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List of Chinese musical instruments

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Chinese musical instruments are traditionally grouped into eight categories (classified by the material from which the instruments were made) known as ‹See RfD› bā yīn (八音).[1] The eight categories are silk, bamboo, wood, stone, metal, clay, gourd and skin; other instruments considered traditional exist that may not fit these groups. The grouping of instruments in material categories in China is one of the first musical groupings ever devised.

Silk

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Silk (絲) instruments are mostly stringed instruments (including those that are plucked, bowed, and struck). Since ancient times, the Chinese have used twisted silk for strings, though today metal or nylon are more frequently used. Instruments in the silk category include:

Plucked

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Bowed

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Re-enactment of an ancient traditional music performance
A mural from the tomb of Xu Xianxiu in Taiyuan, Shanxi province, dated 571 AD during the Northern Qi Dynasty, showing male court musicians playing stringed instruments, either the ‹See RfD› liuqin or ‹See RfD› pipa, and a woman playing a ‹See RfD› konghou (harp)

Struck

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Combined

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  • ‹See RfD› Wenqin (文琴) – a combination of the ‹See RfD› erhu, ‹See RfD› konghou, ‹See RfD› sanxian and ‹See RfD› guzheng with 50 or more steel strings.

Bamboo

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A half-section of the Song Dynasty (960–1279) version of the Night Revels of Han Xizai, original by Gu Hongzhong;[3] the female musicians in the center of the image are playing transverse bamboo flutes and ‹See RfD› guan, and the male musician is playing a wooden clapper called ‹See RfD› paiban.
A ‹See RfD› bawu in the key of F

Bamboo (竹) mainly refers to woodwind instruments, which includes;

Flutes

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Free reed pipes

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Single reed pipes

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Double reed pipes

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Wood

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A set of ‹See RfD› muyu, or Chinese wooden slit drums. The sound produced is affected by the instrument's size, type of wood, and how hollow it is.

Most wood (木) instruments are of the ancient variety:

  • ‹See RfD› Zhu (Chinese: 柷; pinyin: zhù) – a wooden box that tapers from the top to the bottom, played by hitting a stick on the inside, used to mark the beginning of music in ancient ritual music
  • ‹See RfD› Yu (Chinese: 敔; pinyin: yǔ) – a wooden percussion instrument carved in the shape of a tiger with a serrated back, played by hitting a stick with an end made of approximately 15 stalks of bamboo on its head three times and across the serrated back once to mark the end of the music
  • ‹See RfD› Muyu (simplified Chinese: 木鱼; traditional Chinese: 木魚; pinyin: mùyú) – a rounded woodblock carved in the shape of a fish, struck with a wooden stick; often used in Buddhist chanting
  • ‹See RfD› Paiban (拍板) – a clapper made from several flat pieces of wood; also called ‹See RfD› bǎn (板), ‹See RfD› tánbǎn (檀板), ‹See RfD› mùbǎn (木板), or ‹See RfD› shūbǎn (书板); when used together with a drum the two instruments are referred to collectively as ‹See RfD› guban (鼓板)
    • ‹See RfD› Ban
    • ‹See RfD› Zhuban (竹板, a clapper made from two pieces of bamboo)
    • ‹See RfD› Chiban (尺板)
  • ‹See RfD› Bangzi (梆子) – small, high-pitched woodblock; called ‹See RfD› qiaozi (敲子) or ‹See RfD› qiaoziban (敲子板) in Taiwan
    • ‹See RfD› Nan bangzi (南梆子)
    • ‹See RfD› Hebei bangzi (河北梆子)
    • ‹See RfD› Zhui bangzi (墜梆子)
    • ‹See RfD› Qin bangzi (秦梆子)

Stone

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The stone (石) category comprises various forms of stone chimes.

Metal (金)

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  • Bianzhong (編鐘) – 16 to 65 bronze bells hung on a rack, struck using poles
  • Fangxiang (simplified Chinese: 方响; traditional Chinese: 方響; pinyin: fāngxiǎng; Wade–Giles: fang hsiang) – set of tuned metal slabs (metallophone)
  • Nao (musical instrument) (鐃) – may refer to either an ancient bell or large cymbals
  • Bo (鈸; also called chazi, 镲子) –
    • Xiaobo (小鈸, small cymbals)
    • Zhongbo (中鈸, medium cymbals; also called naobo (鐃鈸) or zhongcuo
    • Shuibo (水鈸, literally "water cymbals")
    • Dabo (大鈸, large cymbals)
    • Jingbo (京鈸)
    • Shenbo (深波) – deep, flat gong used in Chaozhou music; also called gaobian daluo (高边大锣)
  • Luo (simplified Chinese: 锣; traditional Chinese: 鑼; pinyin: luó) – gong
    • Daluo (大锣) – a large flat gong whose pitch drops when struck with a padded mallet
    • Fengluo (风锣) – literally "wind gong," a large flat gong played by rolling or striking with a large padded mallet
    • Xiaoluo (小锣) – a small flat gong whose pitch rises when struck with the side of a flat wooden stick
    • Yueluo (月锣) – small pitched gong held by a string in the palm of the hand and struck with a small stick; used in Chaozhou music
    • Jingluo (镜锣) – a small flat gong used in the traditional music of Fujian [1]
    • Pingluo (平锣) – a flat gong[4]
    • Kailuluo (开路锣)
  • Yunluo (simplified Chinese: 云锣; traditional Chinese: 雲鑼) – literally "cloud gongs"; 10 or more small tuned gongs in a frame
  • Shimianluo (十面锣) – 10 small tuned gongs in a frame
  • Qing (磬) – a cup-shaped bell used in Buddhist and Daoist ritual music
  • Daqing (大磬) – large qing
  • Pengling (碰铃; pinyin: pènglíng) – a pair of small bowl-shaped finger cymbals or bells connected by a length of cord, which are struck together
  • Dangzi (铛子) – a small, round, flat, tuned gong suspended by being tied with silk string in a round metal frame that is mounted on a thin wooden handlephoto; also called dangdang (铛铛)
  • Yinqing (引磬) – an inverted small bell affixed to the end of a thin wooden handlephoto
  • Yunzheng (云铮) – a small flat gong used in the traditional music of Fujian [2]
  • Chun (錞; pinyin: chún) – ancient bellphoto
  • Tonggu (铜鼓) - bronze drum
  • Laba (喇叭) – A long, straight, valveless brass trumpet

Clay (土)

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Gourd (匏)

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Hide-skin (革)

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A Chaozhou dagu (large drum)
A Chinese Bolang Gu[5]
  • Dagu – (大鼓) – large drum played with two sticks
  • Huzuo Dagu (虎座大鼓)
  • Huzuo Wujia Gu (虎座鳥架鼓)
  • Jian'gu (建鼓)
  • Bangu (板鼓) – small, high pitched drum used in Beijing opera; also called danpigu (单皮鼓)
  • Biangu (扁鼓) – flat drum, played with sticks
  • Paigu (排鼓) – set of three to seven tuned drums played with sticks
  • Tanggu (堂鼓) – medium-sized barrel drum played with two sticks; also called tonggu (同鼓) or xiaogu (小鼓)
  • Biqigu (荸荠鼓) – a very small drum played with one stick, used in Jiangnan sizhu
  • Diangu (点鼓; also called huaigu, 怀鼓) – a double-headed frame drum played with a single wooden beater; used in the Shifangu ensemble music of Jiangsu province and to accompany to kunqu opera
  • Huagu (花鼓) – flower drum
  • Yaogu (腰鼓) – waist drum
  • Taipinggu (太平鼓) – flat drum with a handle; also called dangu (单鼓)
  • Zhangu (战鼓 or 戰鼓) – war drum; played with two sticks.
  • Bajiaogu (八角鼓) – octagonal tambourine used primarily in narrative singing from northern China．
  • Yanggegu (秧歌鼓) – rice planting drum
  • Gaogu (鼛鼓) – large ancient drum used to for battlefield commands and large-scale construction
  • Bofu (搏拊) – ancient drum used to set tempo
  • Jiegu (羯鼓) – hourglass-shaped drum used during the Tang Dynasty
  • Tao (鼗; pinyin: táo) or taogu (鼗鼓) – a pellet drum used in ritual music
  • Bolang Gu (波浪鼓; pinyin: bo lang gu) – a traditional Chinese pellet drum and toy
  • Linggu (铃鼓)

Others

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  • Gudi (骨笛) – an ancient flute made of bone[6]
  • Hailuo (海螺) – conch shell [3]
  • Lilie (唎咧) – reed wind instrument with a conical bore played by the Li people of Hainan
  • Lusheng (simplified Chinese: 芦笙; traditional Chinese: 蘆笙; pinyin: lúshēng) – free-reed mouth organ with five or six pipes, played by various ethnic groups in southwest China and neighboring countries
  • Kouxian (口弦) – jaw harp, made of bamboo or metal．
  • Yedi (叶笛) – tree leaf used as a wind instrument．
  • Shuijingdi (水晶笛) - crystal flute.
  • Zutongqin (竹筒琴)

Playing contexts

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Chinese instruments are either played solo, collectively in large orchestras (as in the former imperial court) or in smaller ensembles (in teahouses or public gatherings). Normally, there is no conductor in traditional Chinese music, nor any use of musical scores or tablature in performance. Music was generally learned aurally and memorized by the musician(s) beforehand, then played without aid. As of the 20th century, musical scores have become more common, as has the use of conductors in larger orchestral-type ensembles.

Musical instruments in use in the 1800s

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These watercolour illustrations, made in China in the 1800s, show several types of musical instruments being played:

  • Woman playing a dizi.
    Woman playing a dizi.
  • Woman playing a jinghu.
    Woman playing a jinghu.
  • Woman playing a luo.
    Woman playing a luo.
  • Woman playing a pipa.
    Woman playing a pipa.
  • Woman playing a sanxian.
    Woman playing a sanxian.
  • Woman playing a yunluo.
    Woman playing a yunluo.
  • Woman playing a xiaoluo.
    Woman playing a xiaoluo.
  • Woman playing a haotou.
    Woman playing a haotou.
  • Woman playing a xiao.
    Woman playing a xiao.
  • Woman playing what looks like a yangqin or some sort of psaltery-like instrument.
    Woman playing what looks like a yangqin or some sort of psaltery-like instrument.

See also

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References

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Notes
  1. ^ Don Michael Randel, ed. (2003). The Harvard Dictionary of Music (4th ed.). Harvard University Press. pp. 260–262. ISBN 978-0674011632.
  2. ^ "Archived copy". www.chinamedley.com. Archived from the original on 12 December 2006. Retrieved 11 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. ^ Patricia Ebrey (1999), Cambridge Illustrated History of China, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 148.
  4. ^ "photo". Archived from the original on 4 March 2009. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
  5. ^ Chinese Musical Instrument-Bolanggu
  6. ^ Endymion Wilkinson (2000), Chinese history, ISBN 978-0-674-00249-4
Sources
  • Lee, Yuan-Yuan and Shen, Sinyan. Chinese Musical Instruments (Chinese Music Monograph Series). 1999. Chinese Music Society of North America Press. ISBN 1-880464-03-9
  • Shen, Sinyan. Chinese Music in the 20th Century (Chinese Music Monograph Series). 2001. Chinese Music Society of North America Press. ISBN 1-880464-04-7
  • Yuan, Bingchang, and Jizeng Mao (1986). Zhongguo Shao Shu Min Zu Yue Qi Zhi. Beijing: Xin Shi Jie Chu Ban She/Xin Hua Shu Dian Beijing Fa Xing Suo Fa Xing. ISBN 7-80005-017-3.
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