ABSTRACT
Zhang Dai was a prominent aesthete, essayist, historian, and musician of late Ming China. Zhang Dai’s music essays and poems factually corroborate with what is currently known about qin music and operas in Ming China. Zhang Dai’s musical life can be divided into three distinct stages. The first stage spanned from 1597, the year the essayist was born, to 1615, the year after which he began to clearly date his personal music activities. The second stage, which spanned the years between 1616 and 1645, is a period during which the author made music as a master: he performed proficiently, critiqued performances discriminately and theoretically, and produced music presentations or events expertly and effectively. The third stage is a time of retreat from active engagement with music as entertainment or as social activities. In addition to informal learning of operatic and instrumental music at home, Zhang family members also learned music in their social and ritual outings.
