According to legend, the invention of music in China is attributed to a court scholar named Ling Lun, commanded by the Yellow Emperor Huang Ti (who reigned before even the semi-mythical Xia Dyansty) to craft pipes and bells to mimic the sounds of birds so that they would be in harmony with the universe. Their lengths were crafted in accordance with the harmonic series (more on that later), creating a diatonic system like the one that would take hold in Europe.
Musical instruments in China were categorized into eight groups, depending on the material of which they were made: stone, earth, bamboo, metal, skin, silk, wood, and gourd. The most common materials were silk and bamboo, forming a genre called sizhu music.
Traditional Chinese Bianzhong Music
The dizi is a transverse flute with a membrane-covered hole that produces a unique buzzing tone.
A guanzi is a loud double-reed instrument formed from a simple wooden tube. In China, is is commonly used in ritual music (such as weddings and funerals) as well as in opera and folk music.
The yangqin is a dulcimer played with bamboo mallets, which produce a metallic sound on its copper/steel strings.
Pipas are plucked-string lutes similar to guitars, used in opera and narrative-singing ensembles.
The sanxian is a plucked chordophone similar to a banjo or guitar. It is used in folk music or to accompany singing, and is sometimes fitted with an interior metal plate to enhance the sound.
The yunluo or "Cloud Gong" consists of ten small gongs, each of a varying thickness, which gives them all distinct pitches. It was originally used in Confucian court ceremonies, but its use expanded to more commonplace ritual music as well.
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