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Chinese musical history goes back many thousands of years.
Written references to Chinese music were made 3000 years ago
and for 2000 years before the legends and folk stories about the
beginnings of music were told. The Chinese symbol for the word
music (yue) is 2300 years old.
Ancient China was an agricultural society and its sorcerer-priests of long ago played and
important social and religious role as they danced and sang for rain, defence from enemies
and protection from the elements. The rulers of China, the emperors, maintained the
importance of music not only for entertainment but also for social and political reasons.
Early Chinese dynasties were slave societies and slaves were often trained as professional
musicians and dancers. These musicians and their instruments – clay ocarinas, whistles and
flutes of bamboo, stone chimes and drums – were often buried alive with their masters.
Historians have categorised the development of Chinese music into four periods.
Formative Period (3000BC – 400AD)
Chinese music history is said to have begun with the Emperor Huang Ti sent his court
musician, Ling Lun, to the western mountains of China where he was inspired by the three and
four note songs of birds. These became the basis of the pentatonic scale. Ling Lun also
returned with bamboo to make instruments. Chinese (and Asian music in general) has
maintained close links with nature ever since.
The philosopher Confucius (c. 550-478 B.C.) saw music as a way of achieving universal
harmony. Music that was “virtuous” and pure (ya) was to be prized over the vulgar folk music
(su) of the people. Court music became stylised and ritualised, remaining unchanged for
centuries, while folk music developed into a rich and exciting musical style based on storytelling still popular today. Many of the folk tunes were adopted by the court and so became
acceptable “classical” pieces. Large court orchestras made up of string, wind and percussion
instruments often contained more than two hundred performers.
China expanded its borders and was, in turn, invaded by neighbouring countries throughout
this time. Instrument such as the pipa with songs and musical styles from India and Central
Asia were adopted by the Chinese.
International Period (400-900 AD)
During this period, invasion and war meant that Chinese culture was further influenced by other
nearby countries, mainly Islamic ones such as India, Persia and Turkestan. Distinctive regional
music styles also developed with China.
National Period (900-1900 AD)
Musical styles such as Chinese opera were standardised
World Music Period (1900- AD)
Though the first European music came to China with the Jesuit
missionaries in the 1600’s, Western technology, form and musical styles have only become
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important in the twentieth century. Western instrumentation scales and sounds are widespread
in China today.
Vocal Music
Vocal music is an important and highly prized art throughout China. Some of the earliest
Chinese music consisted of Buddhist chants, accompanied by bells, gongs or cymbals, which
are about nine hundred years old. China has a long tradition of story-telling set to music – folk
ballads, dramas, folk operas and formal operas. All are still very popular today. Chanting
stories to the rhythmic accompaniment of a simple instrument such as the pipa is considered
an art form and is called shuo ch’ang.
The areas and the singing styles are also stylised: the male usually sings in a raspy voice and
the females sings in a high, nasal falsetto. They are accompanied on stage by a small
orchestra consisting of a pipa, fiddles, wind instruments (flutes and suonas), drums, cymbals
and clappers. The stories are based on history and folk tales, domestic situations and wars.
Chinese music has had a long history. It has influenced much
of the philosophy behind music in Asia, as well as
instrumentation and performing styles. It has been, in turn,
influenced by music from other countries which is has now
absorbed.
His ch’u is a form of musical drama of which Beijing opera is the
best example. Chinese opera had about three hundred regional
variants but Beijing opera is the most popular. It combines the
arts of acting, mime, acrobatics and costume, as well as singing and dancing.
The roles are stylised: Sheng – the male role; Dan – the female role; Jing – character with the
painted face and Chou – the clown.
Questions
1.
Chinese music is classified into four periods. What are they?
2.
What is the scale most traditional Chinese music is based on?
3.
The philosopher Confucius divided music into two types – ya and su. What sort of
music was each type?
4.
How many variants of Chinese opera exist?
5.
What are the four main roles of Beijing opera?
6.
What instruments are usually used to accompany Beijing opera?
7.
What role did the sorcerer-priests play in the development of Chinese music?
8.
What instruments were used by the early slave musicians?
9.
What caused the development of Chinese musical styles in the formative Period?
10.
When did Western technology start to affect Chinese styles?
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