Chinese--Traditional--Music

ChineseTraditionalMusicGaoShanLiuShuiChineseclassicalmusicisthetraditionalartorcourtmusicofChina.Ithasalonghistorystretchingformorethanthreethousandyears.Ithasitsownuniquesystemsofmusicalnotation,aswellasmusicaltuningandpitch(定调),musicalinstrumentsandstylesormusicalgenres（流派）.Chinesemusicispentatonic-diatonic（五音阶）,havingascaleoftwelvenotestoanoctave（八度音阶）(5+7=12)asdoesEuropean-influencedmusicHistoryMusicofChinaappearstodatebacktothedawnofChinesecivilization,anddocumentsandartifactsprovideevidenceofawell-developedmusicalcultureasearlyastheZhouDynasty(1122BC-256BC).AccordingtoMencius（孟子）,arulerhadaskedMenciuswhetheritwasmoralifhepreferredpopsongstotheclassics.Theanswerwasthattheonlythingmattersbeingwhetherornothelovedhissubjects.TheImperialMusicBureau,firstestablishedintheQinDynasty(221-207BC),wasgreatlyexpandedundertheEmperorHanWuDi(140-87BC)andchargedwithsupervisingcourtmusicandmilitarymusicanddeterminingwhatfolkmusicwouldbeofficiallyrecognized.Insubsequentdynasties,thedevelopmentofChinesemusicwasstronglyinfluencedbyforeignmusic,especiallythatofCentralAsia.TraditionalorchestralinstrumentsWoodwind（木管乐器）andpercussion（敲打乐器）BowedstringsPluckedandstruckstringsWoodwindandpercussiondizi,sheng,paigu,gong,paixiao,guan,bells,cymbalsBowedstringserhu,zhonghu,dahu,banhu,jinghu,gaohu,gehu,yehu,cizhonghu,diyingehu,leiqinPluckedandstruckstringsguqin,sanxian,yangqin,zheng,ruan,konghou,liuqin,pipa,zhuInstrumentalmusicOperaInstrumentalmusicInstrumentalpiecesplayedonanerhuordiziarepopular,andareoftenavailableoutsideofChina,butqin,pipaandzhengmusic,whicharemoretraditional,aremorepopularinChinaitself.TheqinisperhapsthenationalinstrumentofChina,anditsvirtuososarestars.TheseincludeZhaFuxi,WuWen‘guang,LinYouren,WuJinglue,WuZhaoji,GuanPinghu,ZhangZijian,LiXiangtingandGongYi.Thezheng,aformofzither（筝）,ismostpopularinHenan,Chaozhou,Hakka（客家人）andShandong.Thepipa,akindoflute,believedtohavebeenintroducedfromtheArabianPeninsulaareaduringthe6thcenturyandimproved,ismostpopularinShanghaiandsurroundingareas.OperaChineseoperahasbeenhugelypopularforcenturies,especiallyBeijingopera.Themusicisoftenguttural（喉音）withhigh-pitchedvocals,usuallyaccompaniedbysuona,jinghu,otherkindsofstringinstruments,andpercussion.Othertypesofoperaincludeclapperopera,Pingju,Cantonese（广东的）opera,puppetopera,Kunqu,Sichuanopera,Qinqiang,ritualmaskedoperaandHuangmeixi.