Please select 8 of these questions and answer them in a few sentences each.
Like a Knife, Chapter 1
- What does Jones mean when he says that popular music, as opposed to regional folk music, is “national” in character?
- What is the difference between “popular music” (liuxing yinyue) and “popularized music” (tongsu yinyue)?
- What are some of the differences between tongsu yinyue and rock?
Like a Knife, Chapter 2
- How does the censorship apparatus in China work?
- Summarize the lyrics of “The Valiant Spirit of Asia” (Yazhou xiongfeng). What does Jones think is the song’s significance? What do you think is its significance?
- What is the “Northwest Wind” style?
- What kinds of changes did government authorities suggest be made to the lyrics to “Going Towards the World” (Zouxiang shiije)?
Like a Knife, Chapter 3
- How does the state participate in the production of tongsu music?
- Sketch a portrait of the writers of tongsu music. How might they be described demographically, ideologically, and in terms of their musical tastes?
- In what ways do tongsu singers describe themselves as self-empowered? In what ways do they seem more constrained by the desires of the government and realities of the economy?
- How is tongsu music disseminated? Locate a clip online of a televised singing contest or a festival program (from New Year’s, Spring Festival, or National Day, for example) from China and prepare to share it with us in class.
