lesson in ARTS 8

1. LESSON 2 : MUSIC OF CHINA

2. China is the largest of all Asian countries. Occupying nearly the
entire East Asian landmass, it covers approximately one-
fourteenth of the land area of Earth, and it is almost as large as the
whole of Europe. China is also one of the most populous countries
in the world, rivaled only by India, which, according to United
Nations estimates, surpassed it in population in 2023.
The music of China dates back to the dawn of
Chinese Civilization with documents and artifacts
providing evidence of a well-developed musical
culture as early as the Zhou Dynasty (1122 B.C.E). In
ancient China, music was regarded as central to the
harmony and longevity of the state.

3. Chinese Music
Traditional Chinese music isn't meant to be danced or moved to.
That would tend to orient people toward bodily sensual and
sexual drives. As Confucius taught, beautiful and appropriate
music is meant to promote social tranquility. Most of the
traditional music of the elites used the ancient Chinese
pentatonic scale. The scale lends to make simple harmonies,
but perhaps to maintain the Confucian norms of simplicity. If
music is part of an official ceremonial function, the music is
meant to regulate the behavior of the people so that they
perform the ritual appropriately and obey authority.

4. In accord with Confucius' idea of music being "smoothly
continuous”, traditional music generally doesn't have sharp
breaks in tempo. However, instead of a regular tempo throughout,
many pieces feature a regular but smoothly accelerating tempo.
The tempo slowly increases towards a finale at the end. This
connotes a river gaining speed as it cascades downwards, and this
is often the rhythmic feature of traditional Chinese music.
Melody and tone color are prominent expressive features of
Chinese music and great emphasis is given to the proper
articulation and inflection of each musical tone. Most Chinese
music is based on the 5 tone or the pentatonic scale though
heptatonic scale is also used.

5. Over the centuries, three main styles of classical
performances were developed that you can enjoy while on
your trip to China. These are:
Chinese opera music meant for theatrical performances,
ensemble or orchestra music for cultured audiences, and
solo instrumental performance.

6. Famous Folk song
The folksong Jasmine Flower (Mo Li Hua) was composed
during the Qing dynasty (AD 1616-1912) and was one of the first
Chinese songs to become popular abroad. The song's tune
entertains three phrases and depicts the purity of love
between young people by highlighting the beauty of jasmine
flowers.
The cultural value and popularity of Jasmine Flower makes
it a symbol to showcase oriental charms on the world stage.
The inclusion of the song in the Italian opera’s debut in 1926
helped propel it to global fame.

7. The lyrics about the jasmine flower also turn it into a love song. The song
describes a custom of giving Jasmine flowers, popular in the southern
Yangtze Delta region of China. Another version describes the fear of plucking
the flower.

9. Instrumental Music of China

15. Classify the following Chinese instruments if it is a
chordophone, membranophone, aerophone or idiophone.
1. Penling
2. Zheng
5. Yueqin
4. Yunluo
3. Dizi
6.Pipa 8. Erhu
7.Sheng