Chinese Music in Malaysia: Sustainability and Convergence

Multiracial Malaysia displays a rich cultural diversity that justifies the popular label of ‘truly Asian’ featuring the three major races Malay, Chinese and Indian, and a smaller population of indigenous groups. This chapter first takes a nostalgic journey to the settlement of the Chinese diasporic community in Malaysia from the 15th century who brought with them musical traditions from the China mainland. The practice of different traditional and folk music, mostly from the South of China, where the Chinese migrants originated, continued in the country. This essay also reviews how these cultural practices were sustained pre- and post-World War 2. A discussion on the development of Chinese musical practices in the country, along with reasons for its decline and challenges to survival as a minority, provides some thoughts about opportunity and conflict. Efforts in sustaining tradition that led to new directions of Malaysian Chinese identity musical formation in this multiracial country are considered. The final part of the chapter documents how a new identity has been shared between a Chinese core and its multiracial peripheries, a phenomenon that presents a new creative output from the younger generations that mirrored the code-switching culture in Malaysia in the age of convergence.