A Study of Artistic Expression in Selected Chinese Piano Pieces (1949–1966): Reflections of Chinese Art and Culture

Abstract

Against the backdrop of the special social and cultural context in China from 1949 to 1966, Chinese piano music creation entered a stage of systematic exploration of nationalization under the guidance of national cultural policies. This paper takes 16 representative Chinese piano works created during 1949-1966 as the research object, based on Yu Runyang's "musicological analysis" and Adorno's "sociology of music" as the core theoretical framework, and uses literature analysis and expert interview methods to deeply analyze the artistic expression characteristics of these works and their reflection of Chinese art and culture. The study finds that during this period, Chinese piano works realized the transformation from individual exploration to organized creation under the guidance of the creative principles of "revolutionization, nationalization and popularization"; in terms of musical language, 87.5% of the works integrated pentatonic scales, folk melodies or traditional instrumental timbres, forming a unique Chinese piano vocabulary; in terms of thematic connotation, 62.5% of the works focused on socialist construction and people's new life, closely responding to the spirit of the times. These works not only laid the foundation for the formation of the Chinese piano school, but also became an important carrier for the construction of national cultural identity and the dissemination of the spirit of the times.