Abstract
Beiguan music was designated as Taiwan’s Significant Traditional Arts by Ministry of Culture in 2009. Beiguan amateur music club-Lichun Yuan was appointed as the community to preserve Beiguan music. This essay tracks back to the 1970s, rather than 2009, to examine the heritagization process of Changhua Lichun Yuan. Lichun Yuan has been reformed by the musicians who joined the club at different time in the heritagization process and by diverse music experience brought with each musician. Moreover, Lichun Yuan Beiguan music has been given diverse roles in varied time and locations and it hence has created various meanings. By depicting the soundscapes and social and cultural contexts of Lichun Yuan Beiguan music, this article attempts to clarify its complex cultural meaning. From the ethnography conducted in Lichun Yuan, with the idea of cultural space and process of production from UNESCO’s “Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage,” this study seeks to reveal some possibilities of preserving Lichun Yuan Beiguan music.