The Musical Performance of Gentlemanly (shi 士) Identities in Tenth–Fourteenth Century China
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: In tenth–fourteenth century China, music makers ranged from stigmatized low-status occupational practitioners like artisans ( gong 工) and entertainers ( lingren 伶人) to the high-status, cultured gentlemen ( shi 士) who stigmatized them. Historians generally understand these groups as existing at opposing ends of the social hierarchy, readily distinguished by their distinct lives and livelihoods. However, these social and symbolic boundaries were not so clear-cut: some men labeled gentlemen earned their living through musical performance; some men categorized as artisans and entertainers were conversant in the classics and adhered to gentlemanly norms; some music makers were accepted as gentlemen by certain observers but not others. This article examines how music makers deployed repertoires of norms, behaviors, objects, and worldviews to signal gentlemanly identities to others, with varying degrees of success in different social contexts. In doing so, it develops a new framework for understanding identity performance, social categorization, and social distinction in premodern China.
Source: T oung Pao
Author: Zach Berge-Becker
Institution: University of Michigan
Language: English
Subfield: Music
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W7203879462