The vast majority of traditional Chinese musical instruments are made of natural materials, such as bamboo, wood, silk and leather. Compared with Western instruments, there are few metal instruments and bass instruments. Basically, Chinese folk musical instruments can be used for solo performances and for ensembles.
Folk Music in the New Era
After 1949, the musicians in the People’s Republic of China started to modernize the traditional Chinese music. On the one hand, they summarized the characteristics of the traditional Chinese music, and on the other hand, by absorbing the strength of the Western classical music, they adapted traditional Chinese music and made it easier for circulation and acceptance.
Kunqu Opera
Kunqu Opera is the “Mother of China’s Operas”. Kunqu, also known as Tunes from Kunshan or Kun Tunes, originated in the areas around Suzhou and Kunshan in the lower Yantze River Delta and is one of the oldest forms of opera in China.
Calligraphy and painting are two of the greatest and most precious art forms in China. Since ancient times they have been the pursuits of many scholars in China. In the course of more than 2, 000 years of development, these two forms of art have been deeply influenced by the Daoist respect for nature and the Confucian ethics.
There are about ten types of calligraphy in common use in ancient and modern China. The following are six of the main ones.
The Oracle Bone Script and the Bronze Inscriptions
There are a lot of pictographs in the oracle bone script, which are very graphic. For example:
