Dr Meng Ren, Leverhulme Early Career Fellow

What will your research seek to do?

Focusing on case studies of Chinese music and its reception during the Korean War period (1950-53), my project explores how and why Chinese political culture was constructed through specific propaganda strategies in the early days of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). A primary objective is to demonstrate how the performing arts (highlighted through performance and public promotion) and government-sponsored communications supported nation-building and societal reform. It will do so by building upon selected revolutionary songs and patriotic operas, guided by archival findings at several research institutions and ethnographic interviews conducted with audiences and performers. 

This research is timely, marking the 75th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War during the ongoing trade war between China and the United States. It is also deeply personal: I am a grandson of a former Chinese volunteer soldier who fought in the war—known as the “War to Resist the US and Aid Korea” (WRUAK) in China.  

I conducted fieldwork in China between March and April in 2024 and in 2025, during which time I was able to conduct interviews with several professional musicians and former Chinese volunteer soldiers on the topic of musical memory. Most of my interviewees were in their late 80s and early 90s. I felt an urge to collect oral history interviews with those former members of the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army due to their ages and health conditions. Their recollections of Chinese performing arts and music in the early 1950s provided invaluable data for my research and analysis. 

What have you got planned for the year ahead? 

In the coming year, I plan to focus on my project monograph, and I will attend a few conferences relevant to my project. I also hope to organise an international symposium on “Music, Crisis, and Memory” in 2026. 

Now that you have started your Fellowship, what advice would you give to someone starting something similar? 

Be open to new opportunities and possibilities in research and professional development.  

Due to the global pandemic, I took a break after completing my doctoral degree and I worked in degree marketing and student advising/mentoring. I learned a lot from my administrative roles. It is so good to get back to research with a refreshing and open mindset.