Aeons ago, civilisations in different pockets of the world created musical instruments for various reasons, such as oriental string instruments.
Some used their instruments for rituals, some used them to complement storytelling sessions, some used them to signal to friends and foes, and others used them to celebrate milestones like marriage and childbirth.
Perhaps the most curious musical instruments of them all were formed by the people of China, as they believed they could purify people’s minds and connect humans with nature.
According to Chinese mythology, Ling Lun was the founder of music in Ancient China.
Ling Lun was sent by the Yellow Emperor to the Western mountain area to create an instrument that mimicked the sound of an immortal bird called the fenghuang.
Over the last few decades, Western society has become more familiar with traditional Chinese instruments as contemporary films and television shows – particularly those centred around Chinese characters, locations and/or ideologies – have incorporated oriental sounds into their soundtrack.
Allow us to better acquaint you with some of the most noteworthy musical instruments to hail from the most populated country in the world and provide some examples of their use in contemporary soundtracks and our production music catalogue.
Chinese Musical Instruments:
- Guqin
- Guzheng
- Hulusi
- Erhu
- Dizi
- Pipa
- Suona
- Xiao
Guqin
A member of the zither family, the guqin – also known as a qixian-qin – is an ancient seven-string instrument that’s played by plucking the strings.
Bo Ya – a Chinese musician from the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BC) – is often the first person Chinese music scholars think of when discussing the Guqin.
The talented soul would perform songs on his Guqin to his companion Zhong Ziqi who instantly understood the picture he was trying to illustrate through his music.
The two most famous songs associated with Bo Ya are ‘High Mountains’ and ‘Flowing Water’.
Guzheng
The guzheng is another member of the zither family, but this plucked instrument features a lot more strings than the Guqin.
The oldest Guqin discovered – said to be from the Warring States period – was found to have 13 strings, whilst contemporary versions of the instrument often possess 21, 25 or 26 strings.
It’s also worth noting that the popular Chinese instrument is usually around 1.63m long.
Marvel’s‘Shang-Chi and The Seven Rings-composer Joel P West told Variety why he incorporated ancient Chinese instruments like the Guzheng into the soundtrack to the superhero flick. “Those instruments are largely connected to Shang-Chi’s mom and the mystical realm where she’s from,” says West, “So we treated them more as ethereal layers to hints at this other place”.
Hulusi
The hulusi is a vertically-held Chinese free reed wind instrument that’s associated with ethnic minorities in the Yunnan province of China.
In particular, the flute of sorts is linked to the Dai people who call the instrument ‘pi lamtao’ – ‘pi’ means woodwind instruments whilst ‘lamtao’ means gourd.
Traditionally, the instrument has three bamboo pipes: the central pipe features finger holes whilst the outer two pipes act as drone pipes.
These bamboo pipes create soft and elegant sounds – ones that pair well with mystical stories that take place in the moonlight.
Discover the sounds of the hulusi by listening to Michael Tedstone’s ‘Moonlight Garden’ and Tedstone and Burrow’s unexpectedly upbeat ‘Flight of the Crane’.
Erhu
Known in the West as the Chinese violin, the erhu is a two-string bowed instrument that’s often played in operas and orchestral performances.
The instrument can be traced back to the Tang Dynasty (690-705) and is said to have evolved from the Xiqin.
The erhu is one of the Asian music instruments respected composer George Shaw used to produce his album, Mythical China.
Track three, entitled ‘Moon Goddess’, is a sad yet romantic, cinematic epic that combines the sounds of female vocals with the erhu to tell an emotional story.
Dizi
The dizi – also known as the héngdi – is a Chinese transverse flute that’s often made of bamboo, but can also be made of wood and stone.
The side-blown instrument is held horizontally and creates a gentle, peaceful sound that’s often incorporated into Chinese folk music and operas.
Perhaps the most famous use of the traditional Chinese music instrument is in the Academy Award-nominated song ‘A Love Before Time’ from the 2000 martial arts film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
The flute adds a touch of ancient magic to the contemporary track that pairs well with the female vocals.
Pipa
The pipa is a four-string plucked lute that has a pear-shaped wooden body and features guitar-like frets.
Although it’s hard for historians to distinguish when the pipa first appeared, they can all agree that the earliest mention of the popular Chinese instrument appears in texts from the Han Dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD).
For the soundtrack to Dreamworks’ Kung Fu Panda 3, esteemed composer Hans Zimmer worked with pipa virtuoso Wu Man.
The instrument added an extra element to the Asian-inspired soundtrack to encourage viewers get lost in the world of the China-set animation.
Suona
One of the most important music instruments in Northern China is the suona – a double-reed horn that’s made up of a wooden body and a brass or copper bocal.
The Chinese wind instrument produces a unique sound that’s commonly heard at celebrations in the upper region of China.
A celebratory event where one may hear the sounds of the suona is at a Chinese New Year event.
Listen to 'Festive Dance' – Jiang Li’s Chinese New Year track featuring a suona played alongside an erhu and dizi – here at Audio Network.
Xiao
The xiao (or dongxiao) is a bamboo end-blown flute that creates a sweet yet melancholy sound.
The Chinese music instrument first appeared during the Han dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD) and is said to have come from the nomad Qiang people of Northwest China.
Harry Gregson-Williams is the English composer who conducted a 90-piece orchestra for Disney’s live-action remake of Mulan.
Gregson-Williams used a variety of Chinese musical instruments to bring the legend of Hua Mulan to life, including the Xiao.
Chinese Music From Audio Network
Here at Audio Network, we’ve got tracks that feature instruments from all four corners of the world. You can check out some of our instrument-focused playlists over on our Instrumentation page.
Looking specifically for music featuring Chinese instruments? Your best bet is to explore our Chinese and Chinese New Year playlists.
Looking to find out more about our selection of music before you download a song from our catalogue? Sounds sensible. Head on over to The Edit: our regularly-updated content feed that features inspiration, expertise and music news articles. Here, you can find out a little more about our ever-expanding collection, and music in general.
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This page was updated 23/05/2024.
