In his satire The Banishment of the Jesuits from China (published in 1785 in Constantinople), Johann Rauthenstrauch unsparingly attacks the self-satisfied aberrations of the European missionary societies and blames Europe for cultural colonisation. From the beginning of Jesuit mission in China in the late 16th century, the Jesuits not only gained high proficiency in the Chinese language, but also studied Chinese rites and customs in detail. After a period of tolerance towards the Jesuits (under emperor Kangxi, who died in 1722), the Jesuit mission was severely restricted under his successors. The activities of Jesuit scholars like Jean-Joseph Amiot were limited to the area of the Forbidden City and concentrated mainly on science, astronomy and music theory – disciplines which were looked on benevolently by the emperors. Amiot’s approach towards Chinese music was not primarily ethnomusicological, rather his ambition was to uncover the roots of ancient music in living traditions of Chinese music. Although his main area of study was ancient music theory, he also paid much attention to problems of intercultural dialogue as well as to the contemporary situation of music in China. His tolerant and open-minded attitude towards Chinese music resulted in a large collection of contemporary Chinese melodies which he collected systematically and transcribed into European notation. The musical activities of the Jesuits, in the Forbidden City as well as in the services, were characterised by a balance of European and Chinese traits, avoiding any European claim for cultural superiority. An important facet of Amiot’s biography is his life-long intensive process of learning and a deep respect for the genuine cultural and spiritual traditions of China.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:DRESDEN/oai:qucosa:de:qucosa:86155 |
| Date | 23 June 2023 |
| Creators | Revers, Peter |
| Contributors | Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst |
| Publisher | PFAU-Verlag |
| Source Sets | Hochschulschriftenserver (HSSS) der SLUB Dresden |
| Language | German |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion, doc-type:bookPart, info:eu-repo/semantics/bookPart, doc-type:Text |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
| Relation | 978-3-89727-366-5, 05, urn:nbn:de:bsz:14-qucosa2-854158, qucosa:85415 |
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