Echoes of heritage: <i>Huayin laoqiang</i> and the cosmopolitan journey of Chinese music

This study examines Huayin laoqiang, a traditional Chinese musical form recognised as Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH), to analyse how cultural heritage mediates the intersection of nationalism and globalisation through cosmopolitan practice. While China’s ICH policies often emphasise ‘authenticity’, an approach that frequently aligns with broader narratives of cultural nationalism, such frameworks can both enable and constrain living traditions. Meanwhile, in the broader context of globalisation, the 2016 fusion performance with rock singer Tan Weiwei exemplifies an alternative mode of engagement that both challenges rigid authenticity norms and revitalises the tradition. Based on my fieldwork, this paper shows how music practitioners negotiate laoqiang hybridity in their creative and performative practices, with elder musicians gradually embracing it and younger audiences actively engaging with it. This process embodies cosmopolitanism, functioning as a dynamic adaptive force – challenging rigid cultural hierarchies while mutually constructing both nationalism and globalisation.