Hulusi

The hulusi is the Manderin name for the instrument. Dai people call it Bilangdao. Bi is general name for the wind instruments, lan means playing vertically, and dao means the materials of gourd. The hulusi is popular in Dehong and Simao counties in Yunnan province. The hulusi are played by the Dai, Achang, Deang and Wa tribes. It has been a very popular intrument nationwide even separate into other countries.

The ranges of the hulusi are:
d to e1 for G key
c to d1 for F key
The hulus has D, F, G, bB, and high C, D, F keys.

Xiao

The term xiao or dongxiao specially identifies the instrument as an end-blown notched flute; the prefix means "hole" in Chinese. Yet, till the Han dynasty (206 BC-AD 220), this term was applied to panpipes (paixiao) and the di referred to the single-piped flute. xiao players can be seen among the pottery figurines of the Han dynasty and in the tomb brick-wall paintings of the Wei and Jin period (220-420)

The modern type, often made from a nine-joint black bamboo, has eight finger holes six at the front and one at the rear, and other 2-4 air holes at lower end.

The instrument produces soft and delicate tones, suitable for solo performances and duets with the qin zither or used in the sizhu (silk and bamboo instrument) chamber music traditions. The so-called long-feng xiao refers to the coupled flutes respectively engraved with dragon and phoenix patterns.

Range: d1-e3 (G key xiao)
c1-d3 (F key xiao)

Guzheng

The zheng was popular as early as in the Warring States (475-221 BC), especially in the state of Qin in west China. That betrays the origin of the name qin zheng, Another hypothesis for its name came from a folk tale that se ( a large table harp) was split in half to settle a family quarrel between two sons, thus creating the first two zheng, In the Chinese character the lower portion for zheng happens to mean "quarrel".

The zheng's soundbox is constructed of wood, red sandal for its sides and bottom and wutong wood (firmiana platanifolia) for the arched soundboard, According to the historical texts, it was described as having 12 strings before the Han and Jin period (206-BC-AD 420). In succeeding periods the number of strings kept increasing; 13 after the Tang and Song (618-1279), 15 or 16 since the Ming and Qing (1368-1911), 21 since the 1960's, and 24 or 26 at present, Each string is suspended over the upper sound board by a single adjustable bridge as a device for fine tuning, The strings are tuned to give three complete octaves of a pentatonic scale, sometimes of a heptatonic one.

The instrument is rich in playing techniques. The performer plucks the strings with his right-hand fingernails (either real or simulated), while his left-hand fingers apply pressure to the strings to execute vibratos, glissando, other embellishments and occasional plucking techniques,. Sounding melodious and elegant, it is as important solo instrument now, and often in accompaniments as well.

Bawu

The zheng was popular as early as in the Warring States (475-221 BC), especially in the state of Qin in west China. That betrays the origin of the name qin zheng, Another hypothesis for its name came from a folk tale that se ( a large table harp) was split in half to settle a family quarrel between two sons, thus creating the first two zheng, In the Chinese character the lower portion for zheng happens to mean "quarrel".

The zheng's soundbox is constructed of wood, red sandal for its sides and bottom and wutong wood (firmiana platanifolia) for the arched soundboard, According to the historical texts, it was described as having 12 strings before the Han and Jin period (206-BC-AD 420). In succeeding periods the number of strings kept increasing; 13 after the Tang and Song (618-1279), 15 or 16 since the Ming and Qing (1368-1911), 21 since the 1960's, and 24 or 26 at present, Each string is suspended over the upper sound board by a single adjustable bridge as a device for fine tuning, The strings are tuned to give three complete octaves of a pentatonic scale, sometimes of a heptatonic one.

The instrument is rich in playing techniques. The performer plucks the strings with his right-hand fingernails (either real or simulated), while his left-hand fingers apply pressure to the strings to execute vibratos, glissando, other embellishments and occasional plucking techniques,. Sounding melodious and elegant, it is as important solo instrument now, and often in accompaniments as well.

Yangqin

Beside daqin (struck instrument with two beaters), one of its other names means "foreign instrument" in its original Chinese character, owing to the fact that the yangqin is an adaptation of the Persian santur or some Arabian type. The original was confined to the southeastern coastal province of Guangdong late in the Ming dynasty (c. the 16th century). It spread later throughout the inner areas.

The earliest type was arranged in two choirs (two rows of bridges), each having 8, later 10-12, courses (2 or 4 strings per courses). In the 1960's it developed into a type with 3 choirs, 10 courese each, or a type with 4 choirs, 12 or 13 courses each. Special devices such as the grooves with balls on both sides were added for the convenience in modulating. One of the recent types, without grooves, is arranged in traditional Chinese 12 lu, similar to Western chromatic scale, for more convenient modulation. Its range is over 4 octaves. Under the box is a damper to control lingering tones.

The yangqin, bright and harmonious in tone, is often used for solos and in ensembles or in the accompaniment of local operas, narratives and other vocal singings.

Yangqin models: 401 and 402 (Beijing), 78 and 82 (Shanghai)
Range: G-g3, low range (G-a) sounds sonorously with long vibration; medle range (a-d2) is clear and melodiou; d2 and up are sof, if use the back of the keys, it tuns clear sound.

Zhonghu

This middle hu is an alto erhu of large dimensions in the neck and resonator, developed in the 1940s in an attempt to build Chinese instruments in families As in their constructions the two types are similar in performing techniques. Only the alto's strings are tuned a fourth or fifth lower than those of the erhu. As an alto instrument with a two-octave range, the type has a deep and gloomy tone. The zhonghu is commonly used in ensembles and accompaniments, and for solos as well.

Most well-known zhonghu pieces are On the Grassland (Mingyuan Liu), Song of Praise (Xiaoxi Lu), Suwu Tends Sheep etc.

The zhonghu is tuned as A, E or G, D.

Banhu

Ban: flat board; hu:barbarian fiddle

Its name comes from the wooden soundboard covering the half globular resonating coconut chamber. Of its many other names the most prominent may be banhu, referring to its historical use in the northern bangzi opera in the mid-seventeenth century. From them on it came to accompany many other regional operas and popular narratives, spreading over north, northwest and northeast China. That betrays the origin of its strong local opera styles.

The two strings are generally tuned a fifth, or a fourth, apart. Strident and bight in tone quality and characteristic of glissando, the banhu is used as a solo instrument and one of the bowed strings in the modern Chinese orchestra.

Erhu

The instrument also takes the name of huqin, the full term for hu. Its early ancestor was generally known as xiqin (string instrument of a Mongolian tribe called the Xi) in tenth century. Now as an important solo instrument for the recital hall, it is appropriate both for deep tragedy and for the momentum of an avalanche. Besides, it also assumes a central position in the modern Chinese orchestra, as well as in the accompaniment of singing, dancing, and traditional operas.

Under the influence of the regularly trained musician Liu Tianhua (1895-1932) and the local minstrel Hua Yanjun (known as Blind Man Ah Bing, 1895-1950) during the 1920's, the erhu developed into a solo instrument. Its two strings are generally tuned a fifth apart and its range cAn reach three or four octaves. Playing techniques are rich for both hands, including vibratos, harmonic tones, trills, glissando, pizzicato for the left hand and legatos, detaches, martellatos, saltandos, tremolos, flying staccatos for the right hand.

Tuning: d1-a1
The best range is from d1 to a2; from a2 to d3, this sound of the range is soft, up is not so well.

Chinese Traditional Musical Instruments

Music has always been one of the most important aspects of Chinese culture. Chinese people play music for entertainment, education, self-cultivation, and for religious or civil ceremonies. Throughout history, Chinese achievements in music were as spectacular as in science and technology.
The ancient Chinese created the earliest playable musical instruments in human history--the Neolithic Jiahu flutes, dated about nine thousand years ago. By 3000 B.C. Chinese musical theory already emerged and sophisticated musical instruments were used, including the world's oldest free-reed wind instrument, the Sheng. The Western Zhou Dynasty (1046-770 BC) used about 80 different kinds of instruments and established the world's first classification system for musical instruments. A twelve temperament scale was developed no later than 552 BC, and was widely practiced during the Spring and Autumn Period (475-221BC), as is evident from many unearthed Bianzhong (serial bronze bells). With over 3,000 tablatures, the Chinese Qin (a zither) boasts the largest collection of surviving ancient music anywhere in the world. It has become the icon of Chinese music. No later than 1581, during the Ming Dynasty, Prince Zhu Zaiyu (1536-ca.1610) first in the world precisely calculated the scale of twelve-tone equal temperament. It is universally adopted starting from Johannes Sebastian Bach. A British historian of Chinese science and technologe points out, "It is interesting that all the classical and romantic music for which the West is famous after Bach is based upon this Chinese invention, which made possible the modulation between keys. No piece of Western music today is based upon any other system than that invented by a Ming prince, so that all Western music could be described as Ming music." (Robert Temple,2002)
A considerable number of ancient musical instruments have been passed down from generation to generation over the centuries. Great quantities of them have been found at archeological sites. Many ancient books in words and in illustrations detailed Chinese musical instruments and the musical life of the time. Music was also a frequent subject in ancient paintings, murals, brick or stone reliefs, and sculptures. They inform us back then how the intruments were played and with what other instruments. This e-book contains over 500 illustrated pages of history of Chinese musical instruments. The introductory chapter presents some examples of Chinese musical life and traditional instruments as seen through ancient art. Each following chapter presents one category of instruments according to modern classification system. A brief description of each instrument or artifact appears under each picture.
Below is a scroll painting (30.6cm by 574cm), Spring Morning in a Han Dynasty Palace by the great Ming Dynasty artist Chou Ying (ca.1509-1551). The center portion of the painting depicts a musical scene of the palace ladies. The top part is a magnified section. To view the entire the painting, scroll over the smaller image at the bottom.

Traditional Chinese musical instruments

Traditional Chinese musical instruments comprise a wide range of string, wind, and percussion instruments. Traditionally, they were classified according to the materials used in their construction.