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Overview

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A country as big and as old as China is bound to have a rich, varied selection of folk and traditional music to choose from, and Chinese music doesn't disappoint.

Innovators in every field, the far-flung societies that comprise modern China have contributed a great deal to the world. The singing, playing, and writing of music has always been central to Chinese culture, and the passion, pride and innovation so closely related to Chinese life have given birth to many kinds of music quite unlike that of any other country.

From the ancient sound of instruments like the dizi and the erhu, to the modern, genre-hopping music being made by Chinese musicians in the world music arena, to the rural communities who continue to practice and develop new local music, China offers an endless array of styles and sounds to keep any listener happily occupied for a long time.

FourNotes articles

Dizi

Arguably China's most famous musical instrument, the dizi is a very simple flute that produces a warm, exotic sound reminiscent of the endless beauty of the Chinese landscape. The simple design, featuring six finger holes and an ingenious twist, has remained unchanged since ancient times. Centuries, or perhaps millennia, old, the dizi is popular in both traditional Chinese music and modern orchestras... [more]

Erhu

From China comes one of the more unique instruments found in traditional folk music: the erhu. Essentially a two-stringed wooden pole, it features a soundbox covered in python skin. Although it's a string instrument, it has no fingerboard. It is played with a bow, but each of the two strings is played on opposite sides - the bow is threaded between them. It is descended from other instruments of central Asia, but it is, for all intents... [more]

Jiebing Chen

Jiebing Chen is perhaps the most famous player in the world of the erhu, a two-stringed Chinese instrument originally from the seventh century. As a musician, she coaxes sublimely beautiful music from her erhu. As an international world music artist, she adds a distinctly Chinese color to the many ensembles she has played with... [more]

Kunqu Opera

One of the oldest performing arts of China, kunqu opera is a traditional style of theater that mixes dance, music and drama. Although the term kunqu refers specifically to music, the most important part of kunqu opera is the dancing, in which actors must perfect even small details and incidental movements. These movements must be matched seamlessly with the kunqu orchestra, a 6- to 10-piece ensemble featuring percussion, wind... [more]