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Chinese music
Table of Contents
Introduction
Formative period
Ancient artifacts and writings
Aesthetic principles and extramusical associations
Tonal system and its theoretical rationalization
Mathematical relationship of pitches
Scales and modes
Extramusical associations of pitches within the tonal system
Classification of instruments
Han dynasty (3rd century
bce
–3rd century
ce
): musical events and foreign influences
Tang dynasty (7th–10th century)
Thriving of foreign styles
Courtly music
Song and Yuan dynasties (10th–14th century)
Consolidation of earlier trends
Musical theatre
Ming and Qing dynasties (14th–early 20th century)
Further development of opera
Forms of the 16th–18th centuries
Jingxi
(Peking opera)
Other vocal and instrumental genres
Developments since 1911
Period of the Republic of China and the Sino-Japanese War
Communist period
References & Edit History
Related Topics
Images & Videos
Quizzes
Sound Check: Musical Vocabulary Quiz
Read Next
What’s That Sound?: 8 Intriguing Early Musical Instruments
Discover
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20 Paintings You Have to Visit at the Museo del Prado in Madrid
Timeline and Map of the Panama Canal
Contents
Home
Entertainment & Pop Culture
Music, Contemporary Genres
Folk Music
Chinese music: Media
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Videos
See a Chinese music ensemble performing “Melodies of Purple Bamboo”
A Chinese music ensemble performing “Melodies of Purple Bamboo,” with spotlighted...
Video: Wesleyan Virtual Instrument Museum 2.0 (https://wesomeka.wesleyan.edu/vim2)
Comparing traditional music in China and Indonesia
Gini Gorlinski, associate editor of music and dance of
Encyclopædia Britannica
,...
Video: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Watch a dancer perform jingxi
Excerpt from a
jingxi
performance.
Video: China/Pond5.com
Images
Chinese music: 12 pitches of the
lü
Twelve pitches of Chinese music as produced by overblowing the
lü
, bamboo...
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Chinese music: 12 pitches
Twelve pitches of Chinese music as derived from ancient bells (starting for ease...
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
seven-tone Chinese scale
Seven-tone Chinese scale (starting for ease of comparison from Western C), showing...
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Sheng
; in the Horniman Museum, London.
Courtesy of the Horniman Museum, London; photograph, J.R. Freeman & Co. Ltd.
Sandalwood lute
Red sandalwood lute inlaid with mother-of-pearl, 8th century, Tang dynasty; in the...
Courtesy of the Shôsô-In Treasure House
One of several types of
huqin
(Chinese spike fiddle).
Courtesy of Chinese Classical Music Association
jingxi
Jingxi
troupe performing “The Carp Fairy of the Green Pond” in Beijing,...
© Diego Azubel—EPA/REX/Shutterstock.com
Chinese music:
xipi
and
erhuang
melodies
Examples of string introductions to
xipi
and
erhuang
melodies of...
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
jingxi
performer
Contemporary
jingxi
performer.
© Tan Kian Khoon/Shutterstock.com
yangqin
The Chinese trapezoidal box zither,
yangqin
.
© EasyBalance/Fotolia
Chinese
gongche
music notation
Chinese
gongche
notation and pitch names, shown for a scale beginning on...
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Chinese music notation
Numeric notation (below the staff) for the first phrase of “March of the Volunteers”(1934),...
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Bianqing
, Chinese stone chimes
Bianqing
, Chinese stone chimes.
Courtesy of the Chinese Classical Music Association, Taipei, Taiwan
A group of
di
; in the Musée Instrumental du Conservatoire Royal, Brussels.
Courtesy of the Musée Instrumental, IV Department of the MRAH; © IRPA-KIK, Brussels
Front view of a
qin
.
Courtesy of Chinese Classical Music Association
Rear view of a
qin
.
Courtesy of Chinese Classical Music Association
Peking opera
Scene from a
jingxi
(Peking opera) performance.
© Eagleflying/Dreamstime.com
xun
Xun
.
Badagnani
Zhou dynasty
zhong
Chinese bronze
zhong
, late Zhou dynasty (1046–256 bce);...
Courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution, Freer Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Audio
“Wuzikaimen,” a Chinese folk song, played on a
sheng
.
“Bainiaochaofeng,” a Chinese folk song, played on a
suona
.
“Chunjiang huayueye,” a Chinese folk song, played on a
pipa
.
“Erquan yingyue,” by A Bing, played on an
erhu
.
“Jiangjunling,” a Chinese folk song, played on a
yangqin
.
“Liushui,” a classic Chinese song, played on the
qin
.
“Sannong,” a piece of Chinese classical music, played on the
zhong
.
“Shibaban,” a Chinese folk song, played on a
sanxian
.
“Yanguansandie,” a traditional Chinese song, played on a
guan
.
Yuzhouchangwan
“Yuzhouchangwan,” a classical Chinese song, played on a
zheng
.
“Zhegufei,” a Chinese folk song, played on a bamboo flute (
di
).
VIEW MORE
in these related Britannica articles:
Media for: qin
Media for: jingxi
Media for: sheng