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Arts & Communication Sound and cross-cultural art in China since 1980s

Canadian composer and sound artist Dan Lander first artists. For instance, Zhang Peili created Water: Standard
formally introduced the term “sound art” to the West. Version from the Cihai in 1991, in which a news anchor
Early sound art was rooted in contemporary philosophy reads dictionary entries starting with the character for
and art theory and broke free from the traditional concepts “water” at standard broadcast speed (Figure 4). The precise
of sound, altering the dominance of visual narratives. and monotonous broadcast voice detached from its usual
However, at that time, “sound art” was more utilized as an news context highlighted the nature of news broadcasting.
alternative term for “new music” or “experimental music.” This artwork combined visuals and sound to offer a subtle
The foundation for sound as an art form became truly yet profound critique of official communication formats.
established only when John Cage’s 4’33” used “silence” to Sound functioned in this work as a medium that conveyed
breach the boundaries of traditional music and reshape collective memory and public life and implicitly evoked
the concept of sound and auditory experiences. Sound social and political connotations, notwithstanding whether
and image were gradually separated as film, recording, Zhang Peili intended to emphasize the role of sound.
radio, and telephone technologies developed, sparking Unlike Viola’s art in which sound serves primarily as a tool
the interest of video artists such as Bill Viola. Their works that enhances emotion, sound itself becomes a vehicle for
enhanced the emotional resonance of the audience through narrative and cultural memory in Zhang’s work. Zhang’s
sound and prepared the groundwork for the severance of recent work Standard, Healthy, Upward, and Distinctive
sound from vision. Thus, sound attained independent Circle and Its Sound (2017) exhibited at the Beijing Sound
significance (Figure 3). Art Museum (2024) comprises eight semiconductor radios
Compared to the West, China could not avail of any from the 1960s to 1980s broadcasting local radio programs.
theoretical foundation or indigenous models for sound art It also reflects the characteristic of sound as a carrier of the
and experimental music. Professor Wang Jing conducted collective cultural memory of a specific period in China
an in-depth analysis of the practices and philosophical (Figure 5).
foundations of Chinese improvisational and experimental Shi Yong created a live sound art piece in 1995 titled
music groups. Her examination was influenced by Sound Amplification Site: Cross-echo of a Private Space,
contemporary Western philosophers such as Deleuze and which could be deemed China’s first true sound artwork.
adduced Chinese philosophy, particularly Zhang Zai’s Shi Yong assembled an ordinary living space in an artist’s
theory of “Qi.” Professor Wang based her scrutiny on the home and equipped every room with microphones and
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works of artists such as Li Jianhong and Wang Fan and speakers connected to seven amplifiers. The microphones
summarized the esthetic aim of Chinese sound practices and speakers remained operative 24 h every day; thus,
as the creation of a poetic space in which the harmonious any sound produced in the house was captured and
flow of energy between all things, the body, and the transmitted to all rooms, creating an overlapping echo
universe can be realized. However, her research focused soundscape. This piece was one of the earliest created in
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primarily on experimental music and live performances. China to connect bodily actions with the environment,
It is difficult to trace the origins of Chinese sound art due use sound as a medium for exploring how sounds travel
to the inherent “presence” of sound. Early usages of sound
as a medium can be understood only through the visual
archives and case studies of the works of the concerned

Figure 4. Zhang Peili, Water: Standard Version from the Cihai, 1991.
Figure 3. Bill Viola, The Crossing, video/sound installation, 1996. Zhang Peili Archive. Courtesy of Zhang Peili and Asia Art Archive.
Copyright© Bill Viola. Copyright © AsiaArtArchive.

Volume 3 Issue 3 (2025) 4 doi: 10.36922/ac.4669