Music Practices in China: Gender, Education, and Creativity

Wai Chung Ho*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in book/report/conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

Abstract

Despite the feminist movement in China, which took place in the early 20th century, and the promotion of state feminism as enforced by the Communist Party of China (CPC) after the founding of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in 1949, gender education, or feminism and education, in China is different from that in Western societies in many aspects (particularly the ultimate inequality of a female-biased sex ratio at birth, less education, low representation in leadership positions, and income differences compared with male counterparts). Over the last 2 decades, China has placed more emphasis on learning and practice in the process of fostering creativity in school education. With reference to China, this chapter examines the under-researched connection between gender, education, and creative music practices through reproduced gender illustrations found in official music textbooks. Within this context, the chapter also explores gender differences presented in music practices and the representation of gender in activities involving creative music making. Though China is attempting to provide a balanced gender representation via official Chinese discourse in creativity education, I argue that gendered teaching materials are found in creative music practices in the music textbooks. Particularly, males are portrayed as strong while females are seen as weak, as illustrated in the pictures for creative music activities in the official approved teaching materials.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationThe Oxford Handbook of Feminism and Music Education
EditorsMarissa Silverman, Nasim Niknafs
Place of PublicationNew York
PublisherOxford University Press
Chapter25
Pages484-506
Number of pages13
ISBN (Electronic)9780197612538
ISBN (Print)9780197612507
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 24 Jun 2025

Publication series

NameOxford Handbooks
PublisherOxford University Press

User-Defined Keywords

  • gender
  • music practices
  • creative music making
  • music textbooks
  • music education

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