Full-Time Faculty
Hsin-chun Lu
Associate Professor
Qualification: Ph.D., Ethnomusicology, UCLA
Research interests: Ethnomusicology, Diaspora, Soundscape, Modernity, Burmese/Myanmar classical music, Burmese/Myanmar migrant music, Borderland music studies, Applied ethnomusicology
Courses taught: Music and the Flows, Burmese/Myanmar music and its cultural practices, Sociomusicology
TEL: 02-3366-4699
E-mail: tasaw@gate.sinica.edu.tw
Personal Introduction
My academic interests focus on the processes and sites of intersection between music and mobility. Music in diaspora brought about by human migration, the distribution of music led by technology or media developments, and the power of music as a platform for social change are the three basic forms of intersection I study. With a principal geo-cultural specialty in Burma/Myanmar and its diaspora, my research in the past twenty years has concentrated on Burmese classical musicians, migrant workers, and Sino-Burmese immigrants.
My book, Unfaded Splendor: Representation and Modernity of the Burmese Classical Music Tradition (written in Chinese, National Taiwan University Press, 2012) was a study of the tradition called thachin gyi as performed by several classical musicians before Burma’s 2011 political and economic reform, when it was still used strategically as a response to the ruling military. I have continued to observe these musicians’ music-making post-reform to understand how their new access to a global market has had an impact on their music-making and transmission.
Apart from that, I also explore various ways of music-making amongst Sino-Burmese communities at home in Yangon, as well as in their diaspora communities in Macau, Taiwan, and Los Angeles. Key issues include the formation of multiple identities (generational, artistic, and ethnic), the performance of difference as defiance, soundscapes making, music embodiment, etc.
In recent years, I have brought cultural industrialization and cultural tourism into my scholarly focus, drawing from two case studies of the “Twin Water Festival phenomenon”: the first in Macau, where one festival is held by the Sino-Burmese community and the other by Burmese migrant workers (mostly ethnic Burmese, Chin, and Karen peoples). The second takes place in Taiwan, where one festival is held by the Sino-Burmese community in Taipei and the other by veterans of the KMT army withdrawn from the Thai-Burma borders to Taoyuan, a city south of Taipei. I explore cultural governance and ethnic politics emerging from the tensions generated from the Twin Water Festival phenomenon, as well as the economic, political, and social forces that shaped old patterns of interconnection. For the later research subject, I also delve into the issues of cultural performance as explored in the borderland music studies and applied ethnomusicology.
Last, ever-mindful of the significant commonalities and differences between ethnomusicology and anthropology, I also view my research from a broader methodological perspective that links studies of sounds, space, society, embodiment, and sentiment between these two fields.
- Associate Professor (jointly appointed), Institute of Musicology, National Taiwan University (2021-present）
- Associate Research Fellow, Institute of Ethnology, Academia Sinica (2013-present)
- Assistant Research Fellow, Institute of Ethnology, Academia Sinica (2008-2013)
- Assistant Professor (part-time), Graduate Institute of Ethnomusicology, Tainan National University of the Arts (2009)
- Lecturer, Department of Music, Northern Illinois University (2008)
- Postdoctoral Fellow at the Center for Burma Studies, Northern Illinois University (2007-2008)
- Music and the Flows
- Burmese/Myanmar music and its cultural practices
- Sociomusicology
- Junior Scholar Visiting Abroad Program, Academia Sinica (2015)
- Academia Sinica Research Award for Junior Research Investigators: Division of Humanities and Social Sciences (2014)
- Ta-You Wu Memorial Award, National Science Council (2013)
- First Prize for the 2013 New Taipei City’s Documentary Making Funds, awarded Project: “Musical Twin Cities in and beyond Burma,” New Taipei City Film Assist and Development Center (2013)
- Rulan Chao Pian Prize, awarded article: “Performativity of Difference: Mapping Public Soundscapes and Performing Nostalgia among Burmese Chinese in Central Rangoon,” Association for Chinese Music Research, USA (2012)
- Significant Publication at Academia Sinica：“Performativity of Difference: Mapping Public Soundscapes and Performing Nostalgia among Burmese Chinese in Central Rangoon” (2012)
- Chosen article listed in the Yearbook of Science & Technology, Taiwan：“Performativity of Difference: Mapping Public Sound- scapes and Performing Nostalgia among Burmese Chinese in Central Rangoon” (2012)
- The American Association of University Women (AAUW) Educational Foundation, Postdoctoral Fellowship, USA (2007-2008)
1. Books
2012 《未褪色的金碧輝煌：緬甸古典音樂傳統的再現與現代性》(ISBN: 9789860336993)。台北：國立台灣大學出版中心。隨書出版一片音樂光碟。
2. Edited Books
2012 《蕃族調查報告書第五冊：泰雅族–前篇》(ISBN: 9789860334227)。台北中央研究院民族學研究所。臺灣總督府臨時臺灣舊慣調查會原著。
2010 《蕃族調查報告書第七冊：泰雅族–後篇》(ISBN: 9789860255096)。台北中央研究院民族學研究所。臺灣總督府臨時臺灣舊慣調查會原著。
3. Journal Articles
2021 〈界域的文化動能：冷戰前期仰光唐人街的電影跨國網絡及其影響〉。《民俗曲藝》第213期，頁1–47。(TSSCI)
2021 〈「革命聲景」：緬華Z世代的革命情感、歌曲與FB共聽實踐〉。《人類學視界》第29期，頁14–21。
2019 〈形構「魅力金三角」：龍岡雲南社群的歌舞展演與邊區文化想像〉。《台灣音樂研究》第29期，頁41–68。
2019 “Politics and Tactics in Revolutionary Performance: A Sino–Burmese Arts Troupe in Transnational Circulation.” Asian Theatre Journal 36(2): 370–394. (A&HCI)
2018 〈時空流轉下的緬華革命歌舞〉。《考古人類學》第88期，頁35–82。(TSSCI)
2017 〈民族音樂學熱門與前瞻議題〉，《「藝術學門熱門與前瞻研究議題」結案報告》：60–76。
2016b 〈跨文化表演的研究途徑：台灣一場緬甸音樂表演的互為主體與多點民族誌研究〉。《民俗曲藝》第193期，頁 11–62。(TSSCI)
2016a “Cultural Homogeneity, Embodied Empathy: Incorporating Musical Pasts amongst Burmese Chinese Peoples Worldwide.” Ethnomusicology Forum 25(1): 14–34. (A&HCI)
2011b “Performativity of Difference: Mapping Public Soundscapes and Performing Nostalgia among Burmese Chinese in Central Rangoon.” Asian Music 42(2): 19–55. (A&HCI)
2011a 〈音樂作為一種離散社會空間：台灣中和地區緬甸華僑的音景與族裔空間建 構〉。《民俗曲藝》171: 11–64。(TSSCI)
2010 〈音聲與空間研究的全球趨勢與本土回應〉。《關渡音樂學報》（與楊建章 合著）13: 77–96。
2009 〈音樂學研究的空間新視野〉。《人文與社會科學簡訊》（與楊建章合著）11(1): 15–23。
2009 “Shaping Asian–Pacific Subjectivity in Cross–cultural Music Collaboration: An Asian–American Perspective.” Formosan Journal of Music Research 9: 125–153.
2009 “The Burmese Classical Music: An Introduction.” Fontes Artis Musicae 56(3): 254–71. (A&HCI)
2008 “Festivalizing Thingyan, Negotiating Ethnicity: Burmese Chinese Migrants in Taiwan.” Journal of Burma Studies 12: 29–62.
4. Book Chapters
2022 “Festival as Ritual and Ritual in Festival: Inventing ‘Exotic Borderlands’ in a Yunnanese Community in Northern Taiwan.” In Religious Sounds Beyond the Global North: Senses, Media and Power (Global Asia series), edited by Rosalind Hackett and Carola Erika Lorea. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Amsterdam University Press.
2021 〈聽見「唐人街」：仰光緬華的樂舞聲景形構與轉型〉，刊於《東南亞華人音樂研究》（喻輝與蔡宗德主編），頁139-158。中國：浙江大學出版社。
2021 “Experiencing the ‘Enchanting Golden Triangle’ through Music and Dance in a Yunnan Diasporic Community in Taiwan.” In Resounding Taiwan: Musical Reverberations Across a Vibrant Island, edited by Nancy Guy, 85–104. New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.
2018b 〈通往文化秘境：人類學家的緬甸習藝之旅〉，《人類學入門讀本》，頁117–141。台北：中央研究院民族學研究所。
2018a “Water Festival as Spectacle: Sino–Burmese Identities, Ethnic Politics and Public Performances in Macau.” In Routledge Handbook on Asian Music: Cultural Intersections, edited by Tong Soon Lee, 123–149. Oxford: Routledge.
2014b 〈「多元自我」與「互為主體」：一位緬甸古典音樂家的音樂自我建構〉，《同理心、情感與互為主體：人類學與心理學的對話》，頁157–206。台北：中央研究院民族學研究所。
2014a “Recounting, Resistance, and Reflection: An Analysis of a Burmese Classical Musician’s Narrative.” In Burmese Lives: Ordinary Life Stories Under the Burmese Regime, edited by Eric Tagliacozzo and Wen–chin Chang: 109–131. New York: Oxford University Press.
2013 〈追憶「紅」過往，光耀新時代：緬甸華人的聆聽感知、身體記憶與文化展 演〉。刊於《身體、主體性與文化療癒：跨域的搓揉與交纏》（余安邦主編），頁167–208。台北：中央研究院。
5. Book Reviews
2013 Book Review on Asian Theatre Puppets: Creativity, Culture and Craftsmanship, by Robin Ruizendaal and Wang Hanshun. 2009. London: Thames & Hudson Ltd. CHIME.
2008 Book Review on Footsteps in the Dark: The Hidden Histories of Popular Music, by George Lipsitz, 2007. Taiwan Journal of Anthropology 6(2): 195–98.
- 2022 “Making Sense” of the Taipei Metro’s Soundscape Program.” Presented at the IMSEA (The Regional Association for East Asia of the International Musicological Society). October 21-23.
- 2022 “Borderlands and Connectivity in the Flows: Music-making in the Thai-Myanmar Immigrant Community in Northern Taiwan.” Presented at the 46th ICTM World Conference. Lisbon, Portugal, July 21–27.
- 2022 “Constructing ‘Enchanted Golden Triangle’ through Music and Dance in a Yunnan Diasporic Community in Taiwan.” Presented at The ICTM-MEA Conference. May 15.
- 2021 “Embracing a Decentered Approach in the Borderlands of Ethnomusicology.” Roundtable session presented at the Conference of ICTM Dialogues 2021. Zoom presentation, International Council for Traditional Music. July 24.
- 2020 〈聆聽、召喚及空間性〉。發表於「身體感/身體經驗」工作坊。新竹：清華大學人文社會學院，6月6日。
- 2020 “Sounding ‘Exotic Borderlands’: Ritual Embodiment in a Yunnanese Tourist Festival in Northern Taiwan.” Paper presented at the Conference of “Sounds, Bodies and Power: Politics and Poetics of Religious Sounds.” Zoom presentation at the Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore, Singapore. February 27–28.
- 2019 “The Construction of the ‘Enchanted Golden Triangle’ through Music and Dance in a Yunnan Diasporic Community in Taiwan.” Paper presented at the 64th at the Annual Conference of the Society of Ethnomusicology (SEM). Bloomington, IN. November 7–10.
- 2019 “Challenge, Compromise, and Cohesion: Transmitting Myanmar Hsaing–waing Music in A Taiwan’s World–Music Ensemble Class Setting.” Paper presented at the 45th ICTM World Conference. Bangkok, Thailand. July 11–17.
- 2019 〈超有感/無感：樂舞身體及跨文化理解〉。發表於「文字。說不得」研討會暨工作坊。臺北：中央研究院民族學研究所，6月26日。
- 2019 〈從學術實踐進入社會參與〉，發表於「公共人文的音聲實踐圓桌會議」。臺大音樂學研究所主辦。台北：蔡瑞月舞蹈研究社玫瑰廳。2019年5月4日。
- 2018 “Experience Macau, Touching Moments”: Burmese Music and Dance Performances, Identity Negotiation, and City Tourism in Macau. Paper presented at the 13th International Burma Studies Conference. Bangkok, Thailand. August 3–5.
- 2017 〈形構觀光『異域』—龍岡米干節的歌舞展演及邊區想像〉。發表於台灣音樂學論壇。嘉義：佛光山嘉義會館，11月17日。
- 2017 “Museum Exhibitions as Alternative Way of Building Ethnomusicological Knowledge.” Paper presented at the 44th ICTM World Conference. Limerick, Ireland. July 13–19.
- 2016 “Embodying Maoism: Sino–Burmese Revolutionary Performance in Transnational Circulation.” Paper presented at the 5th ICTM–MEA Conference. Taipei, Taiwan. August 23–25.
- 2015 “Embodying Maoism: Sino–Burmese Revolutionary Performance in Transnational Circulation.” Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the Society of Ethnomusicology (SEM). Austin, Texas, USA. December 2–6.
- 2015 “Performing Revolutionaries: The Cultural Representation of Music and Dance amongst Sino–Burmese Youth in Yangon.” Abstract accepted at the 43rd International Council for Traditional Music (ICTM) World Conference. Astana, Kazakhstan. [The paper was accepted but ultimately I had to decline due to unprecedented time conflict]
- 2014 “Politics and Tactics of the Thachin Gyi’s Recent Revival in Myanmar: A Cross–cultural Case Study.” Abstract accepted for the presentation at the 4th International Symposium of the ICTM Study Group for Musics of East Asia (MEA). Nara University, Japan. August 21–24.
- 2013 “Cultural Homogeneity, Embodied Empathy: Reconstructing the Musical Pasts amongst Burmese Chinese Peoples Worldwide.” Paper presented at the 2013 International Council for Traditional Music (ICTM). Shanghai. July 11–17.
- 2013 “Listening Sensory, Bodily Memory, and the Politics of Cultural Performances among the Burmese Chinese in Rangoon.” Paper presented at the 2013 Association of Asian Studies (AAS). San Diego. March 21–25.
- 2012 “Interactions within Plural–selfhoods: Constructing Musical–self of a Burmese Chinese Musician.” Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association (AAA). San Francisco, USA. November 14–18.
- 2012 “Recollecting the Red Past, Glorifying the New Present: Musical Narratives and Performances among the pro–CCP Burmese Chinese in Rangoon.” Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society of Ethnomusicology (SEM). New Orleans, USA. November 1–4.
- 2012 「多元自我與互為主體性：一位緬甸古典音樂家的音樂自我建構」。發表於「從相逢到交融：人類學與心理學的激盪與對話」會議。台北：中央研究院 民族學研究所，9月4–5日。
- 2012 “Ethnic Festivalization, Subversion, and Intersubjectivity: The Burmese ‘Twin Water Festivals’ in Taiwan.” Paper presented at the 3rd International Symposium of the ICTM Study Group for Musics of East Asia (MEA). Chinese University, HK. July 31–August 2.
- 2012 “Music Covering and Multiple Renditions: Transnational Cover Song Culture amongst Burmese Chinese Singers since 1962.” Paper presented at the 19th Meeting of the International Musicological Society (IMS). Rome, Italy. July 1–7.
- 2012 「身體作為文化記憶或技藝？—緬華的聆聽經驗與文化展演政治」。發表於 國際漢學會議。台北：中央研究院民族學研究所，6月22日。
