Similarities and Differences between Chinese and Foreign Ethnic Music and their Cultural Connotations from a Comparative Perspective

Abstract

This study offers a detailed comparative study on the Chinese ethnic music traditions and that of foreigners, locating these traditions within the cultural, historical, and structural contexts and exploring the binding intersections. The research works in two directions: on the one hand, it examines the interaction of universally human music components with culturally unique manifestations and on the other hand, how music traditions embody both universal human elements and culturally unique components. After the detailed analysis of specific musical patterns, performance modes and the environment, the study illustrates that ethnic musical traditions are complex manifestations of culture-oriented frameworks whilst having elementary features of human’s musical performance models. The findings are relevant to the character of music as a form of communication and a universal phenomenon while also reflecting different aspects of culture, in which such communication exists, including philosophy, society, and aesthetics.