New Era, New Order, New Normal, and New World
Symphony No. 9, also known as “New World Symphony,” was one of the most popular works composed by Antonínby Dvořák, who inspired by the natural beauty and racial diversity of the 19th Century North America continent. This work was introduced in China during the late 20s, almost two decades after the peak of New Cultural Movement, a bourgeois social-cultural reform supported by scholars and neo industrialists but failed to consolidate a robust political institute to avert Japanese Imperialism invasion. However, the title of the symphony was later changed from “New World Symphony” to “New Continental Symphony” after the establishment of socialist China in the late 40s until the end of the Cultural Revolution. This was related to an interesting political view in the 60s that “New World” can only be enthroned to a “Socialist China” with People lead by a Vanguard political party. It is an aversion to the meaning of “New World” when one naming it to a music work strongly associated with “Capitalist America. ”
Semantic is important as we witnessed in socialist China. More interestingly, Naming名【ming】and Order命【ming】is the same pronunciation in Chinese. Since the beginning of the 20th century, Chinese tried and named many things as “New”:
“New Cultural Movement”
“New Democracy”
“New China”
“New Market”
“New normal” and “New Era.”
Each “New” rooted in rich and interesting historical context, which reflect very specific visions and most sincere wishes of the people. The power of naming, as indicated by such historical continuity, illustrated the connected will of those who wish to order things differently. It suggested the end of the past with the will of openness for something different or New. The latest Party Conference and People’s Congress redefined China political guiding principle with the affix of “New Era,” it conveyed multi-dimensional meanings and references that require the most careful consideration and reading, which could be beneficial to our understanding in China and the future. I understand 5 minutes is insufficient to have a more detailed explanation, but I do hope to pointed out our rich historical context for engaging a more meaningful and exciting exploration of the theme for the “New Era.”