Chinese Music Entertainment Chinese Club Adi Ogale and

Chinese Music & Entertainment Chinese Club Adi Ogale and Ishan Tyagi

History of Music in China ● Dates back 3000 years ● Music ultimately became an important pillar in society ● Han Dynasty set up a Music Bureau in charge of collecting and editing ancient melodies/ folk songs

Fun Facts ● In ancient China, the position of musicians was much lower than that of painters ● Archaeologists have found the world’s oldest playable flute in China ○ 9000 years old ● The first European to reach China presented a harp to the Ming Imperial Court

Background of Traditional Music “To educate somebody, you should start with poems, emphasize ceremonies, and finish with music. ” - Confucius

Main Types of Entertainment Opera Instruments

Peking Opera ● ● ● ● a stylized Chinese form of opera dating from the late 18 th century, in which speech, singing, mime, and acrobatics are performed to an instrumental accompaniment. It was born when the “Four Great Anhui Troupes” brought Anhui opera Qianlong Emperor The Sheng is the main male role The Dan refers to any female role The Jing is a painted face male role The Chou is a male clown role.

Opera Video

Erhu 二胡 ● Two-string, violin-like instrument that is played with a bow ● Not as loud a violin because the sound box is compact ● Often made to imitate the sound of Chinese singing and birds and horses

Erhu Video

Guzheng 古箏 ● Large 18– 23 -or-more stringed instrument ○ Ancestor of Japanese instrument ● Meant for Chinese opera and concert performances ● Often played by female musicians, performed solo

Guzheng Video

Pipa 琵琶 ● Four-stringed Chinese musical instrument ● Pear-shaped wooden body with frets like those on a guitar ○ Sounds like a banjo ● Pipa became popular as Silk Road trade and travel brought Buddhism