 | Reed Organ (Sheng) Performance in China Performer plays unique Chinese instrument in Guilin. |
 | Mozart's Turkish March on 笙 sheng Mozart's famous 'Turkish March' played on 36 reeded sheng 笙 by Lim Yi Benjamin, arranged by Zhang Zhi Liang. Sheng 笙: Lim Yi Benjamin 林亿 www.limyi.com |
 | Chinese Traditional Music-Bamboo Flute（DiZi)笛：嫦娥奔月 The dizi (Chinese: 笛子; pinyin: dízi), is a Chinese transverse flute. It is also sometimes known as the di (笛) or hengdi (橫笛), and has varieties including the qudi (曲笛) and bangdi (梆笛). Although bamboo is the common material for the dizi, it is also possible to find dizi made from other kinds of kinds of wood, or even from stone. Jadedizi (or yudi, 玉笛) are popular among both collectors interested in the almost magical beauty of jade dizi, and among professional players who seek an instrument with look that matches the quality of their renditions. But jade may not be the best material for dizi since, as with metal, jade may not be so tonally responsive, unlike bamboo which is more resonant. There are many suggestions for the source of dizi. While some suggest that the Yellow Emperor ordered his government official to make the bamboo musical instrument, others believe that dizi was imported into China during the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD). Recently, archaeologists have discovered evidence suggesting that the simple transverse flutes (though without the distinctive mokong of the dizi) have been present in China for over 9,000 years. Fragments of bone flutes from this period are still playable today, and are remarkably similar to modern versions in terms of hole placement, etc, found at Jiahu site. These flutes share common features of other simple flutes from cultures all around the world, including the ney, an end-blown cane flute which was depicted in Egyptian paintings and stone carvings. In fact, recent archeological discoveries in Africa suggest that the history of such flutes may date back a very long way in human history indeed. The first written record of the membrane (dimo) dates from the 12th century. On traditional dizi the finger-holes are spaced approximately equidistantly, which produces a temperament of mixed whole-tone and three-quarter-tone intervals. During the middle of the 20th century dizi makers began to change the finger hole placements to allow for playing in equal temperament, as demanded by new musical developments and compositions, although traditional dizi continue to be used for purposes such as kunqu accompaniment. A fully chromatic version of the dizi, called xindi. |
 | sheng solo: Jingdiao live concert in Germany 2005, traditionelle chinese music for sheng.(chinese mouth organ). |
 | My Instrument In Chinese Orchestra (the Sheng) I took a video of the instrument that i play in the chinese orchestra... The CCA of my school... Take a good look at it... more videos can be found at http://videos-of-me.blogspot.com/ |
 | L'orgue à bouche par Wu Wei Depuis l'âge de 15 ans, Wu Wei d'origine chinoise, pratique l'orgue à bouche (sheng), instrument à anche né en 2000 ans av. J.-C. et considéré comme l'ancêtre de l'accordéon. |
 | Chinese Traditional Music-PiPa琵琶：阳春白雪 The pipa (Chinese: 琵琶; pinyin: pípá) is a plucked Chinese string instrument. Sometimes called the Chinese lute, the instrument has a pear-shaped wooden body. It has been played for nearly two thousand years of history in China, and belongs to the plucked category of instruments (弹拨乐器/彈撥樂器). Several related instruments in East and Southeast Asia are derived from the pipa; these include the Japanesebiwa, the Vietnameseđàn tỳ bà, and the Koreanbipa. Prototypes of the pipa already existed in China in the Qin Dynasty (221 BC - 206 BC). At that time, there were two types of pipa. One was straight-necked, with a round sound box, and two faces mounted with leather. The other was believed to be inspired by the primitive forms of zheng, konghou, and zou. It also has a straight neck, a round sound box, and also four strings, along with twelve standards of notes. This model was later developed into the instrument known today as the ruan. The modern pipa is closer to the instrument which originated in Persia/Middle-East (where it was called barbat) and was introduced into China beginning in the late Jin Dynasty (265-420 A.D.). By the Tang era, the pipa had become popular in the imperial court. It had a crooked neck, 4 or 5 silk strings, and 5 or 6 frets, and was played with a plectrum in a horizontal position. As the ages went by, the crooked neck was replaced by a straight one, the number of frets increased to between 14 or 16, and to 17, 24, 29, or 30 in the 20th century. The 14- or 16-fret pipa had frets arranged in approximately equivalent to the western tone and semitone, starting at the nut, the intervals were T-S-S-S-T-S-S-S-T-T-3/4-3/4-T-T-3/4-3/4, (some frets produced a 3/4 tone or "neutral tone"). In the 1920s and 1930s, the number of frets was increased to 24, based on the 12 tone equal temperament scale, with all the intervals being semitones. Since then the number of frets has been extended to 29 or 30. The traditional 16-fret pipa is becoming less common, although it is still used in some regional styles such as the pipa in the southern genre of nanguan/nanyin. The plectrum was replaced by fingernails and the horizontal playing position was replaced by the vertical (or near-vertical) position. During this time, the five-stringed pipa became lost. Back of the Tang Dynasty five-stringed pipaThe pipa became a favourite in the Tang Dynasty, during which time Persian and Kuchan performers and teachers were in demand in the capital, Chang'an (which had a large Persian community).[1] Many delicately carved pipas with beautiful inlaid patterns date from this period. Masses of pipa-playing Buddhist semi-deities are depicted in the wall paintings of the Mogao Caves near Dunhuang. |
 | 笙獨奏：天山狂想曲 Sheng solo: Tianshan's Rhapsody 笙獨奏：彭康泰 Sheng solo: Pang Hong-tai |
 | Chinese Traditional Music-YangQin扬琴：将军令 The trapezoidal yangqin (simplified Chinese: 扬琴; traditional Chinese: 揚琴; pinyin: yángqín) is a Chinese hammered dulcimer originally from the Middle East (Persia (modern-day Iran)). It used to be written with the characters 洋琴 (lit. "foreign zither"), but over time the first character changed to 揚 (also pronounced "yáng"), which means "acclaimed". It is also spelled yang quin or yang ch'in. Hammered dulcimers of various types are now very popular not only in China, but also Eastern Europe, the Middle East, India and Pakistan. The instruments are also sometimes known by the names "santur" and "cymbalom". Some music scholars support the theory that the Chinese dulcimer, yangqin was developed within China itself, devoid of all foreign influence. These historians state two possible explanations for the instruments native origins, which are: the yangqin is a development from an ancient string instrument called zhu （筑）. Or that the yangqin originated from Yangzhou （扬州 or 揚州）, China itself. The yangqin was traditionally fitted with bronze strings, which gave the instrument a soft timbre. This form of instrument is still occasionally heard today in the hudie qin (蝴蝶琴, lit. "butterfly zither") played in the traditional silk and bamboo genre from the Shanghai region known as Jiangnan sizhu (江南絲竹), as well as in some Cantonese music groups. The Thai and Cambodian khim are nearly identical in their construction, having been introduced to those nations by southern Chinese musicians. Since the 1950s, however, steel alloy strings (in conjunction with copper-wound steel strings for the bass notes) have been used, in order to give the instrument a brighter, and louder tone. The modern yangqin can have as many as five courses of bridges and may be arranged chromatically. Traditional instruments, with three or more courses of bridges, are also still widely in use. The instrument's strings are struck with two lightweight bamboo beaters (also known as hammers) with rubber tips. A professional musician often carries several sets of beaters, each of which draws a slightly different tone from the instrument, much like the drum sticks of Western percussionists. The yangqin is used both as a solo instrument and in ensembles. Composer/vocalist Lisa Gerrard has used this instrument in some of her performances. |
 | Chinese Traditional Music-SuoNa锁呐：百鸟朝凤 SuoNa锁呐：Birds paying respects to FengHuang百鸟朝凤 The suona (simplified Chinese: 唢呐; traditional Chinese: 嗩吶; pinyin: suǒ nà); also called laba (Chinese: 喇叭; pinyin: lǎbā) or haidi (Chinese: 海笛; pinyin: hǎidí) is a Han Chinese shawm (oboe). It has a distinctively loud and high-pitched sound, and is used frequently in Chinese traditional music ensembles, particularly those that perform outdoors. It is an important instrument in the folk music of northern China, particularly the provinces of Shandong and Henan, where it has long been used for festival and military purposes. It is still used, in combination with sheng mouth organs, gongs, drums, and sometimes other instruments, in wedding and funeral processions. Such wind and percussion ensembles are called chuida or guchui History The suona is believed to have been developed from Central Asian instruments such as the sorna, surnay, or zurna, from which its Chinese name probably derives. It was originally introduced into China from central or western Asia. A musician playing an instrument very similar to a suona is shown on a drawing on a Silk Road religious monument in western Xinjiang province dated to the 3rd to 5th centuries, and depictions dating to this period found in Shandong and other regions of northern China depict it being played in military processions, sometimes on horseback. It was not mentioned in Chinese literature until the Ming Dynasty (1368--1644), but by this time the suona was already established in northern China. Use outside China The suona is also used as a traditional instrument in Cuba, having been introduced by Chinese immigrants during the colonial era. It is known there as trompeta china and is used in some forms of son and carnival music. The American jazz saxophonist Dewey Redman often played the suona in his performances, calling it a "musette." In Korea, a similar instrument is called taepyeongso, and in Vietnam similar oboes are called kèn. Fenghuang (Chinese: 鳳凰; pinyin: Fènghuáng; Japanese: 鳳凰 hō-ō; Korean: 봉황 bonghwang; Vietnamese: Phượng Hoàng) are mythological Chinese birds that reign over all other birds. The males are called Feng and the femalesHuang. In modern times, however, such a distinction of gender is often no longer made and the Feng and Huang are blurred into a single feminine entity so that the bird can be paired with the Chinese dragon, which has male connotations. Origin The images of the Fenghuang have appeared in China for over 7,000 years, often in jade and originally on good-luck totems. It is a totem of eastern tribes in ancient China. Current theories[citation needed] suggest that it is likely based in part - for example the snake-like neck - on folk memory of the Asian Ostrich which was common in prehistoric China but became extinct several thousand years ago. That this bird was well-known to the early modern humans in Asia, noted for its peculiarity, and hunted for food, is attested by numerous archaeological finds, such as pottery decorated with painted ostriches, and bones by early campsites. During the Han Dynasty (2,200 years ago) the phoenix was used as a symbol depicting the direction south, shown as a male (feng, 鳳) and female (huang, 凰) phoenix facing each other. It was also used to symbolize the Empress in a pairing with a dragon where the dragon represents the Emperor. It might come from the merging of eastern and western tribes of ancient China.[citation needed] The phoenix represented power sent from the heavens to the Empress. If a phoenix was used to decorate a house it symbolized that loyalty and honesty were in the people that lived there. Or alternatively, phoenix only stays when the ruler is without darkness and corruption (政治清明). Meaning The Fenghuang has very positive connotations. It is a symbol of high virtue and grace. The Fenghuang also symbolizes the union of yin and yang. It appears in peaceful and prosperous times but hides when trouble is near. Shan Hai Jing - chapter 1 Nanshan jing records each part of Fenghuang's body symbolizes a word, the head represents virtue (德), the wing represents success (or tail wind, 顺)，the back is duty (义)，the abdomen says belief (信) and the chest represents mercy (仁). In ancient China, they can often be found in the decorations for weddings or royalty, along with dragons. This is because the Chinese considered the dragon and phoenix symbolic of blissful relations between husband and wife, another common yin and yang metaphor. |
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