![]() ![]() Symphony orchestras played to a wide audience in the concert halls of most major cities and on the newly invented radio. Nie Er, a Chinese composer best known for "March of the Volunteers" The uber-famous Chinese instrument, the Qin, became famous during the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD), while European music arrived in China as early as 1601 when a harpsichord was given to the Ming imperial court by a visiting Jesuit priest, who also trained several eunuchs to play it. Other Asian instruments and musical styles – such as the erhu and the pipa from Central Asia and the Heptatonic scale from India – were introduced in subsequent dynasties (although the heptatonic scale was later abandoned in China). Qin to Qing dynasty – (from 500 BC to 1900 AD) Another famous Chinese philosopher, Mozi, condemned music and argued that it was an extravagance and indulgence that served no usefulness for society and may actually be harmful. The entire Confucian philosophical system considers formal “Yayue” music to be morally uplifting and a symbol of a good ruler and stable government while other popular, non-Yayue, forms of music were considered to be a corrupting influence. ![]() ![]() Confucius believed that “correct” music was important for the growth and civil refinement of the individual. ![]() During this time, Chinese music established a foundation built on the 5-pitch pentatonic scale and was in fact derived from the musical concept “Cycle-of-Fifths theory”.Ĭhinese philosophers approached music differently. "Correct" music in the Zhou concept involved instruments connecting the five elements of nature (water, fire, earth, air, and space/emptiness) and bringing harmony to nature. The Zhou Dynasty (10th to 7th century BC), established a formal system of court and ceremonial music (later called “Yayue” - meaning "elegant music") which embraced the concept of music as a cosmological manifestation of sounds found in nature and integrated into the dual universal order of yin and yang. Music began in China 1000’s of years ago as evidenced by excavations in Henan uncovering bone flutes dating back 8,000 years, and clay music instruments in Xi'an dating back 6,000 years. The ancient chime bells produce melodious tune. ![]()
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