Themusic of China consists of many distinct traditions, often specifically originating with one of the country's variousethnic groups. It is produced within and without the country, involving either people of Chinese origin, the use oftraditional Chinese instruments, Chinese music theory, or thelanguages of China. It includes traditional classical forms and indigenous folk music, as well as recorded popular music and forms inspired by Western culture.

Documents and archaeological artifacts from earlyChinese civilization show a well-developed musical culture as early as theZhou dynasty (1122–256 BC) that set the tone for the continual development of Chinese musicology in following dynasties.^[1] These developed into a wide variety of forms through succeeding dynasties, producing the heritage that is part of the Chinese cultural landscape today. Traditional forms continued to evolve in the modern times, and over the course of the last centuries forms appropriated from the West have become widespread. Today's Chinese music is both rooted in history and part of a global culture.

According to legends, the founder of music in Chinese mythology wasLing Lun who, at the request of theYellow Emperor to create a system of music, made bamboo pipes tuned to the sounds of birds including the phoenix. Atwelve-tone musical system was created based on the pitches of the bamboo pipes, the first of these pipes produced the 'yellow bell' (黃鐘) pitch, and a set of tuned bells were then created from the pipes.^[2]

Archaeological evidence indicates that music culture developed in China from a very early period. Excavations in Jiahu Village inWuyang County,Henan foundbone flutes dated to 9,000 years ago, and clay music instruments calledXun thought to be 7,000 years old have been found in theHemudu sites inZhejiang andBanpo inXi'an.^[3]

During theZhou dynasty, a formal system of court and ceremonial music later termedyayue (meaning "elegant music") was established. The word music (樂,yue) in ancient China can also refer to dance as music and dance were considered integral part of the whole, and its meaning can also be further extended to poetry as well as other art forms and rituals.^[4] The word "dance" (舞) similarly also referred to music, and every dance would have had a piece of music associated with it. The most important set of music of the period was the Six-dynasty Music Dance (六代樂舞) performed in rituals in the royal court.^[5] Music in the Zhou dynasty was conceived as a cosmological manifestation of the sound of nature integrated into the binary universal order ofyin and yang, and this concept has had an enduring influence over later Chinese thinking on music.^[6] "Correct" music according to Zhou concept would involve instruments correlating to the five elements of nature and would bring harmony to nature. Around or before the 7th century BC, a system of pitch generation andpentatonic scale was derived from a cycle-of-fifths theory.^[6]

Chinese philosophers took varying approaches to music. ToConfucius, a correct form of music is important for the cultivation and refinement of the individual, and the Confucian system considers the formal musicyayue to be morally uplifting and the symbol of a good ruler and stable government.^[7] Some popular forms of music, however, were considered corrupting in the Confucian view.^[8]Mozi on the other hand condemned making music, and argued inAgainst Music (非樂) that music is an extravagance and indulgence that serves no useful purpose and may be harmful.^[9] According toMencius, a powerful ruler once asked him whether it was moral if he preferred popular music to the classics. The answer was that it only mattered that the ruler loved his subjects.

In ancient China the social status of musicians was much lower than that of painters, though music was seen as central to the harmony and longevity of the state. Almost every emperor took folk songs seriously, sending officers to collect songs to record the popular culture. One of the Confucianist Classics, TheClassic of Poetry, contained many folk songs dating from 800 BC to about 400 BC.

TheImperial Music Bureau, first established in theQin dynasty (221–207 BC), was greatly expanded under the emperorHan Wudi (140–87 BC) and charged with supervising court music and military music and determining what folk music would be officially recognized. In subsequent dynasties, the development of Chinese music was influenced by the musical traditions of Central Asia which also introduced elements of Indian music.^[10][11] Instruments of Central Asian origin such aspipa were adopted in China, the IndianHeptatonic scale was introduced in the 6th century by a musician from Kucha named Sujiva, although the heptatonic scale was later abandoned.^[12][13][10]

The oldest extant written Chinese music is "Youlan" (幽蘭) or the Solitary Orchid, composed during the 6th or 7th century, but has also been attributed to Confucius. The first major well-documented flowering of Chinese music was for theqin during theTang dynasty (618-907AD), though the qin is known to have been played since before the Han dynasty. This is based on the conjecture that because the recorded examples of Chinese music are ceremonial, and the ceremonies in which they were employed are thought to have existed "perhaps more than one thousand years before Christ",^{[15][page needed]} the musical compositions themselves were performed, even in 1000 BC, in precisely the manner prescribed by the sources that were written down in the seventh century AD. (It is based on this conjecture that Van Aalst dates the "Entrance Hymn for the Emperor" to c. 1000 BC.)^{[15][page needed]}

Through succeeding dynasties over thousands of years, Chinese musicians developed alarge assortment of different instruments and playing styles. A wide variety of these instruments, such asguzheng anddizi are indigenous, although many popular traditional musical instruments were introduced from Central Asia, such as theerhu andpipa.

The presence of European music in China appeared as early as 1601 when the Jesuit priestMatteo Ricci presented aHarpsichord to theMing imperial court, and trained four eunuchs to play it.^[16] During the lateQing dynasty era, the influence of Western music began to be felt.^[17]

TheNew Culture Movement of the 1910s and 1920s produced a great deal of lasting interest in Western music. A number of Chinese musicians returned from studying abroad to perform Westernclassical music, composing work hits on Western musical notation system. TheKuomintang tried to sponsor modern music adoptions via theShanghai Conservatory of Music despite the ongoing political crisis. Twentieth-century cultural philosophers likeXiao Youmei,Cai Yuanpei,Feng Zikai and Wang Guangqi wanted to see Chinese music adopted to the best standard possible. There were many different opinions regarding the best standard.^[16]

Symphony orchestras were formed in most major cities and performed to a wide audience in the concert halls and onradio. Many of the performers addedjazz influences to traditional music, addingxylophones,saxophones andviolins, among other instruments.Lü Wencheng, Qui Hechou,Yin Zizhong andHe Dasha were among the most notable performers and composers of this period.

InShanghai, a popular genre of music calledshidaiqu emerged in the 1920s.Shidaiqu is a fusion of Chinese and Western popular music, andLi Jinhui is considered to be founder of the genre. Popular singers in this genre in the 1930s and 1940s includedZhou Xuan,Li Xianglan andYao Lee.

After the 1942Yan'an Forum on Literature and Art, a large-scale campaign was launched inChinese Communist Party-controlled areas to adapt folk music to create revolutionary songs to educate the largely illiterate rural population on party goals. Musical forms considered superstitious or anti-revolutionary were repressed, andharmonies and bass lines were added to traditional songs. One example isThe East Is Red, a folksong from northernShaanxi which was adapted into a nationalist hymn. Of particular note is the composer,Xian Xinghai, who was active during this period, and composed theYellow River Cantata which is the most well-known of all of his works.

The golden age ofshidaiqu and theSeven great singing stars would come to an end when the CCP denouncedChinese popular music asyellow music (pornography).^[18]Maoists considered pop music as a decline to the art form in mainland China. In 1949 theKuomintang relocated to Taiwan, and thePeople's Republic of China was established.Revolutionary songs would become heavily promoted by the state. TheMaoists, during theCultural Revolution, pushed revolutionary music as the only acceptable genre; because of propaganda, this genre largely overshadowed all others and came almost to define mainland Chinese music. This is still, in some ways, an ongoing process, but some scholars and musicians (Chinese and otherwise) are trying to revive old music.

After the1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, a new fast tempoNorthwest Wind style was launched by protesters to counter the government. The music would progress intoChinese rock, which remained popular in the 1990s. However, music in China is very much state-owned as the TV, media, and major concert halls are all controlled by the CCP. The government mainly chose not to support Chinese rock by limiting its exposure and airtime.^{[citation needed]} As a result, the genre never reached the mainstream in its entirety.

Annual events such as theMidi Modern Music Festival inBeijing attracts tens of thousands of visitors. There was also the "Snow Mountain Music Festival" inYunnan province 2002.^{[citation needed]}

Today, rock music is centered on almost exclusively in Beijing and Shanghai, and has very limited influence over Chinese society.Wuhan andSichuan are sometimes considered pockets of rock music culture as well. It points to a significant cultural, political, and social difference that exist between China, the West, or even different parts within China. While rock has existed in China for decades, the milestone that put the genre on the international map is whenCui Jian played withThe Rolling Stones in 2003, at the age of 42. China has also become a destination of major Western rock and pop artists; many foreign acts have toured in China and performed in multiple concerts in recent decades, includingBeyoncé,Eric Clapton,Nine Inch Nails,Avril Lavigne,Linkin Park andTalib Kweli.^[19]

Mainland China has a highpiracy rate along with issues ofintellectual properties.^[20] Normally there is some delay before the products are released into mainland China, with occasional exceptions, such as the work of Cui Jian, which was released in Taiwan, Hong Kong and mainland China simultaneously.^[21] Consequently, a delay in release time is also the biggest driver of piracy, since individuals would rather pirate from the outside. The modern market is not only hindered byrights issues, as there are many other factors such asprofit margin,income and other economical questions.

In 2015, the digital music market in China was expected to be worthUS$2.1 billion.^[22] In 2015 China had the 14th largest music market in the world, with revenues ofUS$170 million.^[23] As of 2016 there were 213music charts in China.^[24] Also as of 2016, the three largestmusic streaming anddownload services in China areKuGou, with a 28% share of the market,QQ Music with 15% and Kuwo with 13%.^[25] China was expected to become one of the largest music markets in the world by 2020.^[26]

Musical instruments were traditionally classified into eight categories known asbayin.^[6] Traditional music in China is played onsolo instruments or in small ensembles of plucked and bowed stringed instruments, flutes, and various cymbals, gongs, and drums. Thescale ispentatonic.Bamboo pipes andqin are among the oldest knownmusical instruments fromChina; instruments are traditionally divided into categories based on their material of composition: animal skins, gourd, bamboo, wood, silk, earth/clay, metal, and stone.Chinese orchestras traditionally consist ofbowed strings,woodwinds,plucked strings andpercussion. UnderXi Jinping, the currentGeneral Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, traditional musical instruments have enjoyed a state-backed revival.^[27]

Instruments

• Woodwind

dizi,xiao,suona,sheng,paixiao,guan,hulusi,bawu,xun

• Percussion

paigu,gong,bells,cymbals,bianzhong,fangxiang,paiban,bianqing

• Bowed strings

erhu,zhonghu,dahu,banhu,jinghu,gaohu,gehu,yehu,cizhonghu,diyingehu,leiqin

• Plucked and struck strings

guqin,sanxian,yueqin,yangqin,guzheng,ruan,konghou,liuqin,pipa,zhu

Chinese vocal music has traditionally been sung in a thin, non resonant voice or infalsetto and is usually solo rather thanchoral. All traditional Chinese music ismelodic rather than harmonic. Chinese vocal music probably developed from sung poems and verses with music. Instrumental pieces played on anerhu or dizi are popular, and are often available outside of China, but thepipa andzheng music, which are more traditional, are more popular in China itself. Theqin is perhaps the most revered instrument in China, even though very few people know what it is or seen and heard one being played. Thezheng, a form ofzither, is most popular inHenan,Chaozhou,Hakka areas, andShandong. Thepipa, a kind oflute, believed to have been introduced from theArabian Peninsula area during the 6th century and adapted to suit Chinese tastes, is most popular inShanghai and surrounding areas.

People of the Han ethnic group make up about 92% of the population of China. Han people's music consists ofheterophonic music, in which the musicians play versions of a single melodic line.Percussion accompanies most music, dance, talks, and opera. Han folk music had many aspects to it regarding its meaning, feelings, and tonality. This genre of music, in a sense, is similar to the Chinese language. This relationship is made by tones, sliding from higher tones to lower tones, or lower to higher tones, or a combination of both. These similarities mean that the instrument is a very important part in mastering technique with both left and right hands (left hand is used to create tonality on the string, right hand is for plucking or strumming the string), particularly for the classical (literati) tradition.^[28] Sometimes, singing can be put into the music to create a harmony or a melody accompanying the instrument. Han Chinese Folk's feelings are displayed in its poetry-like feeling to it with slow soothing tempos that express feelings that connect with the audience or whoever is playing the piece. Han folk music uses silences that alter its meaning, creating a sound similar to poetry.

Chinese opera is a comprehensive stage art that integrates literature, music, dance, martial arts, acrobatics, performance, and other artistic means. The basic skills arechang (唱;chàng; 'to sing'),nian (念;niàn; 'to read'),zuo (做;zuò; 'to do', andda (打;dǎ; 'to fight'). Characters are divided intosheng (生;shēng), male lead roles),dan (旦;dàn, female lead roles),jing (净;jìn, roles with face painting),chou (丑;chǒu, clown roles).^[29] Chinese opera music is mainly composed of singing (vocal singing and aside) and instrumental accompaniment.^[30]

Chinese opera accent: There are different types of drama in different regions, but they all have similarities. The four major accents in modern times areKunshan accent (Kunshan), high accent (Yiyang), Pihuang accent, and Bangzi accent.^[31]

Kunshan accent: Popular inJiangsu, Kunshan, and Wei Liangfu reforms in theMing dynasty during the original Song and Yuan dynasties. The accent voice is soft and delicate. It later developed into South kun accent and North Kun accent. Southkun accent dialect is popular inJiangnan and Zhebei, and there are more literary operas, using five-tone tones. Nouthkun accent dialect is popular in Beijing,Baoding, music is extravagant, and used seven-tone style.^[31][30]

Gao accent: Formed in ChinaYiyang County,Jiangxi at the end of the Yuan dynasty. The main ones areSichuan opera high accent, Xiang opera high accent, Gan opera high accent,Fujian siping opera. Only percussion accompaniment, no orchestra, five-tone style.^[31][30]

Bangzi accent: also known as "Xiqin" or "Luantan", because the music uses hardwood clappers, it is also called Bangzi tune. Originated from Northwest China. Mainly in seven tones. High-pitched and agitated, tragic and rough. The types of opera include Qin Opera, Jin Opera, Henan Opera, and Hebei Bangzi.^[31][30]

Pi Huang accent: It is an opera tune formed by the integration of the southeast and northwest regions of China. Composed of "Xipi" and "Erhuang". The main types of operas are Peking Opera (Beijing), Han Opera (Hubei),Cantonese Opera (Guangdong), Gui Opera (Guangxi), and Yunnan Opera (Yunnan).^[31][30]

According to current archaeological discoveries,Chinesefolk music dates back 7,000 years. Not only in form but also in artistic conception, China has been the home of a colorful culture of folk music. Largely based on thepentatonic scale, Chinese folk music is different from western traditional music, paying more attention to the form expression as well.

Han traditional weddings and funerals usually include a form ofoboe called asuona and percussive ensembles calledchuigushou. Ensembles consisting ofmouth organs (sheng), shawms (suona),flutes (dizi) and percussion instruments (especiallyyunluogongs) are popular in northern villages; their music is descended from the imperial temple music of Beijing,Xi'an,Wutai shan andTianjin.Xi'an drum music, consisting of wind and percussive instruments, is popular around Xi'an, and has received some commercial popularity outside of China. Another important instrument is thesheng,pipes, an ancient instrument that is ancestor of all Westernfree reed instruments, such as theaccordion. Parades led by Western-typebrass bands are common, often competing in volume with a shawm/chuigushou band.

In southernFujian andTaiwan, Nanyin orNanguan is a genre of traditional ballads. They are sung by a woman accompanied by axiao and apipa, as well as other traditional instruments. The music is generally sorrowful and typically deals with a love-stricken woman. Further south, inShantou,Hakka areas, andChaozhou,erxian andzheng ensembles are popular.

Sizhu ensembles useflutes and bowed or plucked string instruments to make harmonious and melodious music that has become popular in the West among some listeners. These are popular inNanjing andHangzhou, as well as elsewhere along the southernYangtze area. Sizhu has been secularized in cities but remains spiritual in rural areas.

Jiangnan Sizhu (silk and bamboo music fromJiangnan) is a style of instrumental music, often played by amateur musicians in tea houses inShanghai; it has become widely known outside of its place of origin.

Guangdong Music orCantonese Music is instrumental music fromGuangzhou and surrounding areas. It is based on Yueju (Cantonese Opera) music, together with new compositions from the 1920s onwards. Many pieces have influences from jazz and Western music, using syncopation and triple time. This music tells stories and myths, maybe legends.

China has many ethnic groups besides theHan, who reside in various regions around the nation. These includeTibetans,Uyghurs,Manchus,Zhuang,Dai,Mongolians,Naxi,Miao,Wa,Yi, andLisu.

Guangxi is a region ofChina, theGuangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Its most famous performer of Guangxi is the legendaryZhuang folksinger,刘三姐 (pinyin:liú sān jiě) or Third Sister Liu, born in Guangxi during the Southern Song dynasty (1127–1279) and who was the subject of the 1961 film,Liu Sanjie which introduced Guangxi's culture to the rest of the world.^[32]

Zhuang folk songs and Han Chinese music are a similar style, and are mostly in the pentatonic scale. The lyrics have an obvious antithesis format. They frequently contain symbols and metaphors, and common themes include life experiences as well as allusions to classical Chinese stories.

The Jing orGin people (ethnic Vietnamese) are one of the smallest populations of ethnic and the only coastal fishery ethnic minority of China. They are known for their instrument calledduxianqin (lit. "single string zither"), astring instrument with only one string, said to date back to the 8th century.

The music of Hong Kong notably includes theCantonese Chinese pop music known ascantopop.

Hua'er is a form of traditional a cappella singing that is popular in the mountainousnorthwestern Chinese provinces such asGansu,Ningxia, andQinghai.

Mongolian folk songs have a "long tune" and a "short tune". The Mongolians have a variety of stringed instruments such asmorin khuur or horsehead fiddle. It is named because of itsheadstock carving of a horse used as decoration on the pillar.

Kuaiban is a type of rhythmic talking and singing which is often performed with percussive instruments such as a clapper calledpaiban. The center of thekuaiban tradition isShandong province.Kuaiban bears some resemblance to rap and other forms of rhythmic music found in other cultures.

Northeast China is a region inhabited by ethnic groups like theManchu. The most prominent folk instrument is the octagonal drum, while theyouyouzhalullaby is also well-known.

Sichuan is a province in southwest China. Its capital city,Chengdu, is home to the only musical higher education institution in the region, theSichuan Conservatory of Music. The province has a long history ofSichuan opera.

Music forms an integral part ofTibetan Buddhism. Whilechanting remains perhaps the best known form of Tibetan Buddhist music, complex and lively forms are also widespread. Monks use music to recite varioussacred texts and to celebrate a variety of festivals during the year. The most specialized form of chanting is called yang, which is without metrical timing and is dominated by resonant drums and sustained, low syllables. Other forms of chanting are unique toTantra as well as the four main monastic schools:Gelugpa,Kagyupa,Nyingmapa andSakyapa. Of these schools, Gelugpa is considered a more restrained, classical form, while Nyingmapa is widely described as romantic and dramatic. Gelugpa is perhaps the most popular.

Secular Tibetan music survived the Cultural Revolution more intact than spiritual music, especially due to theTibetan Institute of Performing Arts, which was founded by theDalai Lama shortly after his exile. TIPA originally specialized in theoperaticlhamo form, which has since been modernized with the addition of Western and other influences. Other secular genres includenangma andtoshe, which are often linked and are accompanied by a variety of instruments designed for highly rhythmicdance music. Nangmakaraoke is popular in modernLhasa. A classical form calledgar is very popular, and is distinguished by ornate, elegant and ceremonial music honoring dignitaries or other respected persons.

Tibetanfolk music includesa cappella lu songs, which are distinctively high in pitch with glottal vibrations, as well as now rare epic bards who sing the tales ofGesar, Tibet's most popular hero.

Tibetan music has influenced the pioneering compositions ofPhilip Glass and, most influentially,Henry Eichheim. Later artists madenew-age fusions by pioneersHenry Wolff andNancy Hennings. These two collaborated onTibetan Bells, perhaps the first fusion of New Age and Tibetan influences, in 1971. Glass'Kundunsoundtrack proved influential in the 1990s, while the popularity of Western-adapted Buddhism (exemplified byRichard Gere,Yungchen Lhamo,Steve Tibbetts,Choying Drolma,Lama Karta andKitaro andNawang Khechong) helped further popularize Tibetan music.

In the mid- to late 1980s, a relaxation of governmental rules allowed a form of Tibetan pop music to emerge in Tibet proper. Direct references to native religion is still forbidden,^{[citation needed]} but commonly understood metaphors are widespread. PureTibetan pop is heavily influenced by light Chinese rock, and includes best-sellers likeJampa Tsering andYatong. Politically and socially aware songs are rare in this form of pop, but commonplace in a second type of Tibetan pop. Nangma karaoke bars appeared in 1998 and are common in Lhasa, in spite of threats from the Chinese government.^{[citation needed]}

Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region is dominated byUyghurs, aTurkic people related to other Turkic groups fromCentral Asia. The Uyghurs' best-known musical form is theOn Ikki Muqam, a complex suite of twelve sections related toUzbek andTajik forms. These complex symphonies vary wildly between suites in the same muqam, and are built on a seven-note scale. Instruments typically include dap (a drum),dulcimers,fiddles andlutes; performers have some space for personal embellishments, especially in thepercussion. The most important performer isTurdi Akhun, who recorded most of the muqams in the 1950s.

Yunnan is an ethnically diverse area in southwest China. Perhaps best known from the province is thelusheng, a type ofmouth organ, used by theMiao people ofGuizhou for pentatonicantiphonal courting songs.

TheHani ofHonghe Prefecture are known for a unique kind of choral, micro-tonal rice-transplanting songs.

TheNakhi ofLijiang play a type of song and dance suite calledbaisha xiyue, which was supposedly brought byKublai Khan in 1253. NakhiDongjing is a type of music related to southern Chinese forms, and is popular today.

The Dai ethnic musical styles are similar to those of South Asia, Myanmar, and Thailand. Some typical Dai instruments are the hulusi and the elephant-foot drum.

In the early 20th century after the end ofImperial China, there were major changes to traditional Chinese music as part of theNew Culture Movement. Much of what Westerners and even Chinese now consider to be music in the traditional Chinese style can be dated to this period and is in fact less than 100 years old. The modernization of Chinese music involved the adoption of some aspects of Western forms and values, such as the use of Westernconservatory system of teaching, and changes to the instruments and their tuning, the composition, the orchestration of music, the notation system and performance style. Some forms of Chinese music however remained traditional and are little changed.

The termguoyue, or national music, became popular in the early 20th century and was used loosely to include all music written for Chinese instruments in response to a particular nationalistic consciousness.^[33] The term however may have a slightly different meaning when used by different Chinese communities. It was originally used only to refer to the music of the Han Chinese; it later began to include music of various ethnic minorities in China. In theRepublic of China in Taiwan,Guoyue emphasized music of the mainland China over the Taiwanese local traditions. In mainland China a new termminyue (民乐, short forminzu yinyue or "people's music") was coined post-1949 in place ofguoyue to encompass all compositions and genres for traditional instruments. In other Chinese communities, it may also be referred to ashuayue (for example in Singapore) orzhongyue (in Hong Kong).^[34]

There was a tradition of massed instruments in the ritual court music form known asyayue since theZhou dynasty. This music may be played by a handful of musicians, or there may be more than 200 for example during theSong dynasty.^[35] During the Tang dynasty there were also large-scale presentations of banquet music calledyanyue (燕樂) in the court. The Tang imperial court may have up to ten different orchestras, each performing a different kind of music. It also had a large outdoor band of nearly 1,400 performers.^[36]

The modernChinese orchestra however was created in the 20th century modeled on Westernsymphony orchestra using Chinese instruments. In the traditionalyanyue, a singledominant melodic line was favored, but the new music and arrangements of traditional melodies created for this modern orchestra is morepolyphonic in nature.

Many traditional instruments underwent changes in the early to mid 20th century which has a profound effect on the performance and sound of Chinese music, and a westernequal temperament is now used to tune most traditional instruments, which to modern ears seem less harsh and more harmonious but which also robs the instruments of theirtraditional voices. To ears now used to hearing modern tunings, even Chinese ones, traditional tunings can sound out of tune and discordant.

In order to accommodate Western system, changes were made to the instruments, for example in thepipa the number of frets was increased to 24, based on the 12 tone equal temperament scale, with all the intervals being semitones.

There is also a need tostandardize the tuning when the instruments are played in an orchestra, which in turn may also affect how the instrument is made. For example, traditionallydizi is made by using a solid piece of bamboo which made it impossible to change the fundamental tuning once the bamboo is cut. This issue was resolved in the 1920s by the insertion of a copper joint to connect two pieces of shorter bamboo, which allows the length of the bamboo to be modified so that minute adjustment to its fundamental pitch can be made.^[37] TheXindi, "new flute", is a 1930s redesign of the Chinese flute incorporating western influences on the basis of equal temperament.

In order to achieve a greater vibrancy and loudness with instruments (not to mention longevity), many string instruments are no longer strung with silk but with steel or nylon. For example, metal strings began to be used in place of the traditional silk ones in the 1950s forpipa, resulting in a change in the sound of thepipa which became brighter and stronger.^[38]

Before the 20th century Chinese used thegongche notation system, in modern times theJianpu system is common. Westernstaff notation however is also used.

In common with the music traditions of other Asian cultures, such as Persia and India, one strand of traditional Chinese music consists of a repertoire of traditional melodies, together known asqupai, in whichtempo andornamentation vary according to the mood of the instrumentalist, the audience, and their reaction to what is being played, the same melody can be used to serve many different roles be it merry, melancholic or martial (this can be glimpsed in the love theme of theButterfly Lovers' Violin Concerto where the same melody at different points in the lover's story reflects elation, turbulence and dejection). Many modern performers now play pieces by following ascore in a standard way rather than in the changeablereflective individual way of tradition, this can at times lead to the feeling that a performance has been rushed.

Chinese popular^[39] music found its beginnings in theshidaiqu genre. The shidaiqu genre was founded by Li Jinhui in mainland China and was influenced by Western jazz artists like Buck Clayton. After theChinese Communist Revolution, popular music were denounced asYellow Music, a form ofpornography.^[40] and record companies of Shanghai such asBaak Doi in 1952 left China.^[41] Mainland China was left on the sidelines in the development of pop music for a few decades, as the Chinese pop music industry moved from Shanghai to Hong Kong and Taiwan. The 1970s saw the rise ofcantopop in Hong Kong, andmandopop in its neighboring country Taiwan.^[42]

In the late 1970s, economic reforms byDeng Xiaoping in mainland China led to the introduction ofgangtai culture of Hong Kong and Taiwan, and pop music returned to mainland China. However, for a time the government still have a censorious attitude toward pop music; for example, Hong Kong's iconAnita Mui was banned from returning to the mainland concert stage after performing the song "Bad Girl" during the 1990s in China as punishment for what the Chinese government called her rebellious attitude.^[43] Nevertheless, pop music continued to increase in popularity in mainland China, and by 2005, China had overtaken Taiwan in term of the retail value of its music sales.^[44] The beginning of the 21st century has seen an increasing number of mainland Chinese artists who produced a wide range of Mandarin pop songs and the release of many new albums. However, despite having a much larger population and increasing consumption of Chinese pop music, China is not yet considered a major production hub of pop music.^[45]

Many popular mainland Chinese, Hong Kong and Taiwanese music artists were included in promotions for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Mandarin rap music gradually became popular in mainland China, especially in Shanghai, Beijing, Chongqing and Sichuan where pop culture is very diverse and modern. Although Chinese perform rap in different dialects and languages, most Chinese hip hop artists perform in China's most popular language: Mandarin.

Cantonese rap is also very diverse in cities such as Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hong Kong.

Electronic dance music (EDM) has become the second biggest music category in China. Among the sub-genres,house music is at the top, followed bybass music andtrap music.^[46] Reality talent shows and competition programs such asRave Now and E-Pop of China contributed to promote electronic music towards the mainstream audience.^[47]

In recent years, numerous of local Chinese electronic music producers have emerged and got signed by international major labels. Chace, the first Chinese disc jockey (DJ) to play on the main stage of Tomorrowland, has been signed byUniversal Music Group.^[48] Young Chinese DJ Carta has been signed bySpinnin' Records, listing himself on theDJ Mag Top 100.^[49]

A growing number of Chinese producers seek to collaborate with renowned foreign musicians and singers from the Western world. Local electronic music producerZight collaborated with American singerChris Willis and Italian DJ duo Maximals to release single "Work It Harder".^[50] At the meantime, local electronic singer-songwriterCORSAK [zh] has teamed up with Swedish DJAlesso, releasing their global hitGoing Dumb.^[51]

ThePeking All-Stars were a rock band formed in Beijing in 1979, by foreigners then resident in the Chinese capital.

The widely acknowledged forefather of Chinese rock isCui Jian.^[21] In the late 1980s he played the first Chinese rock song called: "Nothing To My Name" ("Yi wu suo you"). It was the first time anelectric guitar was used in China.^{[citation needed]} He became the most famous performer of the time, and by 1988 he performed at a concert broadcast worldwide in conjunction with theSeoul Summer Olympic Games.^[21] His socially critical lyrics earned him the anger of the government and many of his concerts were banned or cancelled. After theTiananmen Square protests of 1989, he played with a red blindfold around his head as an action against the government.

Afterwards, two bands became famousHei Bao (Black Panther) andTang Dynasty. Both started during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Hei Bao is an old-school rock band whose first CD,Hei Bao used the popular English song ("Don't Break My Heart").Tang Dynasty was the first Chineseheavy metal band. Its first CD "A Dream Return to Tang Dynasty" combines elements of traditionalChinese opera and old school heavy metal. The album was a major breakthrough releasing around 1991/1992.

Around 1994–96: the firstthrash metal band, Chao Zai (Overload), was formed. They released three CDs, the last one in cooperation with pop singerGao Chi of the split-up bandThe Breathing. At the same time the firstnu metal bands were formed and inspired by Western bands such asKorn,Limp Bizkit orLinkin Park. China would have their own withYaksa,Twisted Machine,AK-47,Overheal Tank.

Black metal is becoming a prominent scene in mainland China, particularlycentral China.

Punk rock first emerged in China in the early 1990s as records from Western punk andpost-punk bands were imported into mainland China for the first time. One of the earliest and most renowned punk-influenced Chinese artists wasHe Yong whose debut albumGarbage Dump was released in 1994.

Formed in Nanjing in 1997, post-punk groupP.K. 14 are regarded as the most important band in the development of Chinese experimental rock music. The band moved to Beijing in 2001 and released their first album 'Upstairs, Turn Left' the same year. P.K. 14's singer-songwriter Yang Haisong (杨海崧) has also produced many of the Chinese indie music scene's most celebrated albums (includingCarsick Cars' 2007 eponymous debut album), working with independent record labels such asMaybe Mars andModern Sky.^[52][53]

UnderBaby rose to fame underground in the mid-1990s, laying the foundation for Beijing punk music in the 1990s along with two garage bands, Flies and Catchers of the Rye. In 1996, UnderBaby's song "All the Same" - "All One Yang" was included in the Chinese indie rock album "China Fire II", thus gaining national recognition.^[54]

Since the early 2000s, Chinese indie music has grown considerably, with homegrown bands such as Carsick Cars, Birdstriking,Re-TROS,Brain Failure, Demerit, Tookoo, AV Okubo, Lonely Leary,Hang on the Box andFanzui Xiangfa all embarking on international tours.

Whereas orchestras organised by, run solely by and nearly always exclusive to the expatriate community in China are recorded from the early days of the International Settlement in Shanghai (i.e. 1850s) and a Russian orchestra was in operation in Harbin from the early 20th century,^[55] the beginnings of a unique classical music tradition in China lie with the first foreign trained Chinese conductor, Zheng Zhisheng AKA (romanized)Yin Zizhong. Zheng (Yin or Wan depending on romanization) was raised in China'sGuangdong province. He was influenced by the WesternChurch Music at an early age.^{[citation needed]} He studied in Lyons and Paris before returning to China in the 1930s. He became the first Chinese conductor of theChongqing Symphonic Orchestra.^[56] Their performances included compositions from Beethoven and Mozart.^[56]

The revolutionary spirit of Yin Zizhong's (or romanized Wan-Chi Chung's) style has been continued by the first generation of composers immediately following the accession of the CCP to power, namelyLi Delun andCao Peng. The former provided the driving force and often the life force that kept a tradition alive through the Mao years, especially in his adopted city of Beijing, and the latter has been instrumental in maintaining a high standard of symphonic music, as well as working hard for the popularization of the tradition further into the fabric of Chinese culture, across his long career, which continues to the present. At the same time as this tradition has continued, new generations have sought to bring classical music in China along another path, away from the strict professionalism of the elite trained Li and Cao (who were both at the Russian conservatory in the 1950s) and towards a less nationalistic, but arguably more encompassing attitude towards the tradition. Most influential in this new movement has been the young Shanghai conductorLong Yu.

During the height of theCultural Revolution, political music became the dominant form. Music accelerated at the political level into "Revolutionary Music" leaning toward cult status and becoming mainstream under theideology of the Chinese Communist Party.Jiang Qing introduced therevolutionary model operas under her direct supervision; the eightModel Dramas (6 operas and 2 ballets) were promoted while traditional operas were banned. Notable examples are the operasThe Legend of the Red Lantern andTaking Tiger Mountain by Strategy, and the ballet piecesRed Detachment of Women andThe White Haired Girl.^[57][58] Other forms of musical composition and performance were greatly restricted. After the Cultural Revolution, musical institutions were reinstated and musical composition and performance revived.^{[citation needed]}

Some of the more widely known political songs areMilitary Anthem of the People's Liberation Army,^[59]The East is Red, and theInternationale.

• List of traditional Chinese musical instruments
• History of Chinese dance
• Culture of China
• Music Bureau
• Music industry of East Asia
• The 'C-Rock' (Chinese rock) music scene
• World music

• Van Aalst, J. A. (1884).Chinese Music. Cambridge University Press.ISBN 978-1-108-04564-3.

• (in French)Audio clips: Traditional music of the China.Musée d'ethnographie de Genève. Accessed November 25, 2010.
• BBC Radio 3 Audio (45 minutes): Shanghai tea-houses. Accessed November 25, 2010.
• BBC Radio 3 Audio (45 minutes): Chinese opera in Beijing. Accessed November 25, 2010.
• BBC Radio 3 Audio (45 minutes): Buddhist harvest celebrations. Accessed November 25, 2010.
• BBC Radio 3 Audio (45 minutes): The Uighur people of Xinjiang. Accessed November 25, 2010.
• BBC Radio 3 Audio (45 minutes): Music of the Hani and Yi People. Accessed November 25, 2010.
• BBC Radio 3 Audio (45 minutes): The Uyghur people and the muqam. Accessed November 25, 2010.
• BBC Radio 3 Audio (45 minutes): Silk and Bamboo music, the gugin and Pingtan music. Accessed November 25, 2010.
• An article about Chinese music from the classical literati tradition
• Listen to traditional Chinese music
• (in Japanese)中国古典テキストデータベース（中国思想史研究室） Archive of some Classical Chinese texts about Music theories.
• HQ-Videos: Traditional Chinese Pipa Songs 陽春白雪 (White Snow in the Spring Sunlight) and 小月儿高 (The Moon is High)
• "A Complete Study of the Chinese Zither" from 1670