Chinese Traditional Music
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Chinese Traditional Music
Chinese traditional music includes various music genres which have been inherited for generations in China. Specifically, this term refers to the music genres originated in or before Qing dynasty. According to the appearance, the genres can be classified into instrumental ensemble, instrumental solo, theatre, shuochang, dance music and song. It is now the primary classification in both research and education, although some genres contain different forms of performance and thus do not belong to a single category. The genres could also be classified into literati music, folk music, religious music and palace music, according to their cultural connotations or purpose. Instrumental ensemble * Nanguan music * Zhihua Temple Music * Teochew string music * Jiangnan sizhu Instrumental solo * Guqin * Pipa Theatre * Kunqu * Peking opera Dance music * Muqam A Muqam ( ug, ئۇيغۇر مۇقامى, ucy=Муқам; zh, s=木卡姆, p=Mùkǎmǔ) is the melody type used in the music of ...
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Qing Dynasty
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speaking ethnic group who unified other Jurchen tribes to form a new "Manchu" ethnic identity. The dynasty was officially proclaimed in 1636 in Manchuria (modern-day Northeast China and Outer Manchuria). It seized control of Beijing in 1644, then later expanded its rule over the whole of China proper and Taiwan, and finally expanded into Inner Asia. The dynasty lasted until 1912 when it was overthrown in the Xinhai Revolution. In orthodox Chinese historiography, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the Ming dynasty and succeeded by the Republic of China. The multiethnic Qing dynasty lasted for almost three centuries and assembled the territorial base for modern China. It was the largest imperial dynasty in the history of China and in 1790 the f ...
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Nanguan Music
Nanguan (; also ''nanyin'', ''nanyue'', ''xianguan'', or ''nanqu'') is a style of Chinese classical music from the southern Chinese province of Fujian. It is also popular in Taiwan, particularly Lukang on west coast, as well as among Overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia. Fujian is a mountainous coastal province of China. Its provincial capital is Fuzhou, while Quanzhou was a major port in the 7th century CE, the period between the Sui and Tang eras. Situated upon an important maritime trade route, it was a conduit for elements of distant cultures. The result was what is now known as ''nanguan'' music, which today preserves many archaic features. It is a genre strongly associated with male-only community amateur musical associations ( quguan or "song-clubs"), each formerly generally linked to a particular temple, and is viewed as a polite accomplishment and a worthy social service, distinct from the world of professional entertainers. It is typically slow, gentle, delicate and melo ...
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Teochew String Music
Teochew string music or Chaozhou xianshi ( also called "string-poem music") is classed as a type of music (chamber music for strings and woodwind, literally 'silk/bamboo') although it typically uses stringed instruments only. It is found in northeastern Guangdong and parts of Fujian and also in regions with overseas Teochew populations, such as Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and the United States. The Chaoshan region of Guangdong, bordering on Fujian and comprising the cities of Chaozhou, Shantou and Jieyang, forms its own cultural sphere. Teahouses often accompany with Chaozhou music. History Developed from a fusion of elements, popular song, arias of Chinese opera, ancient melodies and pieces of Buddhist music, string music falls into two styles: () is music of the Confucian school that can be performed as an independent instrumental music genre or at weddings and other ceremonies and that aims at elegance and nobility, while () is principally the music of the theatre, though ...
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Jiangnan Sizhu
''Jiangnan sizhu'' () is a style of traditional Chinese instrumental music from the Jiangnan region of China. Name The name ''Jiangnan sizhu'' (江南丝竹 pinyin: Jiāngnán sīzhú) is made up of two parts. ''Jiangnan'' is the traditional name for the area south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze river in southern Jiangsu, Shanghai, and northern Zhejiang. ''Sizhu'', literally "silk and bamboo," refers to string and wind musical instruments, silk being the traditional material from which strings have historically been made in China, and bamboo being the material from which the Chinese flutes such as the '' dizi'' and '' xiao'' are made. The term ''sizhu'' by extension also came to refer to instrumental music in general, especially that played indoors. Other ''sizhu'' traditions also exist, particularly along China's ...
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Guqin
The ''guqin'' (; ) is a plucked seven-string Chinese musical instrument. It has been played since ancient times, and has traditionally been favoured by scholars and literati as an instrument of great subtlety and refinement, as highlighted by the quote "a gentleman does not part with his ''qin'' or '' se'' without good reason," as well as being associated with the ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius. It is sometimes referred to by the Chinese as "the father of Chinese music" or "the instrument of the sages". The ''guqin'' is not to be confused with the '' guzheng'', another Chinese long stringed instrument also without frets, but with moveable bridges under each string. Traditionally, the instrument was simply referred to as the "''qin''" (琴) but by the twentieth century the term had come to be applied to many other musical instruments as well: the ''yangqin'' hammered dulcimer, the ''huqin'' family of bowed string instruments, and the Western piano (''gangqin'' (钢琴) ...
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Pipa
The pipa, pípá, or p'i-p'a () is a traditional Chinese musical instrument, belonging to the plucked category of instruments. Sometimes called the "Chinese lute", the instrument has a pear-shaped wooden body with a varying number of frets ranging from 12 to 31. Another Chinese four-string plucked lute is the liuqin, which looks like a smaller version of the pipa. The pear-shaped instrument may have existed in China as early as the Han dynasty, and although historically the term ''pipa'' was once used to refer to a variety of plucked chordophones, its usage since the Song dynasty refers exclusively to the pear-shaped instrument. The pipa is one of the most popular Chinese instruments and has been played for almost two thousand years in China. Several related instruments are derived from the pipa, including the Japanese biwa and Korean bipa in East Asia, and the Vietnamese đàn tỳ bà in Southeast Asia. The Korean instrument is the only one of the three that is no longer wide ...
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Kunqu
Kunqu (), also known as Kunju (), K'un-ch'ü, Kun opera or Kunqu Opera, is one of the oldest extant forms of Chinese opera. Kunqu is one of the oldest traditional operas of the Han nationality, and is also a treasure of Chinese traditional culture and art, especially opera art. It evolved from the local melody of Kunshan and later came to dominate Chinese theater from the 16th to the 18th centuries. The style originated in the Wu cultural area. It has been listed as one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO since 2001. Since the mid-Ming Dynasty, Wei Liang Fu has been the sole leader of Chinese opera for nearly 300 years. In 2006, it was listed on the first national intangible cultural heritage list. In 2008, it was included in the List of Representative Works of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. In December 2018, the General Office of the Ministry of Education announced that Peking University is the base for inheriting excellent ...
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Peking Opera
Peking opera, or Beijing opera (), is the most dominant form of Chinese opera, which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance and acrobatics. It arose in Beijing in the mid-Qing dynasty (1644–1912) and became fully developed and recognized by the mid-19th century. The form was extremely popular in the Qing court and has come to be regarded as one of the cultural treasures of China. Major performance troupes are based in Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai. The art form is also preserved in Taiwan, where it is also known as (). It has also spread to other regions such as the United States and Japan. Peking opera features four main role types, '' sheng'' (gentlemen), ''dan'' (women), '' jing'' (rough men), and '' chou'' (clowns). Performing troupes often have several of each variety, as well as numerous secondary and tertiary performers. With their elaborate and colorful costumes, performers are the only focal points on Peking opera's characteristically sparse stage. They use the ...
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Muqam
A Muqam ( ug, ئۇيغۇر مۇقامى, ucy=Муқам; zh, s=木卡姆, p=Mùkǎmǔ) is the melody type used in the music of the Uyghurs, that is, a musical mode and set of melodic formulas used to guide improvisation and composition. Twelve muqams The twelve muqams are: #Rak (; , ''Lākè'') #Čäbbiyat (; , ''Qiěbǐyǎtè'') #Segah (; , ''Sīgǎ'') #Čahargah (; , ''Qiàěrgǎ'') #Pänjigah (; , ''Pāněrgǎ'') #Özhal (; , ''Wūzīhālēi'') #Äjäm (; , ''Àiqiě'') #Uššaq (; , ''Wūxiàkè'') #Bayat (; , ''Bāyǎtí'') #Nava (; , ''Nàwǎ'') #Mušavräk (; , ''Mùxiàwúláikè'') #Iraq (; , ''Yīlākè'') Each of the 12 muqams consists of a main section that begins with a long free rhythm introduction, followed by pieces with characteristic rhythmic patterns that gradually increase in speed. Each muqam consists of three parts, including naghma, dastan and mashrap. These pieces are arranged in the same sequence in each muqam, although not all muqams have the same pie ...
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