Selective Identity: Korean Minority Composers and the Performance of Ethnicity in the People's Republic of China (PRC)

Chaoxianzu is the Chinese official name for the Korean minority nationality who predominantly resides in Northeastern provinces of the People's Republic of China (PRC). This study examines Chaoxianzu music created by composers who are based in the two government performing arts organizations: the Yanbian Song and Dance Troupe and the Yanji Chaoxianzu Arts Troupe. The Yanbian Song and Dance Troupe has represented Korean cultural identity in and outside of their autonomous region since 1940s. The Yanji Chaoxianzu Arts Troupe was established in 1981 coinciding with awareness to retrieve Chaoxianzu cultural identity much of which disappeared throughout the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976). While both organizations have contributed to the construction and reformation of Chaoxianzu music, they are distinct in terms of the organizational structure, ideology, and definition of Chaoxianzu ethnic performing arts. By comparing and contrasting composers of the Song and Dance Troupe and Chaoxianzu Arts Troupe, and their musical works, I illuminate how individual musicians creatively interject their own projection of Chaoxianzu ethnicity into their compositions. By analyzing their compositional style, I show how these composers are creating a discursive space to articulate their hybrid identities of being Chinese, Korean, and Chaoxianzu.