Chinese Music

Chinese musical history goes back many

thousands of years. The Chinese symbol for
word music (yue) is 2300 years old.

the

Ancient China had many sorcerer-priests

who used music to dance and sing for rain,
defence from enemies and protection from the
elements. The rulers of China, the emperors, used music not only for
entertainment but also for political reasons.
Historians have categorised Chinese music into four periods.
Formative Period (3000BC 400AD)
Chinese music history is said to have begun when Emperor Huang Ti sent
his musician, Ling Lun, to the western mountains of China where he was
inspired by the songs of birds. These became the basis of the pentatonic
scale. Ling Lun also returned with bamboo to make instruments.
The philosopher Confucius (c. 550-478 B.C.) saw music as a way of
achieving harmony. Music that was virtuous and pure (ya) was to be
prized over the folk music (su) of the people.
International Period (400-900 AD)
During this period, invasion and war meant that Chinese
culture was influenced by other nearby countries,
mainly Islamic ones such as India, Persia and Turkestan
National Period (900-1900 AD)
Musical styles such as Chinese opera were made the same throughout the
country.
World Music Period (1900- AD)
European technology and musical styles have only become important in
the twentieth century. Western instrumentation scales and sounds are
widespread in China today.

Vocal Music
Vocal music is an important and highly prized art throughout China. Some
of the earliest Chinese music was Buddhist chants, accompanied by bells,
gongs or cymbals, which are about nine hundred years old. China has a
long tradition of story-telling set to music folk ballads, dramas, folk
operas and formal operas.
Chinese opera has about three hundred variants but Beijing opera is the
most popular. It combines the arts of acting, mime, acrobatics and

costume, as well as singing and dancing. They are accompanied on stage

by a small orchestra consisting of a pipa, fiddles, wind instruments (flutes
and suonas), drums, cymbals and clappers.

The four main roles are:

Sheng the male role;

Dan the female role;
Jing character with the painted face
Chou the clown.

Questions
1. Chinese music is classified into four periods. What are they?
2. What is the scale traditional Chinese music is based on?
3. The philosopher Confucius divided music into two types ya
and su. What sort of music was each type?
4. How many variants of Chinese opera exist?
5. What are the four main roles of Beijing opera?
6. What instruments are usually used to accompany Beijing
opera?
7. What did the sorcerer-priests use music for?
8. When did Western technology start to affect Chinese styles?