An Audience of One: The Private Music of the Chinese Literati

Abstract China’s qin music is historically associated with the literati, who play primarily for themselves as a private activity. While they consider the meaning and significance of the music more important than communicating the musical sound to an audience, they nevertheless also enjoy it as expressive art. This article argues that in playing privately, the player turns inwardly toward himself rather than outwardly toward an audience. In such a performance environment, music and musicality need to be assessed by criteria different from those commonly accepted, which are based on the supposition that music is a social activity with the primary goal of communicating to an audience.