Abstract

This lecture centers on the Marquis Yi of Zeng chime bells (Bianzhong), outlining their historical status and contemporary significance within Chinese ritual and musical civilization. From archaeological discovery and musical performance capabilities to their role as symbols of institutional order, the lecture reveals how the chime bells embody the spirit of “ritual” (li) and “music” (yue) as systems of order. It also explores their implications for contemporary cultural development and innovative transformation. By revisiting the trajectory of related scholarship and practical case studies, the lecture further considers how traditional ritual-music resources might respond to the pressing questions of today’s society and civilizational development.

Speaker Bio

Li Youping holds a Ph.D. in Literature and Arts from the Chinese National Academy of Arts. He was a joint postdoctoral fellow at the University of Michigan and the China Scholarship Council, a government-sponsored visiting scholar and senior research scholar in the United States. He is a Distinguished Professor at the Central Conservatory of Music, doctoral advisor in Chinese ancient music history, co-supervisor for postdoctoral programs, and Chief Expert of a Major Art Studies Project funded by the National Social Science Foundation of China. He is also a Second-Level Professor of Musicology and former Vice President of Wuhan Conservatory of Music.

He serves as Vice Chair of the Teaching Guidance Committee for Music and Dance Majors under China’s Ministry of Education, and as a core member of projects including the National Standards for Undergraduate Music Education Quality and the Core Competencies Framework for Music Education for Chinese Students.

He has led numerous national, provincial, ministerial, and Sino–U.S. collaborative research projects, including the National Social Science Foundation’s Major Art Studies Project on “Contemporary Musical Practice and Theoretical Research on the Inheritance and Innovation of Ritual-Music Culture,” the National Cultural Innovation Engineering Project on “Technological Transformation and Promotion of Newly Cast Chime Bells,” and the commissioned project “Ten-Year Development Study of the Discipline of Art Studies • Musicology (2012–2021).” His research also includes studies on ritual bell-and-stone music traditions, the Dasheng bells, and the standardized pitch of Huangzhong in the Song dynasty. His achievements have received awards including the Ministry of Culture’s Science and Technology Progress Award, the Hubei Provincial Science and Technology Progress Award, the Deng Guangming Academic Writing Award, as well as national patents.

Event Information

• Free and open to the public
• March 5th (Thursday)
• 3:00 – 5:00 PM ET
• This is an in-person event.

Please note

Advanced RSVP required.
The event will be conducted in Mandarin Chinese.