Chinese Music

Historical Background

Traditional Chinese music can be traced back 7,000–8,000 years based on the discovery of a bone flute made in the New Stone Age. In the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, only royal families and dignitary officials enjoyed music, which was made on chimes and bells.

More than eighty kinds of musical instruments existed during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. The excavation of an early Warring States tomb (of the Marquis of Zeng) in Suixian, Hubei, in May 1978 revealed a set of 124 musical instruments, such as bells, chime stones, qin (seven-stringed plucked instrument), se (twenty-five-stringed plucked instrument), chi (traverse bamboo flute), xiao (vertical bamboo flute), sheng (reed-pipe wind instrument), and drums. This find indicates the enormous scale of orchestras at aristocratic feasts at that time. The neatly arranged and exquisitely made set of sixty-five bells is particularly remarkable. Each bell can produce two tones three intervals apart, and altogether they can produce a range of more than five octaves, divided into ninety musical tones.

During the Tang Dynasty, dancing and singing entered the mainstream, spreading from the royal court to the common people. With the introduction of foreign religions such as Buddhism and Islam, exotic and religious melodies were absorbed into Chinese music and were enjoyed by the Chinese people at fairs organized by temples.

The chief achievement was related to daqu, a performance that combined singing, instrumental music and dancing into an integrated whole. The best-known works are Prince Qin Storms the Enemy Lines, Liuyao, Yizhou and Liangzhou. The first piece, which consists of fifty-two stanzas, has an intricate structure and complicated rhythm.

Later the imposing daqu, suitable mainly for palace performances, was gradually replaced by simple but lively opera and ballad music that had popular origins. From the fourteenth century on, instrumental music and singing gained increasing importance in opera, leading to the gradual development of a number of distinctive local opera forms.

At the same time folk music and dance developed comparatively fully, and small folk-instrument ensembles were very lively. Folk songs with local flavor described working and daily life such as fishing, farming, and herding and were very popular among the common people.

In the Song Dynasty, original opera such as zaju and nanxi was performed in tearooms, theaters and showplaces. Writers and artists liked it so much that ci, a new type of literature resembling lyrics, thrived. During the Yuan Dynasty, qu, another type of literature based on music became popular. This was also a period when many traditional musical instruments were developed such as pipa, flute, and zither.

During the Ming (1368 - 1644) and Qing Dynasties (1644 - 1911), the art of traditional opera developed rapidly and diversely in different regions. When these distinctive opera styles were performed in the capital (now Beijing), artists combined the essence of the different styles and created Peking opera, one of three cornerstones of Chinese culture (the other two being traditional Chinese medicine and painting) which continue to be appreciated even in modern times.

In history, there were several flourishing periods for music culture. Guang ling san (Guangling Melody) and Hu jia shi ba po (Eighteen Stanzas for the Barbarian Reed Pipe) played on the guqin, Shi mian mai fu (Ambush from All Sides) on the pipa, and Chun jiang hua yue ye (Spring River and Flowers under the Moon) on Chinese wind or stringed instruments are representative of such ancient musical works.

Since the 20th century, the interchanging of the Eastern and Western cultures has initiated a new page for Chinese musical art, bringing historical development to symphony, chorus, opera, piano and violin. Musicians have created a large number of works, including Dong fang hong (The East Is Red) (large dance epic), Liu san jie (Third Sister Liu) (musical movie), Hong hu chi wei dui (The Red Guards on Honghu Lake) (opera), and Huang he da he chang (The Yellow River Cantata) (piano concerto). Chinese musicians and art performing troupes have participated in a variety of international exchange and competitions, and many have made remarkable achievements. Large-scale music festivals are held regularly: Shanghai International Art Festival, Beijing International Music Festival and Beijing International Opera Season. They have attracted a great number of world-famous musicians and top-level music and art troupes to China.

During the long Chinese history, Chinese music has evolved into five categories: songs, song-and-dance music, ballad singing and clapper talk, opera music and instrumental music.

Major Performing-arts Bodies

The Central Philharmonic Society, the Central Song and Dance Ensemble, the Central Nationalities Philharmonic Orchestra, the Oriental Song and Dance Ensemble, the Central Nationalities Song and Dance Ensemble, the Central Modern Opera Theater, the Chinese Modern Opera and Dance-Drama Theater, the Central Ballet Troupe, the Military Band, Opera Troupe and Song and Dance Ensemble of the General Political Department of the People's Liberation Army, the Chinese Music Ensemble, Orchestra and Choir of the Central Broadcasting Arts Troupe, the Shanghai Modern Opera Theater, the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, and the Guangzhou Orchestra.

Noted Conductors and Composoers

Conductors: Li Delun, Huang Yijun, Yan Liangkun, Han Zhongjie and Zheng Xiaoying

Composers: Li Huanzhi, Liu Zhi, Qu Xixian, Qu Wei, Zhu Jianer, Zhang Rui, Zheng Qiufeng, Wang Ming and Shi Guangnan

Composition

Modern opera Xiao Erhei's Marriage, violin concerto Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai, symphony The Long March, music for string ensemble Er quan ying yue (The Moon Reflected in the Twin Ponds), piano concerto Mountain Forest, cantata Ode to the Motherland, song suite The Red Army Fears Not the Trials of Distant March, erhu solo Ballads of Northern Henan, pipa solo Dance of the Yi People, piano solos Five Folk Songs of Northern Shaanxi and Spring River and Flowers under the Moon, violin solo The Sun Shines on Tashkergan, and popular songs Sing the Praises of Our Motherland, My Motherland and A Toast.