“听”的技术:收音机、空间与听觉现代性(1929—1932)

Technology of Listening: Radio Set, Space, and Acoustic Modernity in 1929-1932

20世纪初,收音机进入中国,极大地改变了人们的生活方式和听觉习惯。依据1932年亚美公司《无线电问答汇刊》记录的1929年至1932年间来自上海及其周边地区收音机听众的1100对问答,本文试图重构这一时期以上海为中心的民国都市声域。通过追踪听众对"响亮"与"清楚"这两个听觉诉求的不断探究,本文揭示了这一时期听觉技术在资本主义、殖民主义和民族主义互动的大背景下如何促使都市居民重新认识声音、自我与环境的关系,同时也展示出声音与空间、技术以及听觉现代性的密切勾连。

Ushered in China in the early twentieth century,radio set fundamentally changed the daily life and listening habits of the Chinese people.Based on 1100 questions and answers collected in the journal Collections of Q&As about Radio from radio set users in Shanghai and its nearby areas published in 1932 by the Amateurs Home company,this article brings into life the urban soundscape of the Republic China,as exemplified in the case of Shanghai.By diving into radio set users’desire to obtain sound in its loudness and clarity,this paper examines the close connection among sound,space and technology,as well as their relationship with acoustic modernity.This paper argues technology pushed urban residents in shanghai in late 1920s and early 1930s to rethink the relationship between sound,self and the living environment in the context of capitalism,colonialism and nationalism interacting with each other.