Professional Music Education in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of China: Features of Development

Abstract

Introduction. The development of professional music education in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region throughout the mid-to-late twentieth century is of interest both from historical and art-critical perspectives. The difficult period of state construction would inevitably affect the formation and development of the region’s musical culture. The uniqueness of the situation is that Inner Mongolia’s musical traditions have been simultaneously influenced by Chinese musical art and European (Soviet) school of professional training. Goals. The paper examines some features inherent to the development of professional music education in the region, and characterizes the government’s sociocultural policies in the specified period. Materials and methods. The study focuses on documents, decrees, decisions of China’s cultural affairs leadership, as well as documents adopted by the Government of Inner Mongolia. The work basically employs the problem-chronological and historical comparative approaches. Results. As the first ethnic autonomy of the PRC destined to equally experience large-scale nationwide transformation plans, the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region did prove a particular case of ethnocultural development. Mongolian musical traditions served as a source for the creation of new patterns in the to-be-modernized society. Plot and compositional structures of original works from the designated period would comprise both classical canons and new motifs introduced by Soviet composers. Conclusions. The Soviet Union helped China not only create new systems of general and higher education, develop the social sphere at large, but also contributed to the shaping of professional music education. The cooperation between Soviet and Chinese specialists was pinnacled by the establishment of the Inner Mongolia Symphony Orchestra.