A scholar said that a musical acoustics textbook compiled by a western missionary contributed to modern Chinese music education.
In the academic symposium themed “Individuals, Organizations, and Cultures Spanning across China and the West” held by the Shanghai Society of History and the history faculty of Shanghai University on September 25, Teacher Guo Dengjie from Shanghai Conservatory of Music shared his presentation on the topic of "Historical Investigation of the Musical Acoustics Course and the Textbook The Essentials of Acoustics at Tengchow College".
“Music majors must understand musical acoustics and related knowledge.” Teacher Guo said, “Wherever Christianity reaches, there will be hymns. Especially in the process of the evolution and development of Chinese hymns, it had an important impact on the category and content construction of modern Chinese music education.”
He then made a historical investigation of the musical acoustics course of Tengchow College. In 1876, Tengchow College, formerly known as Tengchow Boy's High School opened a course in musical acoustics, and in 1894, it published a textbook called "The Essentials of Acoustics" translated by Watson McMillen Hayes, a missionary to China with the Presbyterian Church of North America (PCNA). Although this book is not the first translation about acoustics, it is the first textbook to introduce the western modern acoustic theory of music into China. Its formation also reflected a kind of localization strategy, which objectively stimulated the enlightenment of scientific thoughts and professional development of modern Chinese music education.
Guo said that the compilation of the teaching material was not the individual behavior of a missionary, but was organized by a team, which effectively helped spread the knowledge of musicology. These textbooks were edited in accordance with the reading habits of Chinese people. They were translated in combination with things familiar to Chinese people, and the names and places unfamiliar to Chinese people were omitted. The pictures were also changed to some extent. This textbook has influenced the teaching system of separate subjects and has promoted the popularization of knowledge about musical acoustics.
- Translated by Stephen Huang
上海音乐学院的郭登杰老师以“登州文会馆音乐声学课程及教科书《声学揭要》的历史考察”为题分享了他的报告。
“音乐专业的学生一定要了解音乐声学及相关知识。”郭登杰老师分享自己研究的思路时说到，“凡是基督教到达的地方都会有赞美诗，尤其在汉语赞美诗演变发展的过程当中，对近代中国音乐教育学科谱系和内容构建产生了重要的影响。”
他随后以登州文会馆的音乐声学课程为研究对象进行历史考察。1876年，登州文会馆便开设了音乐声学课程，并于1894年出版了教科书《声学揭要》。虽然该书籍不是第一本声学译著，但却是最早引入西方现代音乐声学理论的教科书，其形成背后也反映出一种本土化策略，客观上刺激了近代中国音乐教育科学思想启蒙及其专业化发展。
主讲人介绍说，对于教材的编写，并不是某个传教士的个人行为，而是有团队组织编写的，有效帮助传播了音乐学的知识。而这些教材的编辑是按照中国人的阅读习惯进行编辑的，结合中国人熟悉的事物来进行翻译，并把中国人不熟悉的人名、地名等省略，图片也进行了一些变化。这本教材影响了分科立学的教学体质，也推动了音乐声学知识的普及。
学者报告 | 登州文会馆音乐教科书《声学揭要》的历史与意义
A scholar said that a musical acoustics textbook compiled by a western missionary contributed to modern Chinese music education.
In the academic symposium themed “Individuals, Organizations, and Cultures Spanning across China and the West” held by the Shanghai Society of History and the history faculty of Shanghai University on September 25, Teacher Guo Dengjie from Shanghai Conservatory of Music shared his presentation on the topic of "Historical Investigation of the Musical Acoustics Course and the Textbook The Essentials of Acoustics at Tengchow College".
“Music majors must understand musical acoustics and related knowledge.” Teacher Guo said, “Wherever Christianity reaches, there will be hymns. Especially in the process of the evolution and development of Chinese hymns, it had an important impact on the category and content construction of modern Chinese music education.”
He then made a historical investigation of the musical acoustics course of Tengchow College. In 1876, Tengchow College, formerly known as Tengchow Boy's High School opened a course in musical acoustics, and in 1894, it published a textbook called "The Essentials of Acoustics" translated by Watson McMillen Hayes, a missionary to China with the Presbyterian Church of North America (PCNA). Although this book is not the first translation about acoustics, it is the first textbook to introduce the western modern acoustic theory of music into China. Its formation also reflected a kind of localization strategy, which objectively stimulated the enlightenment of scientific thoughts and professional development of modern Chinese music education.
Guo said that the compilation of the teaching material was not the individual behavior of a missionary, but was organized by a team, which effectively helped spread the knowledge of musicology. These textbooks were edited in accordance with the reading habits of Chinese people. They were translated in combination with things familiar to Chinese people, and the names and places unfamiliar to Chinese people were omitted. The pictures were also changed to some extent. This textbook has influenced the teaching system of separate subjects and has promoted the popularization of knowledge about musical acoustics.
- Translated by Stephen Huang
Scholar: 'The History, Significance of Music Textbooks at Tengchow College'
