The Development of Chinese Music

The ancient Chinese bamboo flute, which dates back 7000-8000 years was a relatively advanced instrument, showing that the development of Chinese music had reached a high level even by that early time.As in many other nations, the arts of music and dancing were originally closely related during early Chinese cultural development and did not become independent branches of art until the Xia Dynasty. From then on, the development of Chinese music entered and glorious stage of "Bell and Drum Music", which that lasted for more than 1300 years. This lasted through many dynasties including Xia, Shang, and Zhou. During the 1200 years from the Qin Dynasty to the Han Dynasty, this music for dancing was the major form of Chinese music.Until the Sui Dynasty, Chinese music was something of a luxury, reserved for nobles and monarchs. When the Sui Dynasty began, the public gradually had the opportunity to share, play and enjoy music in the temple fairs of Buddhist temples, in restaurants and in tea bars. The popularity of music increased during the Song Dynasty, especially in public areas such as opera theatres and cafes, and the music was often accompanied by dancing. Later, many other artistic forms involving music performance appeared such as Guzi Opera, Poetic Drama set to Music, and Local Classical Opera in South China. After the Song Dynasty, "music of literateurs", a musical form that focuses on keyboard music developed, together with "music of the average". Many musical instruments, such as the lute, guzheng, flute, panpipe, and Chinese windpipe were also further developed at this time. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, various musical forms, such as opera and speaking whilst singing, gradually matured and became enriched. String and band music features instruments like the fiddle played an increasingly important role in accompaniment to concertos and operas, such as the Peking Opera.Traditional Chinese musical instruments have developed over thousands of years and a variety of types for different musical categories has evolved. In general, traditional Chinese musical instruments can be divided into ensemble and solo instruments. Ensemble instruments include the gong, drum, sauna, two-stringed Chinese fiddle, four-stringed Chinese mandolin, Chinese dulcimer, three-stringed Chinese guitar, Chinese bamboo flute, Chinese windpipe, and Chinese vertical bamboo flute. Solo instruments include the seven-stringed Chinese zither, two-stringed Chinese fiddle, four-stringed Chinese mandolin, time beater, Chinese bamboo flute, and 21 or 25 stringed Chinese zither.After the foundation of the People's Republic of China, the Chinese government implemented a policy that encouraged numerous music schools to flourish. This gave rise to many great works that celebrated the national feeling and art and features other characteristics of the era. Examples include the epic The Red in the East, TV music Liu Sanjie, opera The Red Army at Honghu Lake, and the piano-based The Yellow River, etc.Since China reformed and opened up to the outside world 20 years ago, Chinese music has been heavily influenced by music from western countries, and vice versa. This close interaction between western and Chinese music has ushered in a new era of rapid development and prosperity for Chinese music, influencing wide ranging aspects of Chinese musical culture including music creation, performance, music education, music theories, publication and the marketing of music.The rise of new music and rapid growth of pop music are two of the most important phenomena in the process of recent Chinese musical development. In the last 20 years, Chinese musicians and musical groups have participated in various international events and contests aimed at improving communication regarding music. Many of them ranked highly, some even coming first. By travelling all over the world, they have displayed Chinese traditions and musical culture to the people of other nations, and at the same time have introduced the new ideas and music into China.In order to enrich the musical life of Chinese people and raise their understanding and appreciation of music, large music festivals are regularly held throughout the nation. These festivals include "Spring in Shanghai", "The Beijing Chorus Festival", and "The Yangcheng City Music and Flower Festival". In addition, musical festivals performed by amateurs are also very popular, these festivals, which include "Blossoms in May", Music Party in October", "School Music Party", are held regularly in certain cities and generally prove very popular.