LAUSR

ABSTRACT Centring on the imaginary, this article examines the multi-layered interactions between music, collective consciousness and social actions in mainland China. I note that behind the prejudice against ‘floating’ migrants and a collective ignorance of their suffering lies the Chinese imaginary, or a set of common-sense understandings and expectations based on normative and emotionally appealing images. I argue that the power of Chinese propaganda music can be understood as deriving from its ability to supply and conjure up such images, which serve the state’s evolving strategic needs and promote the three fundamental beliefs by (re)interpreting past or fictional actions and their outcomes. Naturally growing within certain ‘moulds’, Chinese musicians do not challenge these images in public performances, but some of them are positioned as musical rebels to maintain the illusion of autonomy.