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Chinese musical instruments are traditionally grouped into eight categories known as (). The eight categories are
silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from th ...
,
bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, ...
,
wood Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin ...
,
stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...
,
metal A metal (from ancient Greek, Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, e ...
,
clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay pa ...
,
gourd Gourds include the fruits of some flowering plant species in the family Cucurbitaceae, particularly ''Cucurbita'' and '' Lagenaria''. The term refers to a number of species and subspecies, many with hard shells, and some without. One of the ear ...
and
skin Skin is the layer of usually soft, flexible outer tissue covering the body of a vertebrate animal, with three main functions: protection, regulation, and sensation. Other animal coverings, such as the arthropod exoskeleton, have different ...
; 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 ( )

Silk () instruments are mostly
stringed instruments String instruments, stringed instruments, or chordophones are musical instruments that produce sound from vibrating strings when a performer plays or sounds the strings in some manner. Musicians play some string instruments by plucking the st ...
(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:


Plucked


Bowed


Struck


Combined

* () – a combination of the , , and with 50 or more steel strings. * () - strucked and bowed zither from Shandong, China.


Bamboo ( )

Bamboo () mainly refers to woodwind instruments, which includes;


Flutes


Free reed pipes


Single reed pipes


Double reed pipes


Wood ( )

Most wood () instruments are percussion instruments of the ancient variety:


Percussion instruments


Stone

The stone () category comprises various forms of stone chimes.


Metal ( )


Clay ( )


Gourd ( )


Hide-skin ( )


Others


Ethnic instruments


Playing contexts

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.


Musical instruments in use in the 1800s

These watercolour illustrations, made in China in the 1800s, show several types of musical instruments being played: Playing a dizi.jpg, Woman playing a dizi. Playing a jinghu.jpg, Woman playing a jinghu. Playing a luo.jpg, Woman playing a luo. Playing a pipa.jpg, Woman playing a pipa. Playing a sanxian.jpg, Woman playing a sanxian. Playing a shimianluo.jpg, Woman playing a yunluo. Playing a small drum.jpg, Woman playing a xiaoluo. Playing a wind instrument with a curved bell.jpg, Woman playing a haotou. Playing a xiao.jpg, Woman playing a xiao. Playing a zheng.jpg, Woman playing what looks like a yangqin or some sort of psaltery-like instrument.


See also

*
Music of China Music of China refers to the music of the Chinese people, which may be the music of the Han Chinese in the course of Chinese history as well as ethnic minorities in today's China. It also includes music produced by people of Chinese origin in som ...
*
Chinese culture Chinese culture () is one of the world's oldest cultures, originating thousands of years ago. The culture prevails across a large geographical region in East Asia and is extremely diverse and varying, with customs and traditions varying grea ...
*
Chinese art Chinese art is visual art that originated in or is practiced in China, Greater China or by Chinese artists. Art created by Chinese residing outside of China can also be considered a part of Chinese art when it is based in or draws on Chinese ...
*
Chinese instrument classification Chinese musical instruments were traditionally classified according to the materials used in their construction. The eight classifications are silk, bamboo, wood, stone, metal, clay, gourd, and hide. There are other instruments that may not fit ...
* List of ensemble formations in traditional Chinese music * The 'C-Rock' (Chinese rock) music scene


References

;Notes ;Sources *Lee, Yuan-Yuan and Shen, Sinyan. ''Chinese Musical Instruments (Chinese Music Monograph Series)''. 1999. Chinese Music Society of North America Press. *Shen, Sinyan. ''Chinese Music in the 20th Century (Chinese Music Monograph Series)''. 2001. Chinese Music Society of North America Press. *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. .


External links


Chinese musical instruments
Leisure and Cultural Services Department, Hong Kong
Chime
A look at ancient Chinese instruments
Chinese musical instruments
(Chinese)
Chinese Instruments Website
(English)
The Musical Instruments E-bookWorld of Instrumental MusicChinese InstrumentChinese Musical Instruments
(The Modern Appearance) *https://www.britannica.com/art/qin-musical-instrument {{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Chinese Musical Instruments
Traditional Chinese music ''Guoyue'' ( 國 樂; literally "national music"; also ''minyue'' (民乐), ''huayue'' (華樂) or ''zhongyue'' (中樂)), nowadays refers to the music composed for Chinese musical instruments, which is an extension of the Chinese traditional ...
Chinese