Chinese Music --- I, II, III, IV

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Instrument would be used at different occasions and seasons as it is held that music shall not be for shallow enjoyment, but serving as a link between people and nature.

Musical instruments are first described in the great classics that document the history of China's kingdoms before the 2nd century BC. The Book of Odes (Shi Jing) compiled song texts from periods as early as the 10th century BC. These describe the use of instruments in ritual entertainment. The most frequently mentioned are drums (skin), bells (metal), flutes (bamboo) and mouth organs (earth/clay). The following instruments are those most prominent contemporary usage or are of historical interest.

Percussion

Qing
The Qing (ch'ing), tuned sonorous stone chimes of the Zhou (Chou) era, has been retained today for
use in Confucian ceremonies.

Tong Gu
Tong Gu is a large barrel-shaped bronze gong. Originally a ritual instrument of southeast Asia, it was
introduced to China during the Han dynasty's military expeditions. It is remarkable for its metal
workmanship and ornamentation. Today, gongs (luo) and cymbals (bo) in a variety of sizes are used
in Taoist ceremonies as well as in opera.

Ban
Ban is a rectangular wood clappers. In Buddhist ceremonies the Muyu ("Chinese temple block"), a
slit-gong of camphor wood in a symbolic carving of a fish, is used for setting the musical pulse.

The generic term for drum is Gu, of which diverse types abound. Drums are used in folk music, religious functions, opera, and in a variety of ensembles for entertainment. The skins are generally nailed to the wood shell and are commonly played with sticks. Some well-known types are the huagu, the flat-shaped "flower drum" used by northern ballad singers, the ubiquitous dagu, or "great drum," a barrel-shaped double-headed instrument, and the banggu, a single-headed opera drum with a small resonant surface producing a piercing "dry" sound.

Wind

Flute:
The flutes made of bamboo have remained as simple in construction as they were in ancient China.

Xiao:
The end-blown xiao has a gentle quality and is appropriate for small ensembles.

Di:
The transverse flute Di (side-blown reed-membrane flute) produces amore assertive tone and a wide range of expressive effects. A rice-paper covered hole next to the mouthpiece gives the Di a "buzzing" timbre.

Sheng:
Sheng is a free-reed mouth organ. It survives in very limited usage for secular and Confucian music,
yet provides a unique chordal sound texture.

String Instrument

Pipa:
A shallow pear-shaped body. (Grand lute)

Yueqin:

Called the "moon guitar", with a circular body.

San xian:
A long neck with a small snakeskin-covered resonator.

Huqin:
Huqin is a representative of bowed string instrument. Also in this family there are Banhu (high-register wood fiddle), Erhu (the most popular Chinese vertical fiddle), Gaohu (high-register vertical skin fiddle), Jinghu, Dijin, Nanhu, Erxian, Yehu and Matou Jin. They all have a string-bearing neck that projects through a small resonator and a bow, the hair of which passes between the two strings.