Biography
Rulan Chao Pian (1922-2013)
American ethnomusicologist. She was educated at Radcliffe
College, Cambridge, MA, in Western music history and
theory with A.T. Merritt (BA 1944, MA 1946), and gained
the PhD at Harvard University (1960) with a dissertation
on the Song dynasty, influenced by Yang Lien-sheng and
in particular by John M. Ward. Her father, Chao Yuen Ren , a composer and linguist, has also had a significant
influence upon her musical interests. She began teaching
Chinese at Harvard University in 1947 while a part-time
graduate student. In 1961 she also joined the music
department, teaching Chinese music. She was made professor
of East Asian languages and civilizations and professor
of music in 1974, until her retirement, when she was
made professor emeritus (1992). She was appointed fellow
of the Academia Sinica in Taiwan in 1990.
Her publications on Song dynasty (960–1279)
musical sources, Peking opera, Peking drum songs and
other historical and contemporary genres provide not
only a wealth of musical data and analytical insights,
but also illustrate diverse methods and issues in music
studies. Her teaching at Harvard University, public
lectures in China (Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan)
and informal discussions in her home in Cambridge, MA,
a place where scholars often gathered, inspired generations
of students of Chinese music. Since the late 1970s,
Pian travelled to China regularly, bringing the latest
Western ideas and publications there, and returning
to America with a wealth of fieldwork data and audio-visual
recordings, materials that preserve and illustrate Chinese
music to American audiences. As a teacher of Chinese
language she was also able to examine narrative singing
and other oral and performing literature of China as
expressions that are both verbal and musical.
Source: The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (Online)
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Last update: December 13, 2013
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