Introduction

This book tells the story of jazz in contemporary China. It provides a comprehensive study of Chinese jazz developments, activities, and scenes from the late 1970s to the 2010s. Based on extensive ethnographic data and an interdisciplinary theoretical perspective, this book examines a wide range of historical, socio-political, cultural, and spatial phenomena related to jazz in China. The Introduction chapter of Shifting Sounds, Rising Scenes is divided into three sections: Setting the Scene, This Book, and Historical Overview (1919–1976). The first two sections unfold the aims, methodology, data, and structure of the book. The subsequent section is an overview of the rise and fall of early Chinese jazz. It is illustrated through a juxtaposition of two narratives, which provide a reference for understanding contemporary Chinese jazz. The first concerns the modernization and politicization of culture and arts in China, emphasizing the controversial stance of the period’s popular music and jazz. The second narrative depicts the historical conditions, urban culture, and socio-political realism of cosmopolitan Shanghai – the birthplace of Chinese jazz.