For several thousand years Chinese culture was dominated by the teachings of the philosopher Confucius, who conceived of music in the highest sense as a means of calming the passions and of dispelling unrest and lust, rather than as a form of amusement.

 

The ancient Chinese belief that music is meant not to amuse but to purify one's thoughts finds particular expression in the cult of the qin, a long zither possessing a repertory calling for great subtlety and refinement in performance and still popular among a small circle of scholar-musicians. A famous Qin scholar once said, "Though the qin player's body be in a gallery or in a hall, his mind should dwell with the forests and streams."

 

Shang Dynasty

Chinese music is as old as Chinese civilization. Instruments excavated from sites of the Shang dynasty (c. 1766-c. 1027 BC) include stone chimes, bronze bells, panpipes, and the sheng.

 

Zhou Dynasty

In the Chou dynasty (c. 1027-256 BC) music was one of the four subjects that the sons of noblemen and princes were required to study, and the office of music at one time comprised more than 1400 people. Although much of the repertoire has been lost, some old Chinese ritual music ( yayue ) is preserved in manuscripts.

 

Qin Dynasty

During the Qin dynasty (221-206 BC) music was denounced as a wasteful pastime; almost all musical books, instruments, and manuscripts were ordered destroyed. Despite this severe setback Chinese music experienced a renaissance during the

 

Han Dynasty

Han dynasty (206 BC-AD 220), when a special bureau of music was established to take charge of ceremonial music. During the reign (AD 58-75) of Liu Zhang the Han palace had three orchestras comprising in all 829 performers. One orchestra was used for religious ceremonies, another for royal archery contests, and the third for entertaining the royal banquets and harem.

 

Tang Dynasty

During the Tang dynasty (618-906) Chinese secular music ( suyue ) reached its peak. Emperor Tai Zong (597-649) had ten different orchestras, eight of which were made up of members of various foreign tribes; all the royal performers and dancers appeared in their native costumes. The imperial court also had a huge outdoor band of nearly 1400 performers. Portions of Tang music are preserved in Japanese court music, or gagaku.

 

Yuan Dynasty

Among the many genres of Chinese music is a form of music drama often called Chinese opera. Formerly these operas were based on old tales of heroes and the supernatural. Today the stories often deal with heroes of the Communist revolution or with great historical events of the recent past. The first fully developed form of Chinese opera, called northern drama, or beiqu, emerged during the Yuan dynasty (1279-1368).

 

Ming Dynasty

During the Ming (1368-1644) and Qin (1644-1912) dynasties, southern drama, also called xiwen, flourished and underwent much stylistic development. The variety of Chinese opera known as Peking opera, jingxi, is the most familiar in the West. It developed in the 19th century as a synthesis of earlier provincial forms.

 

20th Century

During the 1950s Western influence penetrated Chinese music to an unprecedented extent. The Chinese Communist regime, established in 1949, gave special prominence to Russian music. Whether China can assimilate Western influence and still maintain a fundamentally Chinese musical culture remains an unanswered question, but the evidence seems to indicate that a synthesis will eventually develop. In contemporary China notable facilities exist for the training of musicians in both Chinese and Western styles. Many symphonic orchestras and Chinese-style instrumental ensembles exist, and large choral groups are commonly found in large cities, universities, and factories. Both Chinese and Western instruments are manufactured in large quantities and are used in government-maintained schools and conservatories throughout the country.

Music of China