Constructing Cultural Identity with Traditional Chinese-Style Music in Soundscapes

Bingyi Yan

doi:10.71222/m3k58g49

Authors

Bingyi Yan Department of Contemporary Music, Graduate School, Hanyang University, Seoul, 04763, South Korea Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.71222/m3k58g49

Keywords:

Traditional Chinese-style Music (TCM), soundscape, cultural identity, film and television music, cultural representation, traditional Chinese instruments

Abstract

In recent years, China’s film and television industry has increasingly incorporated Traditional Chinese-style Music (TCM), not only to enhance narrative expression but also to construct culturally resonant soundscapes. By integrating traditional instruments and operatic motifs, these productions evoke imagery and collective memory, transforming auditory experience into cultural recognition. This study investigates how TCM contributes to soundscape construction that fosters audience identification. It examines how musical elements shape perception, how sonic imagery conveys cultural symbolism, and how creators reinforce strategies of cultural identification. Through case studies of The Legend of Zhenhuan and Kung Fu Panda, the research analyzes three soundscape components—Keynote Sound, Sound Signal, and Sound Mark—within the framework of Hero Theory. The findings suggest that domestic dramas tend to emphasize inward cultural identification, whereas Western animations favor outward cultural integration. This comparative inquiry elucidates the mechanisms through which TCM transforms sound into cultural signifiers and offers insights into how film and television music can further promote the global dissemination of Chinese culture.

References

1. Z. Hu, S. Shang, J. Wan, J. Hao, and Y. Sun, "Expression of ethnicity in the soundtrack of the film Kung Fu Hustle," in Proc. 3rd Int. Conf. Education, Language and Art (ICELA 2023), vol. 831, pp. 423, Springer Nature, Feb. 2024. ISBN: 9782384762149.

2. Q. Qu and S. Jamnongsarn, The study of traditional Chinese music in the context of the appropriation process of popular Chinese Music, Doctoral dissertation, Srinakharinwirot Univ., 2024.

3. Y. Zhuang, Y. Kang, T. Fei, M. Bian, and Y. Du, "From hearing to seeing: Linking auditory and visual place perceptions with soundscape-to-image generative artificial intelligence," Computers, Environment and Urban Systems, vol. 110, p. 102122, 2024, doi: 10.1016/j.compenvurbsys.2024.102122.

4. L. Li, Y. Li, J. Wu, and H. Gao, "Emotional resonance and identity recognition in Chinese late adolescent digital music con-sumption," Media and Communication, vol. 11, no. 4, pp. 175–186, 2023, doi: 10.17645/mac.v11i4.7099.

5. Y. Ma, "China's film and television industry and contemporary transformation of Chinese outstanding traditional culture," Int. J. Frontiers in Sociology, vol. 5, no. 9, 2023, doi: 10.25236/IJFS.2023.050921.

6. X. Zhou, Youth Culture in Chinese Language Film. London, UK: Routledge, 2016. ISBN: 9781315559124.

7. W. Xie, "An analysis of film music art from the perspective of cultural differences between China and the West," Mediterranean Archaeology and Archaeometry, 2025.

8. J. Chattah, Film Music: Cognition to Interpretation. New York, NY, USA: Routledge, 2023. ISBN: 9780429504457.

9. J. Wang, "On the rhythmicity of film music: Overall dramatic construction, characterisation and story metaphors," in 2024 4th Int. Conf. Public Art and Human Development (ICPAHD 2024), pp. 15–24, Atlantis Press, Mar. 2025, doi: 10.2991/978-2-38476-378-8_3.

10. L. D’Amico, "Reality and fiction: audiovisual representations of traditional musical cultures in China," Asian Musicology–Anseong, 2017.

11. J. Jing, "The influence of traditional Chinese music on professional instrumental composition," Asian Music, vol. 22, no. 2, pp. 83–96, 1991, doi: 10.2307/834308.

12. F. Yu and S. H. Ahn, "Musical narratives in The Last Emperor: The power of leitmotifs and traditional Chinese instruments in storytelling," Rast Musicology J., vol. 13, no. 2, pp. 177–199, 2025, doi: 10.12975/rastmd.20251325.

13. D. Garro, "From sonic art to visual music: Divergences, convergences, intersections," Organised Sound, vol. 17, no. 2, pp. 103–113, 2012, doi: 10.1017/S1355771812000027.

14. Z. Ding and F. Aletta, "Acoustical traditions and cultural identity: Exploring Kunqu’s contribution to collective memory," Acoustics, vol. 6, no. 4, pp. 1115–1139, Dec. 2024, doi: 10.3390/acoustics6040061.

15. K. Fahlenbrach, "Audiovisual atmospheres, moods, and metaphoric spaces: Aesthetically rich spaces in complex TV series," in Cognition, Emotion, and Aesthetics in Contemporary Serial Television, pp. 237–255, 2021. ISBN: 9781032037165.

16. R. M. Schafer, The soundscape: Our sonic environment and the tuning of the world, New York: Simon and Schuster, 1993. ISBN: 9780892814558.

17. Y. Wang and Z. Deng, "Soundscape: In the view of music," InterNoise, pp. 4–7, 2011, doi: 10.13140/2.1.3015.6804.

18. T. Görne, "The emotional impact of sound: A short theory of film sound design," EPiC Series in Technology, vol. 1, pp. 17–30, 2019, doi: 10.29007/jk8h.

19. S. Hall, "The work of representation," in The Applied Theatre Reader, pp. 74–76, 2020. ISBN: 9780367376291.

20. Y. Zhang, Z. Zhou, and M. Sun, "Influence of musical elements on the perception of 'Chinese style' in music," Cognitive Com-putation and Systems, vol. 4, no. 2, pp. 147–164, 2022, doi: 10.1049/ccs2.12036.

21. S. Tuohy, "The sonic dimensions of nationalism in modern China: Musical representation and transformation," Ethnomusicology, vol. 45, no. 1, pp. 107–131, 2001, doi: 10.2307/852636.

22. J. Campbell, The hero with a thousand faces, 17th ed., New World Library, 2008. ISBN: 9781577315933.

23. C. Vogler, "Joseph Campbell goes to the movies: The influence of the hero's journey in film narrative," J. Genius and Eminence, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 9–23, 2017, doi: 10.18536/jge.2017.02.2.2.02.

24. C. P. Morgan, Good vs. evil: The role of the soundtrack in developing a dichotomy in “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone”, M.A. thesis, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC, USA, 2011.

25. J. Wang, "Portrayal of Chinese culture in Hollywood films: A case study of Mulan and Kung Fu Panda," 2021.

26. Y. Jiang and M. Zheng, "The inductive effect of musical mode types on emotions and physiological responses: Chinese pen-tatonic scales versus Western major/minor modes," Front. Psychol., vol. 15, p. 1414014, 2024, doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1414014.

27. M. Chion, Audio-Vision: Sound on Screen, New York, NY, USA: Columbia University Press, 2019. ISBN: 97802311185899.

28. W. Wang, “Research on application of Chinese culture in animated movie Kung Fu Panda,” in Proc. 2nd Int. Conf. Economics, Management Engineering and Education Technology (ICEMEET 2016), Atlantis Press, Jan. 2017, pp. 420–422. doi: 10.2991/icemeet-16.2017.87.