Certificate of Merit Award, for BEST HISTORICAL RESEARCH IN RECORDED COUNTRY, FOLK, WORLD, OR ROOTS MUSIC, by the Association For Recorded Sound Collections
"Chengs book is an essential resource for scholars seeking profound insights into the historical development of Chinese popular music and its significance on a global scale. It conducts an archeological study of sounds, society and modernity during particular periods of mainland China and Taiwans modern histories. The book offers a comprehensive overview of the evolution of Chinese popular music over the past nearly 100 years, taking into consideration various factors such as reform of the political system, improving cross-strait relations and the collision and fusion of Chinese and Western cultures. In addition, the book is valuable for music theory researchers interested in the continuation of Chinese classical music and opera in modern popular music. Written in accessible language with clear structure, precise terminology and extensive references, it is also suitable for a general audience interested in Chinese popular music studies."
Nianyi, Ling, Book Review, European Journal of Cultural Studies (2024)
"The Evolution of Chinese Popular Music: Modernization and Globalization, 1927 to the Present stands out by holistically addressing the hundred-year history of Chinese popular music. Full of carefully researched observations on music, lyrics, performers, composers, and historical and contemporary currents, it also fills a clear niche by focusing on the music-theoretical content of these repertories. The book will engage a broad cross-section of readerships, from popular music studies to musicology and Asian studies, and is sure to enjoy a lengthy shelf-life as a central reference in the field of Chinese popular music studies."
Dr Lijuan Qian, Senior Lecturer at University College Cork, the author of The Tolerated Mainstream: Chinese Popular Music in the 1980s (Guilin: Guangxi Normal University Press, 2016).
