François Ravary SJ and a Sino-European Musical Culture in Nineteenth-Century Shanghai

This book reveals the story of François Ravary, Jesuit missionary, musician, and organ builder. The mastermind behind the construction of the bamboo organs of nineteenth-century Shanghai, Ravary’s unpublished letters from China present a vivid picture of the excitement and crises surrounding the Roman Catholic mission in the often-violent integration of global space of this time. Focusing on an individual life, this study adds needed perspective to histories of the treaty-port era. By shifting the inquiry towards a nuanced, empirical, and refocused evaluation of the landscape, Ravary is revealed as a humanist in the Christian tradition, curious about Chinese society and culture, as well as the force behind China’s first brass band, first school orchestra, and other landmarks of Sino-European musical convergence. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in nineteenth-century China studies, cultural histories, and the diffusion of Western art practices.