These are neither ethnomusicology, musicology, nor theory journals. Specialized journals as such are still unknown in China. Rather, they embrace all these areas and serve at once as newsletters, magazines and scholarly journals. Understandably, original research works published are mainly on Chinese music.
Major reasons are poor resourcing and the considerable language barrier.
Further, it is also a matter of policy. Conservatories are geared towards the training of composers and performers rather than scholars, this last group being viewed as somewhat supplementary to the whole system. But some importance has traditionally been attached to music analysis in recognition of its relevance to composition and performance, although the focus is on form, orchestration, and the like. A study of nearly two decades of journals published by the Central and Shanghai Conservatories shows a gradual shift from those areas. This report gives a brief account of the changes, noting in particular the dissemination of Schenkerian analysis and set theory.