Portuguese version of the book Catholic Music in Macao in the Twentieth Century: Music Writers and Their Works in a Unique Historical Context launched in Lisbon
The launching ceremony of the Portuguese version of the book Catholic Music in Macao in the Twentieth Century: Music Writers and Their Works in a Unique Historical Context, resulting of a cooperation between the Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Macao S.A.R. Government (IC, from the Portuguese acronym) and the Confucius Institute of the University of Aveiro, published by Edições Colibri, was held on 30 May at the Macau Scientific and Cultural Centre, in Lisbon. The launching ceremony was attended by Head of Division of Research and Publications of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, Wong Man Fai; the Director of the Confucius Institute of the University of Aveiro, Carlos Manuel Ferreira Morais; the Director of Edições Colibri, Fernando Mão de Ferro; and the translator of the work and Assistant Professor of the Department of Communication and Art of the University of Aveiro, Shao Xiao Ling, among others.
Catholic Music in Macao in the Twentieth Century: Music Writers and Their Works in a Unique Historical Context, by Dai Ding Cheng, a professor of the Macao Polytechnic Institute, is one of the projects supported by IC’s “Academic Research Grants”. The Chinese edition was released in 2013 and a revised version and the English version published in 2015. The Portuguese edition, made in cooperation with the Confucius Institute of the University of Aveiro, not only introduces IC’s publication to Portuguese readers but also offers Portuguese scholars the traditional and historical context of Macao’s early catholic music as well as several aspects of the flourishing catholic music in the 20th century of Macao, a rare phenomenon in Chinese territory. The Confucius Institute of the University of Aveiro is the eight branch set up abroad by China and the third Confucius Institute established in Portugal.
In the ceremony, the Director of the Confucius Institute of the University of Aveiro, Carlos Manuel Ferreira Morais, stated that the Institute has been devoted to Sino-Portuguese exchange and the promotion of traditional Chinese opera, music and decorative arts, taking this publication as an opportunity to get close to Macao’s catholic music and offer support to the editing of the work. Due to academic exchange abroad, the author, Mr. Dai Ding Cheng, was unable to attend the ceremony. His representative, translator Shao Xiao Ling, gave a brief introduction to the work and referred that this book took her a step further in the analysis of the music field, taking into account her own interests and hoping to contribute to cultural exchange between China and foreign countries.
Following its launch in Portugal, Catholic Music in Macao in the Twentieth Century: Music Writers and Their Works in a Unique Historical Context received high attention and was highly acclaimed by RTP – Rádio e Televisão de Portugal, the Association Friends of the New Silk Road, the League of the Chinese in Portugal and the China Examiner, among other entities.
