The "Chinese Essence" embedded in Chinese and Western Piano Music
Chinese piano music began as a product of the development of economic and cultural exchanges between China and the West in the late 19th century as the old Chinese political system was overthrown. After the piano was introduced to China, under the impetus of national policy and the pursuit of Chinese composers' own culture, these composers gradually incorporated Chinese elements while imitating Western compositional techniques, creating a unique "piano music with Chinese essence," which was gradually recognized and accepted by the public.
However, the “Chinese essence” is not a unique feature of Chinese piano works; its oriental elements are also present in many non-Chinese music works and regarded in that context as exotic. Although these oriental elements may simply come from Westerners' imagination of Eastern regions, they also show Westerners' curiosity and interest in Eastern culture. Therefore, what is truly "Chinese essence" seems to be understood differently by people in different cultural contexts and needs to be further defined and interpreted.
This study not only explores the "Chinese essence" and its traditional cultural expression in Chinese piano music, but also turns its attention to the "Chinese essence" as an exotic expression in Western piano works. In addition, through the analysis of compositional techniques and historical background, this study expects a new aesthetic spirit and philosophical connotation of "piano works with Chinese essence" that may emerge from the blending of Chinese and Western cultures.
The second part of this research examines three piano adaptations of ancient Chinese guqin instrumental pieces from the 1960s to 1970s, analysing the composers' evocation of the three main tones of the guqin on the piano in terms of compositional technique. The three composers were found to have both similar compositional ideas and unique compositional techniques, all embodying the "Chinese essence" successfully. In addition, it was found in the study that after the collision and fusion of Chinese and Western cultures, the original aesthetic spirit of guqin music has been inherited in the Chinese piano adaptations, but there are still some signs of lost philosophical connotations.
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