Chinese Music History

Ancient artifacts and writings

Chinese legends say that around 2697 BCE, Emperor Huangdi sent a scholar named Ling Lun to the mountains to cut bamboo pipes. These pipes were supposed to make sounds like the fenghuang, a mystical bird that represented harmony in the reign of a new emperor. This story marks the symbolic beginning of music in China, but it’s too late to help us find out about the music from before the Shang dynasty, which is the first dynasty we have historical proof of, around 1600–1046 BCE.

The sounds of ancient Chinese music disappeared after each performance because there were no recordings back then. The only remains we have are a few sturdy instruments found in archaeological digs, like clay flutes, stone chimes, bronze bells, and drums mentioned in inscriptions on oracle bones.

The earliest written records we have are from the Zhou dynasty, which came after the Shang dynasty. In these records, there’s a lot of talk about music, especially in books like the Liji, Yijing, Chunqiu, and Shujing. The Shijing, or Classic of Poetry, is also important because it contains the lyrics of 305 songs dating from the 10th to the 7th century BCE. These songs cover many topics and give us a glimpse into the musical traditions of ancient China.

Aesthetic principles and extramusical associations

Even though ancient Chinese writings are debated for their authenticity and dates, they give us fascinating glimpses of courtly parties, military parades, and folk festivals. But they don’t tell us about the actual music played. Howeve ancient Chinese philosophers like Confucius and Mencius, along with curious scientists, gave us a lot of detailed music theory and aesthetic principles.

In one famous legend, a scholar named Ling Lun searched for bamboo pipes that sounded like a mythical bird called the fenghuang. The story is charming, but it also reveals some interesting facts. Ling Lun’s goal was to create music that matched the universe, as explained in the “Annotations on Music” section of the Liji. This suggests that music was seen as a way to understand and classify the world.

Confucius also had similar ideas about music, believing that the choice of music and modes could affect a person’s moral well-being. It’s unclear how much these ideas influenced actual music performances, but there are ancient pictures showing wise men playing instruments like the seven-stringed zither (qin) in natural settings.

The legend also mentions that Ling Lun searched for bamboo in the western border area of China, showing that music in China was influenced by cultures from Central and West Asia. The legend emphasizes the importance of creating precise, standard pitches, suggesting that early Chinese musicians were concerned with accuracy and harmony.

Chinese music is a special kind of art that has been around for a long time. It is one of the oldest and most advanced musical styles in the world. The history of Chinese music is really impressive. It goes way back to 3000 BCE. There are lots of records of music in China showing how it was used in different festivals, religious events, and even in the palaces of emperors.

While we don’t have the actual music from all those times, we do have a lot of information about how music was important in ancient China. We have curated the list of Chinese music and musical instruments in table below.