Chinese musical instruments are traditionally grouped into eight categories (classified by the material from which the instruments were made) known asbā yīn (八音).[1] The eight categories aresilk,bamboo,wood,stone,metal,clay,gourd andskin; 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 (絲) instruments are mostlystringed 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:
Huleiqin (忽雷琴) - pear-shaped lute slightly smaller than thepipa, with 2 strings and body covered with snakeskin; it was used during theTang dynasty but is no longer used
Pipa (琵琶) – pear-shaped fretted lute with 4 or 5 strings
Liuqin (柳琴) – small plucked, fretted lute with a pear-shaped body and four and five strings
Ruan (Chinese:阮;pinyin:ruǎn) – moon-shaped lute in five sizes:gaoyin-,xiao-,zhong-,da-, anddiyin-; sometimes calledruanqin (阮琴)
Yueqin (月琴) – plucked lute with a wooden body, a short fretted neck, and four strings tuned in pairs
Qinqin (秦琴) – plucked lute with a wooden body and fretted neck; also calledmeihuaqin (梅花琴, literally "plum blossom instrument", from its flower-shaped body)
Sanxian (三弦) – plucked lute with body covered with snakeskin and long fretless neck; the ancestor of the Japaneseshamisen
Qiben (起奔) - a four strings plucked lute ofLisu people
Wanqin (弯琴: shaped like a dragon boat. Its shape is very similar toMyanmar'ssaung-gauk. Another variation of thewanqin held in the form of a harp with four strings was found in a painting of Feitian inMogao caves,Dunhuang province.
Kongqin (孔琴): A pear-shapedruan with five strings similar toukulele
Re-enactment of an ancient traditional music performanceA mural from the tomb of Xu Xianxiu inTaiyuan,Shanxi province, dated 571 AD during theNorthern Qi dynasty, showing male court musicians playing stringed instruments, either theliuqin orpipa, and a woman playing akonghou (harp)
Erxian (二弦) – two-stringed fiddle, used in Cantonese, Chaozhou, and nanguan music
Tiqin (提琴) – two-stringed fiddle, used inkunqu, Chaozhou, Cantonese, Fujian, and Taiwanese music
Yehu (椰胡) – two-stringed fiddle with coconut body, used primarily in Cantonese and Chaozhou music
Daguangxian (大广弦) – two-stringed fiddle used in Taiwan and Fujian, primarily by Min Nan and Hakka people; also calleddatongxian (大筒弦),guangxian (广弦), anddaguanxian (大管弦)
Datong (大筒) – two-stringed fiddle used in the traditional music of Hunan
Zhu (筑) – a zither similar to aguzheng, played with a bamboo mallet
Niujinqin (牛筋琴) – a zither used to accompany traditional narrative singing inWenzhou,Zhejiang province. Similar to ase but played with a bamboo mallet.
A half-section of theSong dynasty (960–1279) version of theNight Revels of Han Xizai, original byGu Hongzhong;[3] the female musicians in the center of the image are playingtransverse bamboo flutes andguan, and the male musician is playing a wooden clapper calledpaiban.Abawu in the key of F
Bamboo (竹) mainly refers to woodwind instruments, which includes;
Guan (Chinese:管;pinyin:guǎn) – cylindricaldouble reed wind instrument made of either hardwood (Northern China) or bamboo (Cantonese); the northern version is also calledguanzi (管子) orbili (simplified Chinese:筚篥;traditional Chinese:篳篥), the Cantonese version is also calledhouguan (喉管), and the Taiwanese version is called鴨母笛, orTaiwan guan (台湾管)
Shuangguan (雙管) - literally "doubleguan," an instrument consisting of twoguanzi (cylindrical double reed pipes) of equal length, joined together along their length
A set ofmuyu, 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:
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
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
Paiban (拍板) – a clapper made from several flat pieces of wood; also calledbǎn (板),tánbǎn (檀板),mùbǎn (木板), orshūbǎn (书板); when used together with a drum the two instruments are referred to collectively asguban (鼓板)
Ban
Zhuban (竹板, a clapper made from two pieces of bamboo)
Qing (磬) – a cup-shaped bell used in Buddhist and Daoist ritual music
Daqing (大磬) – largeqing
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 calleddangdang (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]
Sheng (Chinese:笙;pinyin:shēng) – free reed mouth organ consisting of varying number of bamboo pipes inserted into a metal (formerly gourd or hardwood) chamber with finger holes
Baosheng (抱笙) – larger version of the Sheng
Yu (Chinese:竽;pinyin:yú) – ancient free reed mouth organ similar to the sheng but generally larger
Hulusi (simplified Chinese:葫芦丝;traditional Chinese:葫蘆絲; pinyin: húlúsī) – free-reed wind instrument with three bamboo pipes which pass through a gourd wind chest; one pipe has finger holes and the other two are drone pipes; used primarily inYunnan province
Diangu (点鼓; also calledhuaigu, 怀鼓) – a double-headedframe drum played with a single wooden beater; used in the Shifangu ensemble music of Jiangsu province and to accompany tokunqu opera
Lilie (唎咧) – reed wind instrument with a conical bore played by theLi people ofHainan
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
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.
Lee, Yuan-Yuan and Shen, Sinyan.Chinese Musical Instruments (Chinese Music Monograph Series). 1999. Chinese Music Society of North America Press.ISBN1-880464-03-9
Shen, Sinyan.Chinese Music in the 20th Century (Chinese Music Monograph Series). 2001. Chinese Music Society of North America Press.ISBN1-880464-04-7
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.ISBN7-80005-017-3.
