Chinese Musical Instruments

Chinese musical instruments traditionally have been classified according to the materials used in their construction namely :
metal, wood, silk, bamboo, gourd, clay, skin, and stone.

metal                             LUO

Many factors go into how any one gong sounds, so there are 12 classifications of gongs in China. the daluo to xiaoluo . This percussion instrument is often used to create liveliness and to depict happy and festive spirit. 
Luo is no longer an accompaniment instrument, it has been widely used as a leading instrument in percussion ensemble or even orchestra pieces.                                                                                    BAN                  wood
Clappers or ban ( ban means "wood") can be found throughout China in various styles of music. Most often this instrument is used in folk music or opera, adding the necessary rhythmic accompaniment and performance cues to the choreography. One of the most well-known ensembles that incorporates clappers is the Peking Opera. Whenever a military scene is acted out, the "clack-iddy-clack" of the clappers rhythmically accentuate the music and the visualization of the Opera. Because of its this instrument of clappers belong to wooden body, the clappers belong to the wood instrument category of the ba-yin scheme. In the West these instruments are classified as concussion Idiophones.

skin                              GU
This Chinese drum is the modern descendant of an ancient gu found in the yin ruins of anyang, in the Henan Province. A skin membrane covers both sides of a wooden body, often made from cowhide. As the drum hangs within its wooden frame, the player strikes the surface of the tang-gu with two wooden mallets, one in each hand. Because of the skin membrane the tang-gu is considered a skin instrument in the ba-yin scheme. In the West this drum is classified as a Membranophone.There are various sizes of Chinese drums. The most popular, is very large with the shape of half an hourglass. Both ends are covered with buffalo skin and it is beat at the larger end, which is larger than the smaller end by a 2:1 ratio. The drumsticks used have a soft covering to produce a dull, but loud sound. The smaller drum, called the xiaogu, or little drum, is of a cylindrical shape slightly curving in at the ends. It is covered with various animal skin and is beat with two thin sticks, which gives it a sharp sound.

 XUN                  clay 

The origin of the xun dates back to 7,000 years ago when it was probably used by the first man to imitate the sounds of animals. Later, holes were added to this musical instrument so that it could be used to play melodies.
An earthen xun must be made with pure clay. Red, yellow or black clay are all acceptable colors of clay. To make a xun, add water to the clay, knead it until it soft enough, then shape it, make holes where appropriate, polish  and finally bake it.
The arrangement is similar to a flute,  while its way of playing is less complicated.

silk                            QIN

The qin (gu qin, ch'in, chin) is one of the oldest Chinese musical instruments, most profoundly utilized throughout the Confucian era (600BC-1900 AD). This black silk-stringed zither, in accordance with the Confucian way, was used as a "vehicle for worship, formation of character, and regulation of political life of the state." The qin was the instrument of the Confucian superior man and most of the scholars of the day were required to study and regularly practice the instrument. Because of its silk strings the qin is a silk instrument in the ba-yin scheme. In the West it is a chordophone.

                                                                       DI                  Bamboo 

The di, or di-zi, is the traditional Chinese flute. The di has eight holes, there is one blow hole, a hole covered with a piece of membrane, and the other six are finger holes. It has a range of about two octaves and a di player will often carry around many different di because they are in different keys. Its sharp shrill sound means that only one is needed in an orchestra.

Copyright by People's Daily Online, All Rights Reserve
E-mail: english@peopledaily.com.cn