List of traditional Chinese musical instruments
This is an alphabetical list of traditional Chinese musical instruments . It contains the Chinese name, the pinyin spelling (with tones), the type of instrument or the type of sound generation, and according to the traditional building materials used, it lists the old Chinese Bayin ( eight sounds ) categories (even if, for example, for the stringed instruments nowadays mainly metal - or nylon strings are used in the silk category ) and gives some other facts and figures. Some instruments of national Chinese minorities are also included.
Table overview
| Name of the instrument (pinyin) | Instrument type or sound generation | Bayin category | numbers and facts | Others |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aijieke ( 艾捷克 , àijiékè ) | String instrument | silk | four strings | in Xinjiang ; similar to the instrument Kamantsche chinamedley.com |
| Aizai ( 嗳 仔 , ǎizǎi ) | Woodwind instrument | bamboo | small suona ( oboe ), Fujian Province , also called Nan'ai ( 南 嗳 , nán'ǎi southern oboe ) | used in southern music from Fujian Province ( 福建 南曲 , Fújiàn nánqǔ ), which is also known under the name Nanyin ( 南 音 , nányīn ) u. a. is known |
| Bajiaogu ( 八角鼓 , bājiǎogǔ ) | Percussion instrument | leather | octagonal tambourine chinamedley.com | mainly to accompany spoken singing in northeast China |
| Bangu ( 板鼓 , bǎngǔ ) | Percussion instrument | leather | small, high-pitched single-headed rattling drum | Clock drum in the Chinese opera ( Beijing Opera u. A. ) |
| Bangzi ( 梆子 , bāngzi ) | Percussion instrument | Wood | Hardwood rattle, high-pitched block of wood, struck by a thinner block of wood | most important accompanying instrument in wooden rattle pieces (bāngzi xì) |
| Banhu ( 板胡 , bǎnhú ) | String instrument | silk | 2 strings | Sound box made of coconut or wood |
| Bawu ( 巴乌 / 巴烏 , bāwū ) | Wind instrument | bamboo | penetrating tongue | Wooden flute |
| At (instrument) ( 贝 , bèi ) | Wind instrument | Conch horn | also called Hailuo ( 海螺 , hǎiluó ) | |
| Biangu ( 扁 鼓 , biǎngǔ ) | Percussion instrument | leather | with flails played flat drum | baike.baidu.com , Korean |
| Bianqing / sound stone game ( 編 磬 / 编 磬 , biānqìng ) | Lithophone | stone | Panels hung in a wooden frame, struck with wooden hammers (see grave of Margrave Yi von Zeng ) ( 曾侯乙 ) | |
| Bianzhong / Chinese carillon ( 編鐘 / 编钟 , biānzhōng ) | Percussion instrument | metal | composed of one or more types of bell | (see tomb of Margrave Yi von Zeng ) ( 曾侯乙 ) |
| Biqigu ( 荸荠 鼓 , bíqigǔ ) | Percussion instrument | metal | web | |
| Bo ( 鎛 / 镈 , bó ) | Percussion instrument | metal | large bronze bell struck with a hammer | Bianbo |
| Bo ( 鈸 / 钹 , bó ) | Percussion instrument | metal | pool | |
| Bofu ( 搏 拊 , bófǔ ) | Percussion instrument | Wood | Wooden drum, old percussion instrument | |
| Bolang Gu ( 拨浪鼓 , bōlàng gǔ ) | Percussion instrument | Wood | Handy rattle drum in several sizes | also called 鼗 Tao ( 鼗 , táo ) or 鼗 鼓 Tao Gu ( 鼗 鼓 , táo gǔ ) |
| Chi (flute) ( 篪 , chí ) | Wind instrument | bamboo | old flute, tongue sticking out | baike.baidu.com |
| Chunyu (instrument) ( 錞 于 , chúnyú ) | Percussion instrument | metal | old bell | see baike.baidu.com photo |
| Chuzeng Baizhong ( 楚 曾 百 鐘 / 楚 曾 百 钟 , Chǔ Zēng bǎi zhōng ) | donghairen.com , see bianzhong | |||
| Cizhonghu - see Xiaodihu | ||||
| Dadihu Great dihu ( 大 低 胡 , dàdīhú ) | String instrument | silk | two octaves lower than the erhu baike.baidu.com | |
| Dagu ( 大鼓 , dàgǔ ) | Percussion instrument | Leather, bass drum | drum | (also a form of spoken chant) |
| Daguangxian ( 大 广 弦 / 大 廣 弦 , dàguǎngxián ) | String instrument | silk | mostly with the Hakka , in Taiwan and Fujian | |
| Dahu ( 大 胡 , dàhú ), see Xiaodihu | String instrument | silk | ||
| Dalagu ( 答 腊 鼓 , dálàgǔ ) | Percussion instrument | leather | West Asian cylinder drum | similar to the jiegu |
| Daluo ( 大 鑼 / 大 锣 , dàluó ) | Percussion instrument | metal | "Big gong", thin and flat, hung on a string | |
| Dapaqin ( 大 琶 琴 , dàpáqín ) - bass paqin | silk | |||
| Datong ( 大 筒 , dàtǒng ) | String instrument | silk | 2 strings | traditional music of Hunan |
| Diangu ( 点 鼓 , diǎngǔ ), also called Huaigu ( 懷 鼓 / 怀 鼓 , huáigǔ ) | Percussion instrument | flat, double-headed frame drum, used in Shífān gǔ十 番 鼓 and Kunqu singing games | ||
| Dihu ( 低 胡 , dīhú ) | String instrument | 2 strings | in three sizes: Xiaodihu ( 小 低 胡 , xiǎodīhú ) - small Dihu , tuned an octave lower than the erhu ; Zhongdihu ( 中 低 胡 , zhōngdīhú ) - middle dihu , one octave lower than the zhonghu ; Dadihu ( 大 低 胡 , dàdīhú ) - major Dihu , two octaves higher than the Erhu | |
| Diyingehu ( 低音 革 胡 , dīyīn géhú ) | String instrument | silk | 4 strings | Contra - bass instrument , tuned and played like a double bass |
| Dizi (instrument) ( 笛子 , dízi ) | Wind instrument | bamboo | Flute | with membrane |
| Dongdi ( 侗 笛 , Dòngdí ) | Wind instrument | bamboo | Longitudinal flute | Dong in southern China |
| Dong-Son drum / "bronze drum" ( 铜鼓 , tónggǔ ) | Percussion instrument | metal | Kettle gong | |
| Duxianqin zither, monochord ( 独 弦 琴 , dúxiánqín ) | Plucked instrument | silk | a string | |
| Erhu ( 二胡 , èrhú ) |
String instrument (chinese violin ) |
silk | 2 strings | |
| Erxian , Zweisait ( 二弦 , Erxian ) | String instrument | silk | 2 strings | in the music from Canton, Chaozhou and in the Nanguan music ( Fujian ) |
| Fangxiang ( 方 響 / 方 响 , fāngxiǎng , fang hsiang ) | Metallophone | metal | a set of 16 tuned iron plates in a frame | Turntable |
| Fengluo ( 风 锣 , fēngluó ), literally "Windgong", also called Shenluo ( 神 锣 , shénluó ) | Percussion instrument | metal | ||
| Fou ( 缶 , fǒu ) | Percussion instrument | volume | amphora-shaped | Baked clay vessel used as a gong |
| Gaohu ( 高 胡 , gāohú ) | String instrument | silk | 2 strings | also called Yuehu ( 粤 胡 , yuèhú ) |
| Gehu (géhú 革 胡 , géhú ) | String instrument | silk | 4 strings | Bass instrument, played and tuned like a cello |
| Guan ( 管 , guǎn ) | Wind instrument | bamboo | Double reed instrument , oboe , cylindrical, either made of hardwood (North China) or bamboo ( Canton ) | the northern version is also called Guanzi ( 管子 , guǎnzi ) or Bili ( 篳 篥 , bìlì ), the Cantonese Houguan ( 喉管 , hóuguǎn ); According to the size, the large (touguan 头 管), medium (zhongguan 中 管) and small oboe (xiaoguan 小 管) are differentiated |
| Guban (musical instrument) ( 鼓板 , gǔbǎn ) | Percussion instrument | Wood | Rattle made from two flat pieces of wood | used in shuochang and Peking Opera |
| Gudi ( 骨 笛 , gǔdí ) | Wind instrument | old bone flute | ||
| Guqin ( 古琴 , gǔqín ) | Plucked instrument | silk | 7 strings | Fretboard zither |
| Guzheng ( 古箏 , gǔzhēng ), see zheng | ||||
| Hailuo, see Bei (shell horn) | ||||
| He ( 和 , hé ) | Wind instrument | Bottle gourd | Mouth organ with resounding tongues | similar to the Sheng mouth organ , but usually smaller, already in oracle bone inscriptions |
| Hexian ( 和弦 , héxián ) | String instrument | silk | 2 strings | Hakka in Taiwan |
| Huaigu, see Diangu | ||||
| Huapengu flower pot drum ( 花盆 鼓 , huāpéngǔ ) | Percussion instrument | played with two mallets | baike.baidu.com | |
| Huluhu ( 葫芦 胡 , húluhú ) | String instrument | silk | 2 strings, sound box made of bottle gourd | Zhuang in Guangxi |
| Huluqin ( 葫芦 琴 , húluqín ) | String instrument | silk | 2 strings | Sound box made from bottle gourd , Naxi in Yunnan |
| Hulusheng ( 葫蘆 笙 / 葫芦 笙 , húlúshēng ) | Wind instrument | Bottle gourd | Mouth organ , reed wind instrument , Gourd as body | SW China, in Yunnan |
| Hulusi ( 葫蘆絲 / 葫芦丝 , húlúsī ) | Wind instrument | Bottle gourd | Mouth organ , reed wind instrument | Southwest China, with three bamboo pipes on a gourd wind box , one pipe has finger holes, the other two are drone pipes; predominantly in Yunnan Province |
| Huqin ( 胡琴 , húqin ) | String instrument | silk | 2 strings | a large family of vertical instruments played with a bow |
| Huzuo Niaojia Gu ( 虎 座 鳥 架 鼓 , hǔzuò niǎojiàgǔ ) | Percussion instrument | leather | drum | |
| Jiaohu ( 角 胡 , jiǎohú ) | String instrument | silk | 2 strings | Gelao in Guangxi , also Miao and Dong |
| Jiaoweiqin ( 焦 尾 琴 , jiāowěiqín ) | String instrument | Silk, baike.baidu.com 中国 古代 四大 名琴 | ||
| Jiegu ( 羯鼓 , jiégǔ ) | Percussion instrument | Hourglass drum | in the Tang Dynasty played | |
| Jing'erhu ( 京 二胡 , jīng'èrhú ) | String instrument | silk | Peking Opera | |
| Jinghu (instrument) ( 京胡 , jīnghú ) | String instrument | silk | 2 strings | Peking Opera |
| Konghou ( 箜篌 , kōnghóu ) | Plucked instrument | silk | harp | |
| Koudi ( 口 笛 , kǒudí ) | Wind instrument | bamboo | Flute | |
| Kouxian ( 口 弦 , kǒuxián ) | Jew's Harp | made of bamboo or metal | ||
| Laba ( 喇叭 , lǎba ) | Brass instrument | metal | long, straight trumpet without valves | |
| Leiqin ( 雷 琴 , léiqín ) | String instrument | silk | 2 strings | with fingerboard baike.baidu.com |
| Lily (instrument) ( 唎 咧 , līliě ) | Wind instrument | Reed instrument | with a conical hole, played by the Li on Hainan | |
| Ling (instrument) ( 鈴 / 铃 , líng ) | Percussion instrument | |||
| Linggu ( 鈴鼓 / 铃鼓 , línggǔ ) | Percussion instrument | Bell drum | ||
| Liuqin ( 柳琴 , liǔqín ) | Plucked instrument | silk | 4 strings, pear-shaped body | Lute |
| Luo (instrument) ( 鑼 / 锣 , luó ) | Percussion instrument | metal | gong | |
| Lusheng ( 蘆笙 / 芦笙 , lúshēng ) | Wind instrument | Bottle gourd | Mouth organ with resounding reeds , with five or six pipes | Played by different nationalities in southwest China and neighboring countries |
| Maguhu ( 马 骨 胡 , mǎgǔhú ) | String instrument | silk | 2 strings | Sound box made of horse bones , near Zhuang and Bouyei , South China |
| Mangtong ( 芒 筒 , mángtǒng ) | bamboo | played lengthways | ||
| Matouqin , Mongolian horse head violin ( 馬頭琴 / 马头琴 , mǎtóuqín ) | String instrument | silk | 2 strings | |
| Morin chuur, see Matouqin ( Mongolian horse head violin ) | ||||
| Muye (instrument) ( 木叶 , mùyè ) | Wind instrument | Tree leaf as a wind instrument ( baike.baidu.com ) | ||
| Muyu " wood fish " ( 木鱼 / 木魚 , mùyú ) | Percussion instrument | Wood | Buddhism | |
| Nao (basin) ( 鐃 / 铙 , náo or 鐃鈸 / 铙钹 , náobó ) | Percussion instrument | metal | old basins | see also Nao (bell) |
| Nao (bell) ( 鐃 / 铙 , náo ); also called Shangnao ( 商 鐃 / 商 铙 , shāngnáo ) | Percussion instrument | metal | old bell | Shang dynasty , see also Nao (basin) |
| Niutuiqin or Niubatui ( 牛腿 琴 , niútuǐqín or 牛 巴 腿 , niúbātuǐ ) | String instrument | silk | Dong in Guizhou | |
| Niuzhong ( 钮 钟 , niǔzhōng ) | Percussion instrument | metal | Bell with suspension | (see grave of Margrave Yi von Zeng ) ( 曾侯乙 ) gg-art.com |
| Paiban ( 拍板 , pāibǎn ) | Percussion instrument | Wood | Strip rattle (?) | Rattle made from several flat pieces of wood |
| Paigu ( 排 鼓 , páigǔ ) | a set of 5 to 6 drums played with mallets | leather | ||
| Paixiao ( 排簫 / 排箫 , páixiāo ) | Wind instrument | bamboo | chinese pan flute | Longitudinal flute |
| Paqin ( 琶 琴 , páqín ) | modern string instrument (dapaqin) ( 大 琶 琴 , dàpáqín ) - bass paqin | silk | ||
| Pengling ( 碰 铃 , pènglíng ) | Percussion instrument | metal | a pair of small, bowl-shaped clapperless cymbals or bells that are connected with a cord and struck against each other | |
| Pipa ( 琵琶 , pípa ) | Plucked instrument | silk | Pear-shaped body , 4- or 5-string lute | |
| Qin ( 琴 , qín ) | Plucked instrument | silk | ||
| Qing (instrument) / sound stone ( 磬 , qìng ) | Percussion instrument | stone | s. also sound stone game | |
| Qinqin ( 秦 琴 , qínqín ) | Plucked instrument | silk | Wooden body , neck with frets | |
| Qixian Qin ( 七弦琴 , qīxiánqín ), see Guqin | Plucked instrument | silk | The "7-String Qin" | |
| Qun ( 錞 ), wrong reading , see Chunyu | ||||
| Rawap | Plucked instrument | Xinjiang | ||
| Ruan ( 阮 , ruǎn ) | Plucked instrument | silk | round body , 5 sizes: Gaoyinruan , Xiaoruan , Zhongruan , Daruan and Diyinruan | |
| Sanhu ( 三 胡 , sānhú ) | String instrument | silk | 3 strings | an erhu with an additional bass string, in the 1970s years developed soomal.com |
| Sanxian ( 三弦 , sānxián ) | Plucked instrument | silk | Loud, fretless neck | |
| Satar ( 萨 它 尔 , Sàtā'ěr , 沙塔尔) | String instrument | long-necked bowed sounds | in Xinjiang | |
| Se (instrument) ( 瑟 , sè ) | Plucked instrument | silk | 25 strings, movable bridges | according to old sources 13, 25 or 50 strings |
| Shangnao ( 商 鐃 / 商 铙 , shāngnáo ), see Nao (bell) | ||||
| Sheng ( 笙 , shēng ) | Wind instrument | Bottle gourd | Mouth organ with penetrating tongues , made of a different number of bamboo tubes, which are inserted into a bottle gourd chamber with finger holes | |
| Shimianluo ( 十 面 锣 , shímiànluó ) | Percussion instrument | metal | 10 tuned gongs in one frame | |
| Shuangguan ( 雙 管 / 双 管 , shuāngguǎn ) | Wind instrument | Double oboe | baike.baidu.com | |
| Sihu ( 四 胡 , sìhú ) | String instrument | Silk, | 4 strings, tuned in pairs | |
| Suona ( 唢呐 / 嗩吶 , suǒnà ) | Wind instrument | bamboo | Oboe, conical, metal bell, double reed instrument ; also called Haidi ( 海 笛 , hǎidí ) | |
| Tanggu (instrument) ( 堂鼓 , tánggǔ ) | Percussion instrument | Medium-sized barrel drum played with two mallets | ||
| Tangqin ( 唐 琴 , tángqín ), see Guqin | Plucked instrument | Wood | A guqin from the Tang Dynasty | |
| Tao ( 鼗 , táo ) or tao gu ( 鼗 鼓 , táo gǔ ), see Bolang Gu | Percussion instrument | Wood | Handy rattle drum in several sizes | |
| Tiqin ( 提琴 , tíqín ) | String instrument | silk | 2 strings | in Kunqu and the music from Chaozhou , Canton, Fujian and Taiwan |
| Tonggu, see bronze drum or kettle gong (tónggǔ 铜鼓 , tónggǔ ) | ||||
| Tuhu (instrument) ( 土 胡 , tǔhú ) | String instrument | silk | Zhuang in Guangxi | |
| Waqin ( 瓦 琴 , wǎqín ) | Percussion instrument | brick | A xylophone made of "roof tiles" (or rather the substance) | |
| Wutong Qin ( 梧桐 琴 , wútóngqín ), see Guqin | Plucked instrument | Wood | A Gu Qin made from the wood of the Wutong tree | |
| Xiao ( 簫 / 箫 , xiāo ) | Wind instrument | bamboo | Longitudinal flute, also called dongxiao ( 洞簫 / 洞箫 , dòngxiāo ) | |
| Xiaodihu ( 小 低 胡 , xiǎodīhú ); also Dahu (instrument) ( 大 胡 , dàhú ) or Cizhonghu | silk | |||
| Xiaoluo ( 小 锣 , xiǎoluó ) | Percussion instrument | metal | Small gong | |
| Xindi ( 新 笛 , xīndí ; modern, 21 holes) | Wind instrument | bamboo | Flute | |
| Xiqin ( 奚 琴 , xīqín ) | String instrument | old prototype of the Huqin family of string instruments | ||
| Xun ( 塤 , xūn ) | Wind instrument | volume | baike.baidu.com | Vessel flute (ocarina) |
| Yanggegu ( 秧歌 鼓 , yānggegǔ ) rice plant singing drum | Percussion instrument | baike.baidu.com | ||
| Yangqin ( 揚琴 , yángqín ) | String instrument | silk | chinese chopping board | Strings are struck with bamboo mallets, different numbers of strings |
| Yaogu ( 腰鼓 , yāogǔ ) | Percussion instrument | Waist drum | ||
| Yazheng ( 牙 箏 , yázhēng or 轧 筝 / 軋 箏 , yàzhēng ) | String instrument | silk | played with bows zither, also Yaqin 軋琴 / 轧琴 , Yaqin called | baike.baidu.com |
| Yehu ( 椰 胡 , yēhú ) | String instrument | silk | 2 strings, coconut resonance body | Music from Chaozhou , Canton |
| Yongzhong / Yong bell ( 甬 钟 , yǒngzhōng ) | Percussion instrument | metal | in bianzhong ( 编钟 ) | Chimes in the tomb of Marquis Yi de Zeng and the tomb of Marquis de Cai in Shouxian |
| Yu ( 竽 , yú ) | Wind instrument | Bottle gourd | Mouth organ with resounding tongues , similar to the Sheng mouth organ , but usually larger | |
| Yu / Scruffy ( 敔 , yǔ ) | Percussion instrument | Wood | scraped | |
| Yue (instrument) ( 籥 , yuè ) | Wind instrument | bamboo | Longitudinal flute, old notch flute , with three finger holes | used in Confucian ritual music and dance |
| Yueqin ( 月琴 , yuèqín ) moon guitar | Plucked instrument | silk | 4 strings tuned in pairs | Wooden corpus , short neck with frets |
| Yunluo ( 雲鑼 / 云锣 , yúnluó ) cloud gongs | Percussion instrument | metal | 10 or more small tuned gongs in one frame | |
| Zhangu ( 战鼓 , zhàngǔ ) | Percussion instrument | War drum, played with two mallets | ||
| Zheng / Wölbbrettzither / Guzheng ( 古箏 , gǔzhēng ; often simply called Zheng) | Plucked instrument | silk | 16–26 strings, movable bridges | |
| Zhengni ( 筝 尼 , zhēngní ) | String instrument | Zither played with a bow, namely the zither of Buddhist nuns | ||
| Zhong (instrument) ( 鐘 / 钟 , zhōng ) | Percussion instrument | metal | Bell jar | |
| Zhongdihu ( 中 低 胡 , zhōngdīhú ) | String instrument | silk | ||
| Zhonghu ( 中 胡 , zhōnghú ) | String instrument | silk | 2 strings | |
| Zhu - half-tube zither ( 筑 , zhù ) | String instrument | silk | Chopping board played with bamboo hammers - sometimes plucked, but also beaten with a stick | |
| Zhu / blow box ( 柷 , zhù ) | Percussion instrument | Wood | Ritual music | |
| Zhuihu ( 坠 胡 , zhuìhú ) | String instrument | silk | 2 strings | |
| Zhuiqin (墜 琴 / 坠 琴 , zhuìqín ) | String instrument | 2 strings, with fingerboard |
See also
- List of traditional ensembles for regional Chinese music
- Eight sounds (categorization of Chinese musical instruments according to material: wood, silk, bamboo etc.)
literature
- Yang Yinliu (Ed.): Zhongguo yinyue cidian (Dictionary of Chinese Music). Beijing 1984
Web links
Commons : List of Traditional Chinese Musical Instruments - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files
- China's Musical Instruments . (English)
- Chinese Musical Instruments . (English)
- Overview of musical genres . (English)