HARMONY BETWEEN HEAVEN AND EARTH: MINDFULNESS-ORIENTED GUQIN AS A WELLNESS PRACTICE FOR INDIVIDUALS IN THE TUCSON CHINESE COMMUNITY

Abstract

Current Arts in Health scholarship does not fully address the complexity inherent in how art and health can be understood in diverse cultural contexts. Commonly, music and health research positions music as a tool rather than a culturally embedded practice with significant meaning. Existing literature mainly discusses the philosophy and aesthetics of Chinese music; there is little applied research on the impact of Chinese music on wellbeing. This dissertation explores the theory, implementation, and effects of culturally inspired and mindfulness-oriented music practice as a way to nourish individual wellbeing for people living in the Chinese diaspora. A multi-step ethnographic case study using principles of applied ethnomusicology and health promotion was conducted in a Chinese cultural center in Tucson, Arizona, United States. This applied and action-based research project included the design and implementation of a culturally tailored eight-week music mindfulness program for Chinese Americans focusing on the guqin, a plucked seven-string Chinese zither. Additionally, fieldwork was conducted to understand the role of the Tucson Chinese Cultural Center (TCCC) as a cultural-social common place for the wellbeing of Chinese communities in Tucson. I also address the process associated with developing, adapting, and evaluating community-based music and wellness programs that unfold in the Chinese diasporic community health setting. This music and wellness program recruited participants through TCCC website promotions, flyers, social media, subscribers, and email lists, recommended by committee, and information-sharing from the Tucson Chinese Girlfriend group on WeChat. There were 18 participants who completed this program. Throughout the eight-week program, I engaged in ethnographic fieldwork for data collection, including participate observation, interviews, photo-video documentation, reflective journals and ethnographic fieldnotes. Results suggest that engaging in culturally specific mindfulness-oriented music practice nurtures the wellbeing of Chinese individuals by: a) supporting individuals to achieve mind-body awareness, inner peace, and calmness; b) connecting with a perception of self-transcendence and enlightenment in response to life changes; c) reconnecting with cultural roots and heritage to nurture a sense of belonging; and d) promoting opportunities for social bridging and bonding. Key lessons learned from this program include identifying the values of mindfulness-oriented guqin practice and collaborative development of culturally responsive music and wellness program for the wellbeing of diasporic community. The lessons learned from the process of collaborative program development may benefit future Arts in Health research and practices to create a harmonious society.