MU Qian / 穆谦
China Correspondent
Tianjin, People’s Republic of China
email: qmu@rilm.org
MU Qian works on the documentation and integration of Chinese-language musical literature. As RILM’s China Correspondent, he supports outreach, communication, and scholarly engagement in China, including coordination of digital communications such as RILM’s WeChat platform.
MU received his PhD in ethnomusicology from SOAS, University of London, with a dissertation on music and meaning in Uyghur Sufism. His publications have appeared in Central Asian Survey, European Journal of Musicology, Ethnographies of Islam in China, and The Routledge Companion to Ethics and Research in Ethnomusicology. He is also the Chinese translator of Alan P. Merriam’s Anthropology of Music.
In addition to his academic work, MU is engaged in projects related to the dissemination and public presentation of traditional music, including curating concerts, delivering lectures, and producing recordings. His CD Wanp-wanp jangl kap, featuring polyphonic songs of the Dong/Kam communities of southwestern China, was selected by the Transglobal World Music Chart as the Best Asia & Pacific album of the 2019–2020 season. He has also contributed to radio programs, including BBC broadcasts on Chinese music, and writes for publications such as Songlines and Folklife.