Music under three different political systems. Its conclusions, the discovery of (and explanations for) inherent similarities in those three New Musics will be of interest to sinologists in the field of politics and cultural studies.

Grounded in a desire to bring back to life rare items from the University of Hong Kong’s Fung Ping Shan Library that are entwined within the world of music and to place them in a context of books and images in American, British, and other Asian collections, Chinese Music in Print views the library as a repository not of information but of artifact, and then uses these artifacts as a means for generating scholarly narrative. It begins by assessing seminal texts in the Confucian canon set against the delicacy of the concubine and amanuensis Shen Cai’s calligraphy and poetry. Confucianism was itself a crucial aspect of courtly life, and an exploration of its ritual is the book’s second theme. Vernacular genres of opera and song are represented in the third chapter, while the Great Sage returns in the fourth for an exploration of the repertoire and richness of his favourite instrument, the qin. The final chapter ends the journey with discussion of the legacy of generations of Europeans who have visited China and their contribution to the understanding of a more vernacular instrument, the erhu. “Like the 2021 exhibition called ‘Music in Print’ that preceded it, this exploration of Chinese music history introduces many rare books from the University of Hong Kong Libraries. The essays combine professional expertise in musicology with an excellent grasp of traditional bibliography, which allows the one to illuminate the other. Bravo!” —J. S. Edgren, Princeton University “I am most impressed by the critical reading of the author who excels in classical studies, whose expertise in calligraphy, seals, editions, and other related disciplines in Sinology is admirable. His meticulous investigation into the complicated situation regarding the book printing business of dynastic China is professional and convincing.” —Yu Siu-wah, chief editor of Anthology of Chinese Folk and Ethnic Instrumental Music: The Hong Kong Volume “Such a wide-ranging but meticulously researched book that now contextualizes the dissemination and transmission of music into the discussion of manuscript and printed culture in China will clearly be an important addition to the holdings of libraries supporting Chinese studies and book studies broadly taken, as well as those supporting the study of music. Obviously, it will be of direct importance for specialists in East Asian book studies and for musicologists of East Asian traditions.” —Elizabeth Markham, University of Arkansas “This beautifully illustrated and carefully edited book is the first English-language monograph dedicated exclusively to the history of Chinese music as captured through the medium of print. It introduces a host of new sources and methodologies to the English-speaking public, fruitfully complicates established narratives of music history and of print cultures in both East and West, and offers a vital building-block for the creation of a truly global music history.” —Karl Kügle, University of Oxford