The Development Status and Inheritance Dilemmas of Zhihua Temple Jing Music

Zhihua Temple Jing Music is an ancient Chinese musical genre with over 500 years of history, specifically referring to the Buddhist music passed down in more than 20 temples in the eastern part of Beijing, such as Zhihua Temple and Tianxian Temple. Among them, Zhihua Temple is the core place for the development, inheritance, and dissemination of Jing Music. Therefore, scholars named this genre Zhihua Temple Jing Music in the 1950s. This article traces the historical background and evolution of Zhihua Temple and Jing Music. Based on the current development status of Zhihua Temple, this article will focus on the characteristics of Jing Music and discuss the series of problems faced by it today, such as a lack of successors, difficulties in implementing inheritance mechanisms, and unstable economic sources. It also attempts to provide ideas for the sustainable development of this musical genre.