Chinese Music

Music is omnipotent and omnipresent. It heels, it soothes, it calms and it is irresistible. Music has a distinct history across countries. China, one of the world’s oldest civilizations has a music history dating back to 3000 years.  Ling Lun is the called the founder of Chinese music, who could evoke sounds of birds with pipes made of bamboo.

The oldest written music was credited to Confucius – Youlan (Solitary Orchid). Though music took a prime seat in ancient China, musicians were regarded below painters. But the emperors enjoyed listening to folk music and often collected songs through officers. Shi Jing (poets), one of the confucianist classics had records of folk songs of 800 BC to 300 BC. According to history, matteo ricci, a Jesuit priest was the first European, who introduced a musical instrument Harpsichord in China in 1601.

During the new culture movement in the republic of China era, interest in Western music slowly started over shadowing traditional music. Chinese musicians, who had undergone training in Western countries started popularising and performing Western classical music. Cultural philosophers like Feng Zikai and Xiao Youmei of the 20th century tried to boost Chinese music to high standards. But that resulted in difference of opinion on the best standard criteria. Later symphony orchestras were held in major cities reaching out to a large audience through  concert halls and radios. Singers mixed jazz to traditional music with the inclusion of instruments like saxophones and xylophones. Some of the popular performers of the period were Yin Zizhong, Zhou Xuan, Lü Wencheng and Qui Hechou.

The musical instruments of China too are unique. Chinese musical instruments are primarily classified into 4 categories, based on the mode in which they are played—blown, percussion, plucked and bowed. The playing styles and the accompanying instruments make Chinese music distinct from its western counter parts.

Horse-Headed Fiddle
A Horse-headed fiddle is a stringed instrument, with a history of over 1,300 years. It is one musical instrument, with a horse’s head, that could deeply express joy and sorrows of a song. There is a tragic story behind the creation of the horse-headed fiddle.

Erhu
'Huqin' or Erhu, was popular in the western region. It was popularised in China during Tang Dynasty. It was an unavoidable instrument for playing Beijing Opera melodies.  A player holds an Erhu on his/her lap for playing music and moves the bow.

Flute
The oldest flute was carved out of a bone over 7,000 years ago, when most of the flutes were made of bamboo. A flute usually has 6 holes, which on blowing will be closed and opened with fingers to produce ear-soothing notes.

Lute (Pipa)
This instrument was named after a fruit loquat. The oldest pipa known dates back to Qin Dynasty. Pipa was much loved and popularised during the Tang Dynasty. Pipa later had undergone technical and structural changes. Players altered the way of holding a pipa and started using fingers instead of a pick to pluck the strings.

By Deepthi J
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