民间器乐文化的历史，在我国古代的典籍中也有一些零零星星的记述，像“女娲氏作笙簧”、“巫咸作鼓”。《吕氏春秋》中有“黄帝令伶伦作为律”，桓谭在《琴道篇》中有“昔夏之时，洪水怀山襄陵，禹乃援琴作操，其声清以益，潺潺湲湲，志在深河。”等记载，但这仅是一些传说，不尽可靠。
但在古籍中较早出现的钟、鼓、磬、竽、笙、琴、瑟等乐器与师旷、师襄等乐师的记载，则是可靠的，是有所据的。一九八六至一九八七年在河南省舞阳县贾湖新石器时代遗址发掘出十六支猛禽腿骨制作精细的多孔、并能吹奏出六、七声音阶的骨笛，据碳十四初步测定，距今约七至八千年。从出土文物与历史文献记载来看，我国各民族的器乐文化作为我国总体文化的一个组成部分，其传统是源远流长的。
从整个音乐文化发展来看，最初，大致是歌、乐、舞三者结合，器乐主要是作为伴歌、伴舞形式出现。随著舞的相对独立，加上为舞伴奏的乐曲所具有的自己的结构体制，春秋战国期间其器乐的发展也逐渐相对独立起来。例如“笙间奏”就是乐舞中渐渐分化出来的器乐部分。
一九七八年湖北随州市郊发掘的战国早期（西元前四三三年）下葬的一个诸侯国曾国国君名“乙”的墓，墓中陪葬有二十一位女性及一套六十四个双鼓音钟组成的编钟，三十二件石磬组成的编磬，以及鼓（建鼓、悬鼓、有柄鼓）、十弦琴、五弦琴、瑟、排箫、笙、篪等精緻乐器共一百二十四件，反映了当时宫廷已经具有的乐队规模。从其制作的精美、音域的宽广、音律的准确及铭文中反映出的音乐思维等方面看，也说明了在我国两千四百多年前器乐文化已具有相当高的文明程度。
李斯是战国时秦相，他在《谏逐客书》中写到“夫击瓮叩缶，弹筝搏髀，而歌呼呜呜，快耳目者，真秦之声也。”（见《史记‧李斯列传》）后面还提到“郑卫桑间，《韶》、《虞》、《武》、《象》者，异国之乐也。今弃击瓮而就郑卫，退弹筝而取韶虞，若是者何也？快意当前，适观而已矣”。这说明秦国主不仅可以欣赏秦音，中原和西域的音乐也在这里流行。
從伯牙、成連等琴師的故事看來，他們都是春秋時代士階層的人，那時就有《高山》、《流水》等琴曲。《列子‧湯問》中記載：『伯牙善鼓琴，鍾子期善昕。伯牙鼓琴，志在登高山，鍾子期曰：「善哉，巍巍兮若泰山！」志在流水，鍾子期曰：「善哉！洋洋兮若江河。」伯牙所念，鍾子期必得之。伯牙遊於泰山之陰，卒逢暴雨，止於岩下。心悲，乃援琴而鼓之，初為霖雨之操，更造崩山之音。曲每奏，鍾子期輒窮其趣。伯牙乃捨琴而歎曰：「善哉，善哉，子之聽夫志！想像猶吾心也。吾於何逃聲哉？」』
从这段著名而生动的记述考察，早在先秦时期，音乐演奏者不仅在乐曲意志、情操、心绪的表现上已经有很高的造诣，而欣赏者也能从音乐演奏中领会其形象意趣。从三国魏时人嵇康对《广陵散》的生动弹奏，也说明了我国器乐的演奏和对器乐艺术的认识、理解等方面，都已达到了比较高的水平。以后，又经隋、唐时期与外域的文化交流，特别是盛唐时之乐舞、大曲在很大程度上对外域音乐文化的广泛吸收，给予我国民族民间器乐艺术的发展增添了新的血液，并取得了巨大进步。
在十一世紀以前，我國的音樂文化，包括器樂，是相當發達的。直到十五世紀，相當於明代中期，我國民族民間器樂藝術，在各民族人民的生活中一直保持旺盛的生命力。
我国民族民间器乐文化在各个时期的情况，有其不同的发展特点。
（一）
先秦时期，较早见于文化资料的是《尚书‧舜典》中的有关古代歌舞的记载。“……夔曰：于予击石拊石，百兽率舞”。根据出土文物和历史文献的记载，先秦时期出现的乐器已有三十多种。那时人们便根据乐器制作的材料，将众多的乐器归纳为八类，称为“八音”，即金、石、丝、竹、匏、土、革、木。
一、金属乐器有：钟、编钟、镛、钲、铎等；
二、石属乐器有：磬、编磬等；
三、丝属乐器有：琴、瑟、筝、筑等；
四、竹属乐器有：籥、箫、篪、篴、管（双管）等；
五、匏属乐器有：笙（大笙谓“巢”，小笙谓“和”）、竽等；
六、土属乐器有：埙、哨、缶等；
七、革属乐器有：鼓、建鼓、鼗、鼛、贲鼓、应、田、县鼓、搏拊等。
八、木属乐器有：柷、敔等。
周代宫廷中的乐师，如师襄、师旷、师涓，都善弹琴。到秦代，琴更为士人专爱。《论语》中有“点！尔何如！鼓瑟希。”可见当时瑟也在士中流行。宫廷中竽的地位也很重要。除《韩非子‧内储说》所言“齐宣王使人吹竽必三百人”外，亦载：“和，竽也者，五声之长者也。故竽先则钟瑟皆随；竽唱，则诸乐皆和。”竽在乐队中处于领奏的地位。
秦统一中国，有几件事办得很出色。如“书同文，车同轨”等。从一九七七年陝西秦始皇陵园出土的镌有秦篆“乐府”字样的乐府钟可知，秦代已设立了乐府机构。
（二）
汉朝的经济生活有了变化，整个文化又有新的发展。这时期的通西域不仅向西亚送去了钟、磬、琴、笙等乐器和乐工以及音乐理论，而且也从西亚、中亚接受了羌笛、笳、角、竖箜篌、筚篥、曲项琵琶等乐器及器乐艺术。
汉高祖喜欢音乐，会击筑，他写的《大风歌》：“大风起兮云飞扬，威加海内兮归故乡。安得猛士兮守四方。”据说他在家乡沛县组织了一百二十个少年儿童来唱这首歌曲，他自己击筑并带头歌舞。
据《乐府诗集》卷一六引刘瓛定军礼云：“鼓吹未知其始也，汉班壹雄朔野而有之矣。”据说，汉军採用鼓吹乐“以壮声威”，后来在宫廷以及民间，鼓吹乐得到了很大发展，而且在少数民族中间传播开来。据文献记载，当时用于宫廷中的鼓吹乐大致有四种演奏形式：
鼓吹乐盛行的同时，在宫廷及士大夫、市民中，琴、瑟、箫乐等也很盛行。汉魏时期的文献就已有关于独立器乐演奏形式的记载，称为“但曲”，曲目有《广陵散》、《黄老弹飞引》、《流楚》等，为琴、筝、笙、筑演奏的乐曲。古琴独奏艺术已获得高度发展，蔡邕、蔡琰、嵇康等都是当时著名的琴家。这一时期，比较重要的民间声乐为《相和歌》，据《晋书‧乐志》载：“相和，旧汉歌也，丝竹更相和，执节者歌。”说明相和歌是常以丝竹伴奏的。在相和歌演唱前，往往也演奏独立的器乐作品。汉武帝的乐府，採集燕、赵、楚、齐、秦、鲁的民间音乐，加以整理推广，并任命李延年为协律都尉，整理乐律。《汉书‧礼乐志》中有“作十九章之歌”的记载，同时比较宽的吸收郑卫之声，使之“内有掖庭材人，外有上林乐府，皆以郑声施于朝廷。”可见当时是比较宽广的融汇各地音乐，以创新声。
（三）
隋唐时期，由于经济的发展和宫廷的提倡，使宫廷俗乐得以兴盛。从而大大促进了器乐文化的发展而进入了一个新的历史时期。
隋唐俗乐在中国音乐史上具有深远的影响。它是集各民族乐舞之大成、为帝王服务的宫廷乐舞。《隋书‧音乐志》载：“始，开皇初定令，置七部乐：一曰国伎，二曰清商伎，三曰高丽伎，四曰天竺伎，五曰安国伎，六曰龟兹伎，七曰文康伎。”到隋炀帝时，又增加了“康国”、“疏勒”两部乐舞，并改“国伎”为“西凉”，改“文康伎”为“礼毕”，成为九部乐。
“七部乐”和“九部乐”都包括著许多独立的纯器乐章段。由于西域音乐文化的影响，宫廷的乐队组合形式也发生了很大的变化，大量的外来乐器被宫廷音乐所应用和吸收，如凤首箜篌、竖箜篌、琵琶、五弦、筚篥、铜钹、毛员鼓、都县鼓、羯鼓、答腊鼓、腰鼓、鸡娄鼓等。
唐代的坐部伎和立部伎是隋代俗乐的继承和发展。这两部伎共有十四曲。立部伎八曲：《安乐》、《太平乐》、《破阵乐》、《庆善乐》、《大定乐》、《上元乐》、《圣寿乐》、《光圣乐》；坐部伎有六曲：《燕乐》、《长寿乐》、《天授乐》、《鸟歌万岁乐》、《龙沙乐》、《小破阵乐》。这十四曲中，《安乐》为北周武帝时创作，《太平乐》是“十部乐”的“龟兹乐”中增加的部分。其馀均为唐代创作的乐舞，主要是盛唐时的产物。这两部伎的演出，以立部伎的演出规模更为盛大，少则六十多人，多则达一百八十人之众，伴以擂鼓，气势磅礴，场面宏伟。坐部伎规模较小，少则三人，多时十二人，音乐比较幽雅抒情，表现细腻，注重个人技巧。
《大曲》是多段音乐结构的大型歌舞曲。大曲中风格雅淡而富有宫廷清商乐特点的，史称《法曲》。唐代有名的《霓裳羽衣曲》就是《大曲》中的《法曲》。
唐俗乐中也有包括用于宴飨的鼓吹乐，它们对后来的民间器乐的发展具有深远的影响。据唐·段安节《乐府杂录》的记载，仅乐器就有三百种。在记谱方面，出现了比文字谱更为简便的“减字谱”及早期的工尺谱。
由于唐代器乐艺术的发展，出现了很多著名的器乐演奏家，如琵琶名手曹妙达、贺怀智、雷海青、段善本、康昆仑等。筚篥演奏家如关璀、李衮、李龟年等。其他如李凭（箜篌）、李谟（笛子）、李周（筝）、薛阳陶（笳）等等。
（四）
宋代，从吸取民间优秀文化营养而形成的宋杂剧逐渐走向繁荣，其中一些优美的曲牌、过场曲反过来又逐渐被后世的民族器乐曲吸收。古琴艺术在宋代已得到了显著的发展。宋太宗赵匡义就亲自制大、小曲以及“因旧曲而创新声者，总三百九十”（见吉联抗辑译《宋明音乐史料》第241页）。太宗身边还有一位被称为“鼓琴为天下第一”的演奏家朱文济。宋徽宗赵佶也嗜琴如命，曾专门设立“万琴堂”，搜集南北古琴绝品。郭沔所作《潇湘水云》便是这一时期的杰作。在吹奏乐器方面也有发展。乐工单仲辛在原来巢笙、和笙的基础上，将其形制规范固定，从而出现了十九簧笙。四川地区还出现了一种三十六簧的“凤笙”。
宋代出现的乐器有：
吹乐器：叉手笛、官笛、羌笛、夏笛、小弧笛、鹧鸪、扈圣、七星、横箫、箫管、竖箫、倍四、银字中管和中管倍五。
弦乐器：锹琴、奚琴、马尾胡琴、葫芦琴、渤海琴、双韵、蓁、三弦等。
击乐器：云璈、简子、渔鼓、铳鼓、水盏等。
元代出现的乐器，如火不思、七十二弦琵琶、一弦琴、兴隆笙等。云南纳西族民间歌舞《白沙细乐》中，应用的乐器有竖笛、横笛、芦管、苏古笃、二簧（两条弦的拉弦乐器）、胡琴等。当时流行于北方的一些元曲也传入云南。据云南《丽江县志》载：“其调有［南北曲］、［叨叨令］、［一封书］、［寄生草］等。”
两宋时期还出现了一批具有较高价值的音乐理论著述。
陈暘《乐书》有一百零五卷，论述了律吕、历代乐舞、乐器、杂乐、百戏、典礼等。朱长文的《琴史》彙集了从先秦到宋初一百五十六人有关琴的记载，是我国最早的一部琴史专著，为琴学发展作出了贡献。沉括的《梦溪笔谈》被人们称为划时代的著作。这是一部有关自然科学和人文科学综合著作。其中音乐部分，对古代乐律、音乐评论、器乐演奏、唐宋燕乐、乐器制作、声乐共振现象等方面，均有较为深入的研究和颇为精深的见解。
（五）
明清两代，民间器乐艺术随著戏曲艺术的进一步提高和推广，在更加广阔的领域普及、流传，出现不少新乐种，如西安鼓乐、福建南音、北京寺院音乐、山西八大套、冀中管乐、江苏十番鼓、十番锣鼓、浙江的吹打乐，以及山东、辽宁、吉林的鼓吹乐等合奏形式。清嘉庆甲戌年（一八一四年）蒙古族文人明谊（荣斋）将当时流传于宫廷和民间的古曲彙编成集，名《弦索备考》。载有《十六板》、《琴音板》、《清音串》、《平韵串》、《月儿高》、《琴音月儿高》、《普庵咒》、《海青》、《阳关三叠》、《松青夜游》、《舞名马》、《合欢令》、《将军令》十三首套曲，亦名《弦索十三套》，反映了当时北方弦索乐的古老传统与发展。与此同时，由于戏曲艺术的迅速发展，形成多种声腔，促进了伴奏艺术趋向独奏且渐成熟。古琴艺术已形成众多流派，最著名的琴派有广陵派（扬州）、诸城派（山东）、虞山派（常熟）、浙派（浙江）、岭南派（广东）、金陵派（南京）、蜀派（四川）等。这时期的代表琴曲有《平沙落雁》、《秋鸿》、《渔樵问答》、《伯牙吊子期》、《龙翔操》、《醉渔唱晚》、《长门怨》等。据王猷定在《四照堂集》的《汤琵琶传》一文中所载，著名琵琶演奏家汤应曾曾演奏过：《楚汉》、《胡笳十八拍》、《塞上》、《洞庭秋思》等古曲百馀首。其中《楚汉》一曲曾名噪一时。
明代正德、嘉靖年间，河南琵琶高手张雄以善弹《海青拿天鹅》而闻名远近，安徽寿县正阳关人锺秀之也善弹琵琶、三弦面享誉四方；北京的盲人琵琶演奏家李近楼，更是被人们称之为“都城八绝”之一。明、清时期，见于记载的著名琵琶演奏家还有李东垣、江对峰、蒋山人、杨廷果、王君锡、陈牧夫、华文彬（即华秋苹）、李祖棻、陈子敬、沉浩初、李廷森、李芳园、沉肇洲、王惠生、殷纪平等人。
值得注意的是，这一时期胡琴类拉弦乐器和唢呐类芦簧乐器在民间非常盛行，除原有二弦胡琴之外，又产生了四胡、京胡、板胡、椰胡、大筒、二弦等拉弦乐器；以及蒙古族的马头琴，维吾尔族的艾捷克，藏族的必旺、铁琴，彝族阿细人、撒尼人的三弦胡琴，壮族马骨胡等。
至于民间器乐曲，经宋词、元曲、明清戏曲的许多词牌、曲牌（包括戏曲中的牌子曲），甚至戏曲、曲艺的某些曲腔，都大胆地吸收过来，并使其发展为都市、乡间流行的常用民间器乐曲。
清代在承袭明代宫廷音乐旧制的基础上并有所发展。规模宏大、形式多样，是我国历史上最为重视宫廷音乐的朝代之一。如祭祀用的《中和韶乐》用乐工二百零四人；皇帝祭祀、朝会宴飨出入时用的仪仗乐《卤薄大乐》用乐工一百一十六人。除用《中和韶乐》和《卤薄大乐》外，还要叫一个由二十四人组成的乐队，用大鼓、方响、云锣和管等四种乐器立著演奏，称为《丹陛大乐》。在朝会内容牵涉到出兵凯旋之类节目时，还要加用《铙歌乐》。宴飨在元旦、“万寿”和冬至所谓“三大节”时举行，除用以上音乐外，又有《清乐》、《庆隆舞》、《笳吹》、《番部合奏》、《高丽国俳》、《瓦尔喀部乐舞》和《回部乐伎》等曲目。何时演奏哪一种音乐，随著仪节的进行而有严格的规定。其中部分曲目都是本国少数民族和外国的曲目，如《笳吹》、《番部合奏》、《高丽国俳》、《瓦尔喀部乐舞》等。
明清时期宗教音乐的总趋势是由盛到衰。
佛教音乐中的器乐曲与传统音乐有密切联繫。各地寺院的法器形制基本相同，但有南北之派别。江南各地寺院多同于诸佛教经史所谓的“管弦”之说，而北方则大同于《禅门日诵》中的“吹打”之说。山西五台山是佛教的四大名山之一，也是我国北方佛教音乐的代表和集中地。而五台山青庙音乐与晋西北一带的民间器乐曲“八大套”又有密切联繫。开封大相国寺、北京智化寺等佛教音乐，以及流传在藏族、蒙古族的藏传佛教音乐，裕固族、傣族、纳西族等少数民族地区的佛教寺庙音乐，对研究中国的佛教音乐和传统音乐，都有极为重要的意义。
道教音乐源远流长，分佈广泛，全国著名道教圣地有“十方丛林”之称。早在东汉时期，道教的《太平经》便已记载有音乐理论，认为音乐可以感天地、通神灵、安万民。北魏道士寇谦之改直诵为乐诵，他把念诵经文与音乐结合起来。到了唐代，道教音乐发展到较高的水平，被誉为“妙协均天，克谐仙唱”（见《册府元龟》卷五十四）并表明了道教音乐在我国宗教音乐中有独特风格，如“仙歌凝韵九天风”（唐‧李翔“涉道诗”）的高雅神韵。《中国民族民间器乐曲集成‧湖北卷》所收集的武当山道教音乐呈现出的丰富内涵，充分表明了它在我国传统音乐文化中的重要地位。武当山的道教音乐到了明代还曾出现过鼎盛局面，设置了专事乐舞的宫观——“神乐观”，并有由朝廷供养的乐舞生四百多人，对主管专门事务的职官，明皇帝还亲自拜官授职，朝廷还经常钦降乐器给武当山宫观。
中国自古有“礼乐之邦”的美誉。“礼乐正而天下平”的思想深受世人尊崇。孔子去世后，人们便把孔子的家乡山东曲阜作为倡导礼乐的神圣之地。曲阜孔庙雅乐，成为海内外各地祭孔音乐的总源。这种集歌、乐、舞三位一体的表演形式，各朝各代对其乐队编制均有严格的规定，金、石、丝、竹、革、木、匏、土“八音”俱全，阵容庞大。明代至本世纪初，祭孔音乐的成数相对的稳定于“六章六奏”。祭孔乐队编制一般上百人或百馀人，场面宏大、气氛肃穆。
明清时期的少数民族乐舞有较大发展。如新疆维吾尔族的《木卡姆》，藏族的《囊玛》，苗族、彝族的《跳月》等，其中器乐部分佔有相当的比重，且具有较高艺术水平。
在音乐理论方面，值得一提的是明代著名律学家朱载堉的《律学新说》，在世界音乐文化史上第一个确立了十二平均律的理论和精确计算，他以“新法密率”的计算原理，极其精确地解决了中外律学家们为之长期探索而未能解决的重大问题，在世界乐律史上佔居领先地位，对近现代器乐文化乃至乐器制作，都产生了深远的影响。
（六）
清末至民国初期，小提琴、钢琴、风琴音乐在我国的一些地方开始流行，有些学者还作有歌曲。但大量引进并迸发出新的创作，还是“五‧四”以后。
“五‧四”运动最初口号是民主、科学，反对旧文化，改用白话文，打倒孔家店，反对旧礼教……，对我国古典音乐，开始也多在被打倒之列，因为孔子是雅乐派的祖师。
二十世纪二十年代后期，出了悉心振兴民族器乐的刘天华，他不仅深谙古乐，擅长二胡、琵琶，同时也学过西洋管乐与钢琴、小提琴。他受了“五‧四”民主进步思想的影响，开始从事发展我国民族器乐，特别是二胡、琵琶的改革和乐曲创作，他写了《病中吟》、《月夜》、《苦闷之讴》（又名《苦中乐》）、《悲歌》、《良宵》、《閒居吟》、《空山鸟语》、《光明行》、《独弦操》、《烛影摇红》十大名曲。经过刘天华的革新，二胡的音域被扩充到三个八度、五个把位，对滑音、泛音、顿音、连音、装饰音等一系列演奏技巧开始规范化，同时，对调式、乐曲结构、章回段落也颇讲究。他对音乐的描写心思意境以及绘形绘神，对各种乐曲的表现情思也有进一步的探索。
相当于这时期，由于都市文艺生活的复兴，江南丝竹也逐渐兴旺，开始成为一个拥有各种流派及众多演奏家、曲目的乐种。华彦钧（又名阿炳）是民间盲艺人，同时也创作了《二泉映月》、《听松》、《大浪淘沙》等优秀新作。
二十世纪初，广东戏曲发生“粤曲革命”，“广东音乐”也从戏曲音乐中逐渐独立出来，成为一个很有活力的新乐种。吕文成、严老烈、何柳堂等乐人开始从改编古曲，到创作带有南国特色的广东小曲，前后二十多年，一共新作有二、三百首。由于有唱片及电影的传播，一时成为全国很有影响的新型乐种。其代表作品有：《旱天雷》、《饿马摇玲》、《平湖秋月》、《娱乐昇平》、《小桃红》、《雨打芭蕉》、《连环扣》、《双声恨》、《赛龙夺锦》、《步步高》、《走马》、《鸟投林》、《岐山凤》、《风云会》等。
关于民族民间器乐曲的挖掘整理工作，刘天华在二十世纪二十年代搜集记录了定县吵子会曲谱，这是近现代我国音乐工作者採录民间器乐曲的创举。一九二○年，郑觐文先生在上海组织了一个大同乐会，在传授各种民族乐器演奏技艺和整理、改编传统乐曲方面做了不少工作，培养了一批演奏者，他们整理改编的一些乐曲得到长久流传，如《夕阳箫鼓》等。甘涛先生在二十年代后期，对广东音乐做过较细緻的收集和订正。
一九四三年的重庆，是抗日战争时期中华民国的陪都，中央电台设有民族乐团，这个乐团由陈济略先生负责，只有十多个成员，甘涛、黄锦培等人任演奏员，张定和整理乐曲，所用乐器有南胡、琵琶、扬琴、箫、笛、锣、鼓。
中华人民共和国建国前的民族民间器乐曲，虽有江南丝竹、广东音乐的兴起，民间如西安鼓乐、潮州音乐、十番鼓、十番锣鼓等古老乐种依然在民间流传，民族音乐由于刘天华的提倡，也有些起色，但从整个情况来看，古典音乐是渐趋衰落的。
但另一方面，当时在以延安为中心的解放区内，在以毛泽东主席为领袖的党中央的直接领导下，尤其是在毛泽东《在延安文艺座谈会上的讲话》的指引下，一大批进步的文艺工作者纷纷从“小鲁艺”走进“大鲁艺”，在组织动员人民群众积极投身抗战的社会实践的同时，对陝甘宁边区、晋冀鲁豫等解放区民间音乐进行了广泛深入的学习与研究，并于一九三九年三月在延安鲁迅艺术文学院（简称“鲁艺”）正式成立了“中国民间音乐研究会”，不久，在其他抗日民主根据地也相继建立了“民间音乐研究会”分会，有计划、有组织地对民间音乐进行採集、介绍和研究工作，搜集整理加工了不少优秀民间音乐，这些活动为全国解放后对民间音乐的继续发掘整理、制定方针政策提供了不少启示和经验。
（七）
中华人民共和国成立后，新中国在各个方面出现了崭新的气象，在政治、经济、文化艺术等方面发生了全面的历史性的变化。国家给了整个民族音乐的振兴和发展以极大的重视，在党和政府有关部门的倡导下，民族民间器乐在普及与提高两个方面都取得了很好的效果。一方面，通过调查採访和全国民族民间音乐调演，使许多古老的地方乐种得以保存和继承，如西安鼓乐、山西八大套、冀中吹歌、十番锣鼓、十番鼓、潮州音乐、福建南音、广东音乐、江南丝竹等。这些乐种为丰富人民的音乐生活发挥了很大作用。另一方面，从中央到地方成立了相应的研究机构，有组织地开展了对民族民间音乐的收集整理工作，如当时附设在中央音乐学院的中国民族音乐研究所。在吕骥的大力倡导下，杨荫浏、曹安和先生等做了大量的收集整理工作，如整理出江南的《十番锣鼓》、河北的《安县子位村管乐曲集》以及对简谱、三弦谱所作的订正，并编印出《雅音第一集》、《雅音第二集》、《文板十二曲》、《苏南吹打曲》，还有曹安和、简其华、文彦译谱，杨荫浏校订的《弦索十三套》等。此外，各地对很多戏曲形式中曲牌的收集和保存，也很有意义。对广东音乐、潮州音乐、福建南音、新疆十二木卡姆等等，也做了初步的收集整理工作。同时，通过历次全国会演和调演活动，又进一步地发掘和发现了一批批优秀曲目和优秀人才，而且民族民间器乐作为一个专业进入了高等学府，全国所有高等音乐院校均先后设立了民乐系，并普遍开设了史、论、欣赏课。一些有造诣的民间艺人被聘请到音乐学院执教，从民间艺人成为教授。许多优秀的传统曲目被纳入大学教材。一代又一代的民族民间器乐艺术演奏人才走向社会，在全国各地普遍地建立起来的大型表演团体中，一般都有民族乐队编制或完整的民族乐团。这些演奏团体演出内容丰富，活动也十分广泛，成为活跃人民文化生活及国际文化交流的一个重要方面。
随著民族民间器乐艺术在教育和表演团体建设方面的发展，民族民间器乐理论研究也得到长足进步，从中央到地方普遍建立了艺术研究所，而且在音乐研究方面多以研究传统音乐（包括少数民族音乐）为主，还能经常召开有关的国际、国内学术交流会，并取得了相当丰硕的成果。
在这一时期，民间流佈十分广泛的鼓吹乐、锣鼓乐、丝竹乐等类属的原有乐种，同样得到了艺术上的提高，在各民族、各地区广大人民自娱的民俗活动中仍保持著强大的生命力，其品种之多、形式之丰富，难以数计，成为民间文化生活的重要方面。
特别通过这次有计划地对民族器乐文化进行的广泛深入的编辑出版，应该说是一次高瞻远瞩的措施。可以预料，随著历史的推移，这份民族民间器乐文化遗产，将越来越显示出她的灿烂光彩和深远意义。
作者单位：
中国音乐理论家
前中央音乐学院副教务主任
前中国音乐学院院长
前中央歌舞团团长
前中央乐团团长
前中国音协副主席
A General Description of Chinese Traditional Instrumental Music
Li Ling
In the history of China, there has been some collection of Chinese folk music, such as “Guo Feng” (a collection of folk lyrics and music) in the Summer and Autumn Period (770BC-476BC) and the Warring States Period (475BC—221BC). Compilers of verses written for music in the two Han Dynasties (West Han Dynasty, 206BC—25AD, and East Han Dynasty, 25AD—220AD), Sui Dynasty (581 AD—618AD) and Tang Dynasty (618AD—907AD) have also had some researches on the Chinese folk music. However, if Chinese folk musical instruments are discussed, I should say we haven’t had any systematic and wide-ranged researches on the music played with instruments which were widely popular among our people, except for some on the episodes played usually with gugin (a kind of seven-stringed zither and China’s oldest stringed instrument.) It is, therefore, an unprecedented effort for the State Central Government to organize talents from various scholarly fields all over the country to deeply and widely research on folk musical instruments and cultures, and plan compiling ten collections for publication.
Descriptions about Chinese folk music and instrument actually scattered in dribs and drabs in our old scriptures, such as “NuWa Plays Sheng (a kind of mouth organ made of bamboo or metal) and Beating Reed (also a kind of instrument played with mouth)” and “WuXian Plays Drums”. “Lu’ s Commentary on Spring and Autumn Period” (work by Lu Buwei finished around 239BC) once said, “Emperor Huang Di (named as Zhuan Xu, and one of the earliest emperors in Chinese history) ordered the entertainer to play some tunes.” Heng Tan described Emperor Yu like this in his “On Qin Principles”, “In the old times of Xia (2070BC—1600BC), the flood covered the land and mountains. Emperor Yu (one of the earliest emperors in Chinese history) played gin and sang songs with clear voices. The music and songs flowed slowly and beautifully in the air, and told us Emperor Yu’ s high ambition in controlling the flood.” However, tales are tales and we can’t fully believe them according to the scripts.
Nevertheless, some descriptions in those old scriptures are quite reliable and traceable about such musical instruments as bell, drum, ging (a king of sounding stones), yu (a kind of pipe instrument and smaller type of sheng), sheng, gin (same as gugin) and seh, and about some musical players and masters. Between 1986 and 1987, archeologists unearthed 16 pieces multiple-holed bone flutes exquisitely made of MENGLI foot bones, which can produce tunes of six to seven musical scales, at the Wuyang Jiahu New Stone Age Relics of Henan Province. According to the primary carbon-14 dating evaluation, those flutes can be dated back to seven to eight thousand years ago. Many unearthed antiques and historical scripts tell us a long-reaching tradition of Chinese folk music and instrument as one essential part of Chinese culture.
The development of Chinese music culture originated from the combination of singing, music and dancing, and the musical instruments appeared first to the accompaniment of singing and dancing. Later, the dancing part became more and more independent, and the music to the accompaniment of the dances obtained more and more unique structures, then music itself played by various instruments developed as well during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. For example, “Sheng Jian Zou” (sheng solo in between) was a pure musical part separated gradually from the dances accompanied by music.
In 1978, archeologists unearthed the tomb of a King of Zeng State, named “Yi” and buried at the early Warring States Period (around 433BC), at the suburb of Suizhou in Hubei Province. They found remains of 21 ladies buried together with the king as well as 124 exquisite musical instruments, including a set of chimes consisting of 64-piece bells of double-tymapanitic notes, a qing set consisting of 32-piece stone gings, and many drums (handy drums, hanging drums and drums with sticks), ten-stringed qins, five-stringed qins, seh, pan-flute, sheng and chi (bamboo flute with 8 holes). This showed us at what a large scale and high level the musical band in the court at that time had already been. The exquisiteness of the craftsmanship, the width of the musical scales, the preciseness of the tones, and the musical philosophy of the tomb epigraph all reflected a considerably high level of civilization the Chinese musical culture had developed two thousand and four hundred years before.
Li Si was the premier of Qing State (306BC—221BC) in the Warring States Period. He once wrote in “Opinion about Expelling Non-Qing Residents” like this, “People in Qing used to pat on their buttocks and sing songs happily, blowing the urns, knocking on the potteries and playing zhengs (a kind of string instrument usually made of wood). All the music is authentic music of Qing!” (see “A Collection of History—Story of Li Si” ). The story later also said Li Si continued his opinion as following, “All such music types played in Zheng State and Wei State as “Shao”, “Yu”, “Wu” and “Xiang” are not local. Now, we abandon Urns and Potteries, and play music “Shao” and “Yu” from Zheng State and Wei State with zhengs. Why 1s it like this? Because they are for the same purpose—to make people happy.” This paragraph proves that kings of Qing State, at that time, not only enjoyed music from local Qing regions, but also that from central and western part of Chinese regions.
Stories about gin masters Boya and Cheng Lian, etc., tell us something about the origins of musical pieces such as “Gao Shan (High Mountains)” and “Liu Shui (flowing waters)”. Those qin masters belong to the hierarchy of scholars in the Spring and Autumn Period. “Lie Zi—About Tang Wei” tells us the following story about Boya and Zhong Ziqi. “Boya excels in playing gin, and Zhong Ziqi is good at understanding his music. When Boya plays some pieces displaying his ambitions as high as mountains or as torrential as flowing waters, Zhong Ziqi can fully understand and appreciates Boya’s devotion and ambitions. Once Boya visited the south of Tai Mountain and was stopped by a sudden rainstorm below a rock, when he fell into a mood of sadness. He then took the gin over and began playing an episode called “Lin Yu” (linyu rain).” Later, he was more and more absorbed in playing and began an episode called “Shan Beng (the mountain collapses).” Whenever the new episode started, Zhong Ziqi could tell out Boya’s mind right away. Boya thus abandoned his qin and said, ‘You are really excellent. You can tell whatever my mind wants to say. How can I be hidden away from you?’
From above-mentioned vivid stories, we can profoundly feel that in ancient Qing period, not only the music players achieved very high performance levels in combining their wills, principles and mood into music, but also the listeners had thorough understanding of those sentiments displayed in the music. The music repertoire “Guang Ling San” played by Ji Kang in Wei State of Three States Period (220AD To 280AD) is the proof of a high level of performance on the side of players as well as of understanding and acknowledgement of the philosophy in the music on the side of listeners in the development of Chinese folk music. Later, the cultural exchange with foreign regions in Sui and Tang dynasties, especially the wide absorptions of foreign music and culture into the dancing music and court music in the most prosperous Tang period, gave fresh injections to Chinese folk music and instruments for fast and great development.
After the 11″ century, the musical cultures of China, including instrumental music, prospered greatly. Chinese folk cultures of instrumental music kept exuberant vitality among people of various ethnic groups until the 15th century, when China was in the middle of Ming Dynasty (1368—1644). Such cultures had different development features at different period of time.
[I] In ancient Qing Dynasty (221 BC—206BC), some early scriptures about dances and music could be found in “Shangshu—Story about Shun” (“Shangshu” is a collection of stories happening from old period of Emperor Yao and Emperor Shun (both emperors were among the earliest emperors in ancient China) to Mid Spring and Autumn Period or records of kings’ words of those times. It is one of the most ancient collections of historical stories in China.) It says, Lessee Kui (the official responsible for music in the reign of Emperor Shun) said, “When the stone ging 1s tapped, the music is so attractive that even beasts and animals begin dancing. “ According to the unearthed relics and historical scripts, there were already over 30 types of instruments in ancient Qing Dynasty. People classified such instruments according to materials they were made of into 8 categories, so-called “Ba Yin” (8-tuned musical instruments or 8 kinds of sounds produced by such instruments’ —instruments made of metals, stones, strings, bamboo, calabashes (lagenaria vulgaris), clay, animal skins and wood.
Music players in the court of Zhou Dynasty (1046BC to 256BC), such as Shi Guo, Shi Kuang and Shi Hua, were all good at playing gugin. Gugin became the favorite of scholars in Qing Dynasty (221BC—206BC). There was description in “The Analects of Confucius” about the seh like this, “Kongzi (Confucius) asked his students about their ambitions. Zeng Dian (one student of Confucius) was playing seh when Confucius asked, ‘Dian, what do you want to do?’ Then, Dian gradually slowed down his music and answered his teacher.” It shows how popular seh was among scholars at that time. Yi was also very important at that time in the court. Descriptions about music playing can be found in “Hanfei Zi—Neichu Theories” (Hanfei 71 was the famous philosopher and essayist in the Warring States Period (275BC to 221BC) and the founder of Legalism in China. The collection of his theories is “Hanfei Zi” and “Neichu Theories” is part of the collection focusing on seven methodologies of controlling the courtiers.), such as “King Xuan of Qi State usually asked three hundred people to play yu at the same time,” and “Yu (reed yu) is the most important one among all the music instruments. Once yu is blown, chimes and seh will follow yu, and so will other instruments.” It is obvious that yz was the leading instrument in the band at that time.
China was unified in Qing Dynasty. Its emperor did several good things in the history, such as “unifying the characters and standardizing the wheels of vehicles”. Among the engraved scriptures unearthed from tombs of Qing’s first emperor Ying Cheng, we found some chimes with Qing’ s sealed character (a style of Chinese calligraphy, often used on seals) “Music Bureau” , which showed that there was already special government department responsible for music development in Qing Dynasty.
[II] Economies in Han Dynasty (West Han Dynasty, 206BC—25AD, and East Han Dynasty, 25AD—220AD) changed a lot, generating some new development for the culture of the country. At this period of time, China then had more exchanges with the Turkestan regions (currently close to Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region), and export them such instruments as bells, chimes, gugins and shengs as well as many music players and musical theories. In return, China then imported such instruments as giang flute (flute of Qiang ethnic group), hujia (hujia reed pipe), vertical k ung-hou (a kind of vertical ancient musical instrument with 23strings), bili (a kind of ancient wind instrument made of bamboo, and its reed made of bulrush), guxiang pipa (pipa 1s a kind of Chinese lute), as well as some musical theories. Liu Bang, the first emperor of Han Dynasty, liked music and he could play zhu (a kind of five string lute). He wrote in “The Ode of Wind”, “Heavy wind starts and blows the cloud to move so fast! I have won some victories and now come back to my hometown with honor. However, can I always have loyal supporters to help me keep my emperor stable and prosperous?” It is said that he organized 120 children to sing this song at his hometown Pei County and he played zhu and led the dancing himself.
It is said that armies of Han Empire used music played with drums and mouth organs to “strengthen their power and prestige.” Later, such music developed greatly in the court and Chinese folk people, and spread among minority people as well. According to old scripts, there were four types of performances in the court with music played with drums and mouth organs.
When music played by drums and mouth organs got popular, guqins, sehs and xiaos were also welcome by the courtiers, scholars and folk people. In old scripts of Han Dynasty and Wei Dynasty, there were already descriptions about solo instrumental performances, the music of which was called “danqu.” Some of the repertoires played with gugins, zhengs, shengs and zhus include “Guangling San”, “Huanglaotan Feiyin”, “Liu Chu”, etc. Then, the solo guqin performance was in its peak season, and Cai Yong (???), Cai Yan (???) and Ji Kang (???) were among the most famous players at that time. The important folk music collection then was “Xiang He Ge (Xianghe Song Collection)”. The “Jinshu—Yue Zhi” (Story Collection of Jin Dynasties—About Music) (one of the 24 most famous collection of historical stories compiled by Fang Xuanling, etc., in Tang Dynasty) says, “Xianghe, a kind of ceremonious solo singing type in old Han Dynasty; later, 1t developed to be songs accompanied by music played with stringed and bamboo instrument.” It showed that Xianghe songs were usually accompanied by stringed and bamboo instruments, and before the songs, there were usually solo instrument performance. In the reign of Emperor Liu Che (157BC—87BC), folk music from States of Yan, Zhao, Chu, Qi, Qing and Lu was collected and popularized, and he even appointed Li Yannian to be the coordinator in charge of music development and collection of music tunes. In “Hanshu—Li Yuee Zhi (Story Collection of Han Dynasties—On Ceremonious Music)”, (“Hanshu” was written by Ban Biao and his son Ban Gu in Han Dynasty and 1s one of the most important historical collections), there were words as “writing verses of 19 chapters”. It also described Han Dynasty absorbed many music types from Zheng Sate and Wei State, therefore “from the court to the music bureau, Zheng’s tunes resounded all over.” It is obvious that people widely absorbed music types of many regions so as to create new ones at that time.
[III] Due to the economic development and promotion of the court in Sui and Tang dynasties (Sui Dynasty (581AD—618AD) and Tang Dynasty (618AD—907AD)), popular court music won great prosperity, and largely activated the instrumental music culture to enter a new historical era. Popular court music in Sui and Tang dynasties had its far-reaching effect on Chinese music history. It was the music to the accompaniment of court dances for the enjoyment of kings (emperors) aggregating the achievements of different nations. “Sui Shu—Yin Yue Zhi (Sui Shu—On Music” (“Sui Shu” is a collection of historical stories of Sui Dynasty compiled by Wei Zheng, the premier of Tang Dynasty in reign of Emperor Li Shimin, the second emperor of Tang Dynasty) says, “At the beginning of its (Sui’s) establishment, the government set up seven schools of music: Guoji School, Qingshang School, Ancient Korean School, Ancient Indian School, Anguo School, Ancient Kutsi School (kutsi is now in Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region) and Wenkang School.” Emperor Yang Guang (the second and last emperor of Sui Dynasty) added two schools-“Kangguo School” and “Shule School” (Shule is now in Xinjiang Uighur Automonous Region), and changed “Guoji School” to “Xiliang School” (Xiliang is now in Gansu Province) and “Wenkang School” to “Libi School.’’(Libi means the ceremonious rites end.) Then finally, we had nine-school music.
“Seven-school music” and “nine-school music” included many solo instrumental musical pieces. Due to the influence of musical cultures from the old Turkestan regions, the composition of court bands also greatly changed. They began using larger amount of exotic instruments, such as phoenix-headed k’ung-hou, vertical k’ung-hou, pipa (Chinese lute), five-strings, bili,cymbal, maoyuan drum (a kind of kutsi drum which can be tapped on both sides), duxian drum (smaller type of maoyuan drum), jie drum ( a kind of drum with both sides covered by skins and the belly part thinner, and originated from Jie ethnic group in turkestan regions), dala drum (similar to jie drum and usually played by people in kutsi and shule regions), yaogu drum (drum played when hung on waists and originated from regions close to current north Sha’an x1 Province) and jilou drum.
“Zuobu Ji” (music types played when sitting) and “Libu Ji’ (music types played when standing) in Tang Dynasty were inherited and developed from the popular court music of Sui Dynasty, and usually consisted of 14 repertoire. Among them, “Libu Ji” included 8 repertoire, “An Yue” (music of tranquility), “Taiping Yue”(music of peace and security), “Pozhen Yue”(music when breaking the disposition of enemies’ troupes), “Qingshan Yue” (music to eulogize the good), “Dading Yue” (music to show off the great stability”, “Shangyuan Yue’(music to celebrate Chinese Spring Festival”, “Shengshou Yue”(music played for celebration of kings’ birthday), and “Guangsheng Yue” (music in honor of the holy). “Zuobu Ji” included 6 repertoire, “Yan Yue’’(court banquet music), “Changshou Yue’(music for long life span), “Tianshou Yue” (music to show emperors were appointed by the holy), “Niaoge Wansui Yue”(music about all birds singing long live to emperors), “Longsha Yue” and “Xiao Pozhen Yue” (shorter Pozhen Yue). Among the 14 repertoire, “An Yue” was created by Emperor Yuwen Yong in North Zhou Dynasty (543A D—578AD); “Taiping Yue” was the additional part for “kutsi music” in the “ten-school music”. All the rest were dancing music created in Tang Dynasty and the products of the prosperity of that period. Performances of “Libu Ji” were especially spectacular among all, and were usually played by 60 people at the least and 180 people at the most. The spectacle was really full of power and grandeur accompanied with heavy drums. The scale of “Zuobu Ji” performances was smaller. Usually 3 to 12 people played the music, which was ethereal, expressive and emotional. Playing of such music emphasized personal skills very much.
“Da Qu” is large-scaled dancing music repertoire consisted of multiple chapters. Some repertoire of “Da Qu” with elegant styles and features of Qingshang School in the court are also called “Fa Qu’. The famous repertoire “Nishang Yuyi” (rainbow-colored and feathered costumes) in Tang Dynasty is one “Fa Qu” in the bigger category of “Da Qu.”
The “Gucui Yue” (music played with drums and mouth organs) played during banquets was also important Tang popular music, and greatly influenced future folk instrumental music. According to “Yuefu Za Lu (Story Medley of the Music Bureau)” compiled by Duan Anjie in Tang Dynasty, there were over 300 types of music instruments at that time. There were not only musical notations in Chinese characters, but also “notations by simplified characters” and earlier “gongchi notation (notation in several pre-regulated signs).”
Thanks to the instrumental music development in Tang Dynasty, a lot of famous instrument players and musicians appeared, such as pipa master Cao Miaoda, He Huaizhi, Lei Haiqing, Duan Shanben and Kang Kunlun; bi/i players Guan Cui, Li Gun and Li Guinian; and other players like Li Ping (k ung-hou), Li Mo (flute), Li Zhou (zheng) and Xue Yangtao (ia), etc.
[IV] In Song Dynasty (960—1279), “Za Ju” (a kind of Chinese dramatic theatre, combining many theatrical types), which absorbed many excellent folk cultural features, prospered. Some of the beautiful gupai (ancient people wrote titles of music on announcement boards and thus gupai, meaning title boards, emerged), and interval music in return were absorbed by future folk instrumental pieces. Gugin also won great development in Song Dynasty. Emperor Zhao Kuangyi (939–997) himself composed “Da Qu” and “Xiao Qu’, and revised old music pieces as described in “Song Ming Yinyue Shiliao (Music History of Song and Ming Dynasties)” compiled by Ji Liankang (page 241), “ A total of 390 new music pieces were revised out of the old ones.” Serving the Emperor there was a musician called Zhu Wenji, who was named as “Number One Master of Gugin.” Emperor Zhao Ji (Huizong of Song) was also addicted to gugin, and once established “Wan Qin Tang” (hall of thousands of guqins), used for holding thousands of valuable guqins he collected from all over the country. “Xiangxiang Shuiyun” (mist and clouds over Xiao and Xiang rivers) composed by Guo Mian (around 1190—1260) was one of the masterpieces at that time. Music by mouth organs had considerable development as well in Song Dynasty. One court music player Chan Zhongxin, based on earlier chao sheng (19-piped mouth organ) and he sheng (13-piped mouth organ), standardized shengs’ shapes and norms, and therefore the 19-reed shengs emerged. In Sichuan area, a kind of 36-reed “phoenix shengs” also appeared.
Instruments emerging in Song Dynasty included the following.
Mouth organs: chashou flute, guan flute, giang flute, xia flute, xiaohu flute, zhegu, hushing, gixing, xiaoguan (a kind of pan-flute), vertical pan-flute, peisi, yinzi zhongguan and zhongguan beiwu, etc.
String instruments: giao gin, xi qin, horsetail urheen, calabash qin, bohai qin,shuang yun and san xian (three strings qin), etc.
Percussion instruments: yun’ao (an instrument consisted of 13 gongs made of copper), tongzi, yugu (a kind of instrument made of bamboo), tonggu (very big drum played when hung at the waist) and shuizhan (a kind of instrument made of copper and tapped by iron stuff), etc.
Instruments emerging in Yuan Dynasty (1206-1370) included gobuz (a kind of Mongolian instrument in similar shape to pipa), 72-stringed pipa, I-stringed qin and xinglong sheng. In the dancing music “Baisha Xiyue” (“white sand and beautiful music”) of Naxi ethnic group in Yunnan regions then, such instruments were also used as vertical flute, horizontal flute, luguan, sugudu (a gobuz-like instrument played in Naxi area),erhuang (two-reed qin) and urheen. Many Yuan pieces popular in northern part of China at that time also spread to Yunnan regions. “County Annals of Lijiang” in Yunnan says, “(Those pieces) include “Nanbei Qu” (south-north tunes), “Daodao Ling”, “Yiteng Shu” (one letter) and “Jisheng Cao” (mistletoe), etc.”
There emerged in two Song dynasties (North Song and South Song) an amount of papers on musical theories and commentaries with considerable historical and cultural values.
“Yue Shu” (Book on Music) compiled by Chen Yang (1064—1128) included altogether105 volumes, commenting on laws of music, dancing music in past dynasties, instruments, miscellaneous music, theatres, ceremonies and proprieties. “Qin Shi (History of Qiny)” compiled by Zhu Changwen (1041—1100) collected descriptions about gins made by 156 persons from old Qing State to the early Song Dynasty, and was the earliest book especially on gins in Chinese history. The book greatly contributed to the development of studies on gins. “Mengxi Bitan” (article collection of Mengxi, a style name of Shen Kuo) written by Shen Kuo (1033-1097) was one epoch-making literary work comprehensively on many subjects of natural and human sciences. In the music part of this work, Shen Kuo made in-depth researches and penetrating comments on ancient musical norms, musical critics, instrumental performances, banquet music of Tang and Song dynasties, instrument production, and the resonance phenomena of vocal and music.
[V] In Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and Qing Dynasty (1636—1911, including the period when Qing was still based in north-east), the folk instrumental cultures continued its improvement and popularization with the development of theatrical cultures, and many new types of music emerged and got popularized in wider areas. Those new music types included Xia’an Drum Music, Fujian South Music, Beijing Temple Music, Shanxi Badatao (eight grand series of musical pieces), Mid-Ji Woodwind Music (Ji is currently Hebei Province), Jiangsu Shifangu (multi-repetitious wind and percussion ensemble of currently Jiangsu Province), Shifan Luogu (multi-repetitious gong and percussion ensemble), Ensemble of Mouth Organs and Percussions of Zhejiang Province, and Ensemble of Mouth Organs and Percussions of Shandong, Liaoning and Jilin provinces. In Year 1814 during the reign of Emperor Aixinjueluo Yongyan (1760-1820), the Mongolian scholar Mingyi (style name Rongzhai) compiled the ancient pieces popular among the court and folk people at that time into the book “Xiansuo Beikao (Reference for Stringed Music)”, which collected 13 masterpieces like “Shiliu Ban” , “Qin Yin Ban” , “Oin Yin Chuan”, “Ping Yun Chuan”, “Yue’er Gao” (moon is high in the sky), “Qin Yin Yue’er Gao” (moon is high in the sky played with qins), “Pu’an Zhou” (curse of Pu’an Temple), “Hai Qing’, “Yangguan Sandie” (three refrains of the Yang Pass theme) of melodies about Yangguan boarder), “Songqing Yeyou” (riding at night), “Wu Ming Ma” (dancing horses), “He Huan Ling” (happy reunion), and “Jiangjyun Ling” (orders from the general). Due to that, this book was also named as “Xiansuo Shisan Tao” (13 masterpieces about Chinese traditional string music), displaying the old tradition and development of Chinese string music in north part. In the meantime, because of the rapid development of theatres, there emerged a lot of vocal cavities, which pushed the culture of accompaniment to go solo and gradually mature. Several schools came into beings in the development of gugin culture, and the most important ones were Guangling School (based in Yangzhou), Zhucheng School (based in Shandong Province), Yushan School (based in Changshu), Zhe School (based in Zhejiang Province), Lingnan School (based in Guangdong Province), Jinling School (based in Nanjing), and Shu School (based in Sichuan Province). The representative gin pieces at this period of time included “Pingsha Luoyan” (wild geese descending on the sandy beach), “Qiu Ming” (birds’ crying in autumn), “YuJiao Wenda” (questions and answers between the fisherman and woodman), “Boya Diao Ziqi” (Boya memorizes Ziqi), “Longxiang Cao” (souring dragons—about Zhaojun theme), “Zuryu Cangwan” (evening song of the drunken fisherman), “Changmen Yuan” (lament at Changmen Palace), etc. According to the record in “Tang Pipa Zhuan (Biography on Pipa Player Tang)” in the “Sizhao Tang Ji (Collection of Sizhaotang Hall)” compiled by Wang Youding (1598—1662), famous pipa (Chinese lute) player Tang played around 100 masterpieces such as “Chu Han” (about contention between Chu leader Xiang Yu and Han leader Liu Bang”, “Huyia Shiba Pai” (eighteen passages of huja music’), “Sai Shang” (at a border fortress) and “Dongting Qiusi” (autumn thoughts of Dongting Lake), and among those pieces, his playing of “Chu Han” especially overwhelmed people and thus he enjoyed quite a fame for a long time.
During the reign of Emperor Zhu Houzhao (1506–1521) and Emperor Zhu Houcong (1522– 1566), Zhang Xiong, one pipa master in current Henan Province, was most well-known for playing “Haiging Na Tian’e” (haiqing seizing swan); Zhong Xiuzhi from Zhengyangguan of Shou County of current Anhui Province was also good at playing pipas and three-stringed gins; Li Jinlou, a blind pipa master in Beijing, was honored by people as one of the “Eight Great Achievements of the Capital”. Other pipa players recorded in scripts of Ming and Qing dynasties also included Li Dongyuan, Jiang Duifeng, Jiang Shanren, Yang Yanguo, Wang Junxi, Chen Mutu, Hua Wenshan (also named Hua Quuping), Li Zu, Chen Zijing, Shen Haochu, Li Tingsen, Li Fangyuan, Shen Zhaozhou, Wang Huisheng and Yin Jiping, etc.
It requires attention that many stringed instruments, like urheen, and reed instruments, like so-na (trumpet) were very popular among the folk people. Besides the o/d two-stringed urheens, there were also four-stringed urheen, jing urheen (usually found in Beijing opera), ban urheen (flat urheen), ye urheen (simular to flat urheen), datong, new two-stringed urheens, as well as Mongolian matougin (Morinhuur, horse-head scrolled two-string fiddle), aijieke of Uighur ethnic group, biwang and iron gins of Tibetan people and three-stringed urheen of Axi people and Sani people of Yi ethnic group as well as maguhu (urheen made of horse bones) of Zhuang ethnic group.
As for the solo folk instrumental music, it courageously absorbed many theatrical tunes and melodies from many titled musical pieces (cipai and gupai) sung to lyrics of Song Dynasty, dramas of Yuan Dynasty and operas in Ming and Qing dynasties, and became very popular in cities and countryside of China.
Qing Dynasty inherited the set-up of the court musical band of Ming Dynasty and developed in its scale and variations. Qing became one of the Chinese dynasties when court music was most treasured. For example, there were 204 players in the band for “Zhonghe Shaoyue” (a ritual music piece which derived from the Shao music associated with the legendary emperor Shun (2258-2211BC) mentioned by both Confucius and Mencius in their writings) played in ritual fetes, and 116 musicians in the ritual band of “Lubu Dayue” played when emperors paid tributes to their ancestors or in court banquets. Besides these two pieces, emperors of Qing Dynasty also organized a band of 24 players and played, standing, with big drums, fangxiang, yunluo and woodwind instruments, the piece called “Danbi Dayue”. When the discussion subjects in the court meetings involved sending troops for battles or winning victories, the band would add “Naoge Yue” (music played with naos to the accompaniment of dances). In banquets held on the three festivals—the first day of the year, emperors’ birthdays and the starting of winter, not only the above-mentioned pieces would be played, but also such pieces as “Qing Yue” (pure music), “Qinglong Dance” (dance to celebrate prosperity), “Jia Cui” (music played with hujia), “Fanbu Hezou” (ensemble of western musical pieces), “Gaoliguo Pai” (ensemble of Korean musical pieces), “Wa’erkabu Yuewu” (music and dances from Wa’erka tribes) and “Huibu Yueji” (ensemble of musical pieces of hui ethnic group). There were strict regulations about when to play which kind of music in the rituals. Some of those pieces were from minority ethnic groups and foreign countries, such as “Jia Cur’, “Fanbu Hezou’, “Gaoliguo Pai” and “Wa’erkabu Yuewu”.
The religious music, however, waned gradually after certain time of prosperity in Ming and Qing dynasties.
The instrumental music in Buddhism had strong connection with traditional music. The setup of instruments among various temples was almost similar, however, enjoyed difference from South to North. Temples to the south of Yangtze River usually followed the principle of “woodwind and string” in various works of Buddhism; while northern temples usually followed the principle of “mouth organs and percussions” mentioned in “Chanmen Risong” (a book compiled in 19th century for a collection of rituals, philosophies, etc. in Buddhism). Mountain Wutai in Shanxi Province is one of the four mountains most famous for Buddhism in China, and also the central point for Buddhism music in China’s north part. The music in Qingmiao Temple of Mountain Wutai had close relationship with the folk Shanxi music “badatao”. Researches on the Buddhism music of Daxiangguo Temple of Kaifeng and Zhihua Temple of Beijing, and the music of Buddhism of Tibetan School popular among Tibetan and Mongolian people, as well as other temple music among Yugu, Dai and Naxi ethnic groups are therefore very meaningful for understanding Chinese Buddhism and traditional music.
Music in Taoism also had its long origins and was wide-spreading in China. The sacred places of Taoism in China were so many that people described them as “forests all over the country.” Early in East Han Dynasty (25—220), “Taiping Jing”(scriptures of peace and security) already described the musical theories and believed the music could move the heaven and the earth, could help people reach the holy and make the country secure and peaceful. Taoist Kou Qianzhi in North Wei Dynasty (1386—534 _jchanged the literal reading of scriptures in Taoism into singing with music. Music of Taoism developed to a high level in Tang Dynasty, and sounded so harmonious and beautiful that it was praised as “music from the heaven and sung by fairies” (refer to Volume 54 of “Cefu Zhi Gur’— a book compiled in North Song Dynasty and mainly about stories and histories happening in Tang Dynasty). This showed the unique feature of Taoism music in Chinese religious music, such as the elegance and dainty like from “the heaven and fairy”. The rich connotations implied by the Taoism Music of Wudang Mountain (one Taoism mountain in Hubei Province) collected in Volume of Hubei Province fully displayed its important status in Chinese traditional music culture. The Taoism music of Wudang Mountain developed to its peak of power and splendor in Ming Dynasty, when the Taoist followers established “Sheng Le Guan” (literally meaning a Taoism temple where the saints are happy as well) —a palace especially for dances and music. The court supported over 400 dancers and music players, and often bestowed many instruments on the palace in Wudang Mountain. The Ming emperors even gave titles to the official responsible for management of the palace.
China enjoyed the fame of being a nation of “propriety and music,” and the people over the nation respected the philosophy that “proper propriety and music bring a peaceful and secure nation.” After Confucius died, Chinese people honored his hometown Qufu of Shandong Province as the sacred birth place of “propriety and music.” Yayue (elegant music) of Confucius Temple of Qufu became the source of music that Chinese people all over the world use to pay their tribute to Confucius. For such kind of trinity performance which combined dance, music and songs, courts of different dynasties and emperors all had very strict rules about the composition of the bands, usually consisting all of the “Ba Yin (eight sounds)” as jin (metal), shi (stone), string (silk), zhu (bamboo), ge (skins), mu (wood), pao (Lagenaria vulgaris), and being in large scale. From Ming Dynasty to the beginning of 20″ century, the music piece used in ceremonies for memorizing Confucius was gradually stabilized to “six chapters,” and the band was normally around 100 people or above. The ceremonies were grand and the atmosphere was serious and solemn.
Dancing music of the ethnic minority people in Ming and Qing dynasties developed very much as well. Famous ones were “Mu Ka Mu” of Uighur in Xinjiang region (a combination of music from many old Turkestan regions—current Xinjiang regions—from 14″ to 16″ century), “Lang Ma” of Tibetans (a kind of Tibetan dancing music originated from folk people, but later mainly played in the interior halls of Potala Palace. Lang Ma actually means “interior halls” of the Potala Palace.) , Tiao Yue” (dancing at the moonlit night) of Miao and Yi people, and many of them were pure instrumental performances and possessed considerable cultural level.
In the field of musical rules and theories, it is worth mentioning of the “New Musical Theory” written by Zhuzaiyu (1536——1614), the famous musicologist, who first established the theory about the Twelve-Tone Equal Temperament in the world and made careful calculation on the problems of temperament with the Jar-metric principle. His calculation helped answer questions that many musicologists in China and overseas had been trying to answer but never answered before him, and therefore obtained very important status in world’s history of musical temperament. His theories exerted far-reaching effect on the instrumental music of modern times as well as the production of instruments.
[VI] At the end of Qing Dynasty and beginning of Republic of China (1912—1949), music by violin, piano and fenggin (western organ) became popular in some Chinese regions. Some scholars even composed songs and music for the playing of such instruments. However, it was not until after “May 4″” Movement” that such music was in explosively fast development.
The earliest slogan of the “May 4″ Movement” was for “democracy and science” and was against “old (out-of-date) cultures”. The movement promoted writings in the vernacular, and opposed Confucius and old etiquettes….Much of Chinese classic music was also in the list of opposition, because Confucius was the founder of Yayu (elegant ancient music) Sect.
In later period of 1920s’, there appeared Liu Tianhua (1895—1932), a musician who was devoted to the advancement of traditional instrumental music. Liu was not only good at ancient music and playing erhu (a kind of two stringed fiddle) and pipa, but also learned western brass music and playing piano and violin. Affected by the democratic thoughts of “May 4″ Movement”, he began promoting Chinese traditional instrumental music, especially in reforming erhus and pipas, and composing new melody pieces. He composed ten masterpieces such as “Bing Zhong Yin” (the sound of agony in sickness), “Yue Ye” (moonlit night), “Kumen Zhi (another name is “Ku Zhong Le” and means the happiness in wave of depression”), “Bei Ge” (elegy), “Liang Xiang” (nocturnal peace), “Xian Ju Yin” (mediation in retirement), “Kongshan Niaoyu” (song of birds in a desolate mountain), “Guang Ming Xing” (towards a bright future), “Du Xian Cao” (melody on a single string) and “Zhuying Yaohong” (dancing by candlelight).
After the revolutions of Liu Tianhua, the music range of erhus was enlarged to be 3 octaves and five???24, iL, and standardized such playing skills as “hua yin” (sliding sound), “fan yin” (scattered or floating sound), “dun yin” (paused sound), “lian yin” (unstopped sound) and “zhuangshi yin” (sound for decoration). At the same time, he set up many rules on music mode, structures and transitional paragraphs, and made aggressive explorations on describing people’s minds and thinking vividly through various kinds of music.
At the same period of time, due to the recovery of the cultural life in urban cities, string and bamboo music also prospered in south of Yangtze River, and many music types emerged with different schools, musicians and repertoire. Hua Yanjyun (1893-1950) (also named as A Bin) was a blind music player and he composed large amount of excellent pieces including “Erquan Yingyue” (the moon reflected on the two springs), “Ting Song” (listen to the sound of pine trees), and “Dalang Taosha” (big waves wash the sand).
At the beginning of 20″ century, there was a “Cantonese Opera Revolution” happening in the theatrical field of Guangzhou Province, and “Cantonese Music” also gradually separated from opera music and became a lively new music type. Musicians like Lu Wencheng, Yan Laolie and He Liutang, etc., began revising ancient pieces and composing short Cantonese pieces with special features of Southern China. In around 20 years, they composed around 100 to 200 pieces, which formed very important music type thanks to the promotion of recorders and cinema. The masterpieces included “Han Tian Lei” (thunderstorms in dry season), “Ema Yaoling” (bells from hungry horses), “Pinghu Qiuyue”(autumn moonlight in peaceful West Lake), “Yule Shengping” (peace, happiness and security), “Xiao Taohong” (little Taohong), “Yuda Bajiao” (rains beating plantain), “Lianhuan Kou” (interlink chains), “Shuangsheng Hen”(deep hatred), “Sailong Duojin” (winning in dragon-playing tournament), “Bu Bu Gao’(stepping high), “Zou Ma” (riding horses???), “Niao Tou Lin” (birds going back to the forest), “Qishan Feng’(phoenix in Qishan Mountain???), and “Fengyun Hui”(???).
About the recording and compilation of folk instrumental music pieces, LiuTianhua had one of the most important and creative contribution in the 20s of 20th century, when he collected and recorded the tablature of chaozihui (a kind of mouth organ music) of Ding County of Hebei Province. In 1920, Mr. Zheng Jinwen (1872—1935) initiated an association in Shanghai, actively involved in spreading the folk instruments’ playing skills, and in compiling and revising traditional pieces. A group of players and musicians were trained there, and many pieces, such as “Xiyang Xiaogu” (xiaos and drums played in twilight), became popular for generations after their revisions. Mr. Gan Tao (1912—1995) also did careful collection and proof-reading of Cantonese music after the 20s.
Chongqing was the alternate capital of Republic of China in 1943 during the war against Japanese invasion. In the central radio station at that time, there was a traditional music orchestra established, and Mr. Chen Jilue (1905—1990) was the responsible person. Then, there were only over 10 members, including Gan Tao and Huang Jinpei (1919–) as the players, and Zhang Dinghe (1916–) as the responsible person for compilation of music pieces. The instruments included nanhu (erhu popular in South), pipa (Chinese lute), yang gin(dulcimer), pan-flute, flute, gong, and drum.
Before the foundation of People’s Republic of China, the music played with string and bamboo instruments in south of Yangtze River and Cantonese music got prosperous, other ancient music types such as drum music of Xi’an, Chaozhou music, shifan’gu (multi-repetitious drum ensemble) and shifan luogu (multi-repetitious gong and drum ensemble) were still popular among folk people, and traditional music started improving in general thanks to the promotion of Liu Tianhua. However, despite of all of those, the classic folk music was in its waning period in general.
On the other hand, in the regions controlled by communist armies of China with Yan’an as the centre, under the direct leadership of Chairman Mao Zedong and especially with the guidance of Mao Zedong’s “Speech in Yan’an Cultural Meeting”, a large group of revolutionary cultural followers enlarged their areas for activities. On one hand, they actively encouraged more people to join in the wars against Japanese invasions; on the other hand, they began in-depth learning of and researches on the folk music in the boarder regions of Sha’anxi, Gansu and Ningxia provinces as well as Hebei, Shanxi, Shandong and Henan regions where communist armies were in major control. In March of 1939, they established “China Folk Music Society” (simplified hereafter as “the Society) in Yan’an Luxun Academy of Cultures and Arts (simplified as “Luxun Academy”). Later, they established offices of the Society in more regions where communist armies gradually controlled, and began to collect, introduce and research on the folk music with more order and organization. Such activities left future work with more experiences and inspirations after the national liberation on the continuing development of folk music and establishment of policies.
[VII] The whole China took on a new outlook after the founding of People’s Republic of China, and historical and comprehensive changes happened in various fields of politics, economies and cultures. The State government paid high attention for the recovery and development of our national folk music. With the promotion of Chinese communist party and the national government, we made good accomplishment in popularizing and improving national folk music. On one hand, the country sent many musicians to travel around, visiting folk music players, collecting traditional pieces and playing with local ethnic players, so as to keep and inherit many old music types of different places. For example, Xi’an drum music, Shanxi badatao (eight grand series of musical pieces), Jizhong cuige (music played with mouth organs in middle part of Hebei Province), shifan luogu, shifan gu, Chaozhou music, Fujian music, Cantonese music and music played with string and bamboo instrument in south of Yangtze River. All those music types greatly enriched our people’s life. On the other hand, many research institutes were set up by the central to local governments and they began the work to collect and compile folk music. One of them was China Folk Music Research Institute attached to China Central Music Conservatory. At that time, promoted by Mr. Lu Ji (1909–), Mr. Yang Yinliu (1899—1984) and Cao Anhe (1905–) made many collections and recordings, including “Shifan Luogu” in south of Yangtze River regions, and “Woodwind Music Collection of Ziwei Village of An County” in Hebei Province. They also compiled and proof-read the simplified music scores and three-string tablatures, and published ‘Volume I and Volume II of Yayin (elegant ancient music)’, “Twelve Pieces of Wenban(x 4%.???)” and “Mouth Organ and Percussion Music of South Jiangsu Province.” There was also the “Xiansuo Shisan Tao” (13 masterpieces about Chinese traditional string music) , for which Cao Anhe, Jian Qihua (???) and Wen Yan (????) recorded the music score, and Yang Yinliu made the final proofreading. In the meantime, many local institutions did very worthwhile collection and reservation work on the gupai derived from opera and theatre and on the pieces from Cantonese music, Chaozhou music, Fujian music and shi’er kamu music from Xinjiang regions. Through various performances in national and exchange meetings, more and more excellent pieces and talented musicians were discovered. Many folk music instruments also entered the higher education since all Chinese music conservatories set up departments of folk music and offered courses on music history, theories and commentaries. Some master players from the folk groups were invited to teach in those music conservatories and became “professors”, and many traditional music pieces were compiled into school books. Generation after generation of folk music players graduated and began their music career in large cultural orchestras all over the country, which normally had quite complete setup of traditional music bands or orchestras. Such bands or orchestras had rich performance programs and activities, and became one important contribution part to the power for enriching people’s life and promoting international cultural exchange.
Together with the development of the folk instrumental culture in the fields of education and establishment of performance bands, our researches on folk music and instrumental theories proceeded with success. Most central and local governments established their cultural research institutes mainly on traditional music (including minority ethnic people’s music), and they often held international and domestic seminars to exchange the research results.
At this period of time, old music types played with mouth organs and percussion instruments, by gongs and drums, and by string and bamboo instruments also improved a lot, and maintained lively development in wide areas among local people, who enjoyed themselves in playing such music. There were so many types and derivations of such music that they became very important cultural life all over China.
Therefore, we are now especially organizing programs to conduct in-depth surveys, researches and collections of the folk instrumental music and cultures in the whole country, and, based on current administration mapping (on provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities), compiled and published 31 volumes of “China National Folk Music Encyclopedia.” The encyclopedia will conserve in good order various music types, religious music and court music, and should generate strategic effects on the development of our music cultures. It 1s expected that such a collection of rich heritage of folk instrumental music will display its brilliant splendor and far-reaching historic significance with the passage of time.
