Classification of barrels

In ancient China, musical instruments were divided into eight categories according to their pronunciation materials, namely the so-called "eight tones": gold, stone, silk, bamboo, here, earth, leather and wood. Among them, Pi is a drum musical instrument, such as foot drum, kick drum, hanging drum, Liao drum and thunder drum. Most of the traditional drums in China originated from the Central Plains, and there were more than 20 kinds before Qin and Han Dynasties. Although they vary in size and height, they are almost all of thick waist type. At that time, it was used for poetry, music, dance, labor, sacrifice, war and celebration.

From the Qin and Han Dynasties to the Qing Dynasty, almost all the original traditional drums in the Central Plains were preserved and developed, while foreign drums dominated by Arabia and India were popular in the Central Plains for a long time and occupied an important position, but gradually declined or even lost in the later period, leaving only some unknown records in the literature, such as eaves drum, Qi drum, chicken drum, Jie drum, Ala drum, Dutan drum and Maoyuan drum.