Instrumental Modernity in Taiwanese Literati’s Listening Experiences under Japanese Colonial Rule
Date Issued
2011
Date
2011
Author(s)
Chen, Yen-Jui
Abstract
Traditional researches of sensational experience put more emphasis on the visual aspect. Auditory senses were igored from living experiences due to the fleeting features of sounds. In recent years, the gap is getting narrower when the issues of interaction between sensation and environment attract more attention. The thought of “sounds exist as a matter of course” is re-considered in cultural and historical context. Under this context, modernization is the key factor to change acoustic space. Taiwanese literati under Japanese Rule did confront to this situation.
Today, few people would doubt about the existence of sounds of clocks, cars, broadcast, etc.. Conversely, these sounds sound “unnatural” for the Taiwanese literati who had encountered the impact on modernization in Japanese colonial period. These sounds through different instrumental medium had formed brand-new soundscapes when Taiwanese traditional society had transformed into a modern one. The practice of the sounds, however, appended to a new meaning, that is, sounds are loaded with certain function through the working of modern instruments. For example, sounds of clockwatches strengthen the order of standard time; sounds of steam whistles assure safety drive; sounds of farming machines indicate the efficiency of production. The appearance of these sounds reveals the link between instrumental features and modernity practicing in Taiwan. Taiwanese literati construct new body perception not only through the sense of sounds, but by percieving the subtle transition of musical context. Their auditory writing represents the meaning of instrumental modernity. Consequently, this research will focus on Taiwanese literati under Japanese Colonial Rule, and argue how the listening experiences of Taiwanese literati institutionalize the instrumental modernity.
Subjects
Japanese Colonial Rule
Taiwanese Literati
Listening Experiences
Body Perception
Modernity
Instrumental Modernity
Institutionalization
Type
thesis
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