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As far back as the first century B.C., more than 80
kinds of musical instruments are known to have been played
in China. In the long course of development, the five
categories of traditional music have come to be recognized :
songs, dance music, ballads, operas and instrumental pieces.
In 1978, the excavation of an early Warring States tomb in
Hubei's Suixian County from more than 2,400 years ago
uncovered a large musical instrument consisting of 64 bells
arrayed on a rack. Tests have shown that each bell can
produce two different high-pitched notes (a major third and
a minor third) depending on where they are struck. The
instrument has a range of five octaves. The beautiful pitch
produced can be modulated, giving some idea of the musical
complexity available even at this early day. During the
feudal society's long history musical culture flourished as
it passed through many different periods. Treasured musical
pieces from former times include Eighteen Airs for the Fife
and Guangling Verse (for the qin, a Chinese zither), Ambush
on AII Sides (for the pipa, a plucked stringed instrument),
and Evening by a River in Spring (for instrumental
ensemble). China has also made great contributions to music
theory. In 1584, Zhu Zaiyu was the first in the world to
systematically calculate the equal temperament of the music
scale. His book, New Rule of Equal Temperament, explains a
system using 12 equal intervals that is identical with that
used around the world today.
In the wake of the
May 4th Movement in 1919, Chinese composers began to adopt
the expressive forms of European music. During he l930s and
l940s, many progressive musicians enthusiastically joined
the ranks of the masses and created many outstanding works
fresh in style and profound in content. These have been
loved by the broad masses of the people. One example, March
of the volunteers, with music by Nie Er and words by Tian
Han, is now the national anthem of the People's Republic of
China. The birth of the modern opera White-haired Girl
opened a new stage for the development of Chinese
opera.
Progress in music performance is closely
related to the establishment of various professional music
organizations and the popularization of their performances.
After the founding of New China, cultural departments at all
levels from the central government to the local authorities
organized song and dance ensembles, opera theaters, and
orchestras with both Western and traditional
instrumentation, and many famous composers, conductors,
singers and instrumental musicians have emerged. The Central
Philharmonic holds regular concerts of both Chinese and
foreign music ranging from classical and romantic to modern.
The Chinese people very much enjoy European classical music.
At one point, the Central Philharmonic delivered a series of
performances of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, with crowded
houses at every performance. Many Chinese also enjoy Western
operas such as Camille, Carmen, Madame butterfly, Figaro's
Wedding and Onegin. Large-scale music festivals are
regularly held throughout China. Regular annual festivals
include "Shanghai Spring," "Guangzhou Music
and Flower Party," "Beijing Chorus Festival,"
"Northeast China Music Week," "North China
Music Week," "Northwest China Music Week,"
"Spring City Concert," "Harbin Summer,"
and "Jinan Autumn." Performances by amateurs are
also very popular. Beijing's "May Flowers,"
Shanghai's "October Song Festival," Fujian's
"School Concert" and Guangzhou's "Student
Choral Festival" are held every year.
As
China increases its international cultural exchanges, more
and more Chinese musicians are participating in a wide
variety of international musical contests with gratifying
results. Individual Chinese musicians and Chinese music
troupes have visited many countries and regions in the world
and many famous foreign musicians and musical organizations
have performed in China, including the Philadelphia
Orchestra, the Boston Symphony, the Berlin Philharmonic, the
Vienna Philharmonic and the British Broadcasting Symphony
Orchestra and violinist Yehudi Menuhin, famous singers
Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo and Julio Iglesias.
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