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Chinese Music



Music in China has another role as the tool for self-cultivation and self-discipline. In China, roughly there are not less than 1000 kinds of musical instruments. They could help people to forget the impatience, sorrow, anguish and other extreme moods. Most of China’s musical instruments have such a function. The pursuits of clearness in mind, tranquility in heart, reason in passion and so on. To some extent, it is also up to the sensation of keeping self in the deep heart. All the multifarious feelings, the passionate emotion and others suddenly became the harmony between human and nature.


Via Guqin（古琴）, many a Chinese literator cultivates himself, because the self-improvement philosophy is released through this instrument. Many well-educated learners were good at playing instrument. In other words, the instruments have been one essential part of their life and body, even their spirit. Hence the musical instruments play the parallel parts in educating and refining people just as the traditional education and painting. Thanks to the musical instruments, in Chinese people’s heart and mind, the elegance and reason are going everywhere. Indeed, China’s most philosophy about society, individual, and relationship between human and nature. 



Chinese Music played by Chinese musical instruments always takes a unique effect in appreciation. Chinese Music is different from western ochestra. it is possessed of its own independent  system and performance style. Generally, the most popular musical form is folk music, distinguished itself from western music. Folk music could be the most popular music type in Chinese daily life. A individual can play a famous ancient music in a single musical instruments, even mostly belonging to the most simple and portable type like Di Zi, Xiao, E Hu, Xun and so on. These musical instruments seems to be too simple to be focused, but actually they always can surprise the listerners to a most degree. Most of the famous classic music is widely extended through these commonplace musical instruments.





Bian Zhong, 编钟



This rarely-seen musical instrument named Bian Zhong(编钟，bell set) is a type of quite ancient large-scale musical instrument used during Period of Chinese Spring and Autumn and Warring State Period. It could be the oldest musical instrument made for symphony orchestra in the world that emerged roughly 4000-5000 years ago. Initially, it was only exclusively used among aristocrats, especially for the solemn rites like emperors' annual sacrifices to heaven and earth. Or on some quite formal occasion, Bian Zhong would be played by many players at the same time.  The best-preserved bell set was excavated from Mausoleum  of Zeng Hou Yi(曾侯乙墓) of Hubei province. It has more than 3000 years of history. It is said that this bell set could be used to play Beethoven's Song of Joy. It is marvelous and incredible ! Currently, it is the national-level treasure.



 The musical instruments below are easily found and largely used today in China. we list here to help you get more understanding about Chinese music and Chinese musical instruments.




Yang Qing, 扬琴Bo, 钹





Gu Qin, 古琴

Gu Zheng, 古筝



E Hu,  二胡            Sheng, 笙

Xiao, 箫

Di Zi  笛子

Suo Na, 唢呐

                              Pi Pa, 琵琶
Kuai Ban, 快板                  Drum, 鼓



Xun, 埙， one of the oldest musical instruments used 4000 or 5000 years ago Ma Tou Qin,  马头琴， A  popular musical instrument of Inner Mongolia
Luo, 锣。 a kind of musical instruments similar to Bo Mu Yu,  木鱼, a special musical instrument exclusively used in temple
Hu Lu Si, 葫芦丝Nao, 铙















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