What are the four major categories of Chinese folk musical instruments?

Chinese folk musical instruments are divided into four major categories: wind instruments, plucked instruments, percussion instruments and stringed instruments.

Related introduction:

1. Wind instruments:

The articulating bodies of Chinese wind instruments are mostly made of bamboo or wood. Mainly with the airflow to stimulate the air column, diaphragm or reed vibration articulation. The sound is loud and colorful.

2. Plucked instruments:

Chinese plucked instruments are divided into two categories: horizontal and vertical. Horizontal, such as: zheng, guqin, yangqin and dulcimer, etc.; vertical, such as: pipa, ruan, yueqin, sanxian, liuqin, dongbula and zamuni, etc..

3, percussion instruments:

Chinese national percussion instruments have many varieties, rich skills, and have a distinctive national style.

4. Stringed instruments:

Stringed instruments mainly refer to huqin-type instruments. Most of the stringed instruments are two-stringed, and a few of them are four-stringed, such as the sihu, gehu, aijiek, and so on.

Expanded Information

Related Background:

The Chinese people are a good absorber of the nation, since the Han Dynasty, widely absorbed a large number of foreign musical instruments. For example, the Hengbuki (also known as the horizontal flute) was imported by Zhang Qian when he passed through the Western Regions during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty (140-87 B.C.E.).

The vertical konghou (once called hu konghou) was introduced by Emperor Lingdi of the Han Dynasty; around 350 A.D., during the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the "Qu Xiang Pipa" was introduced from Xinjiang and Gansu, and the yangqin and suona were introduced during the Ming Dynasty. These foreign instruments, through continuous improvement, have gradually become important members of China's large family of national musical instruments.

In the history of the development of Chinese musical instruments, it is worth noting that the emergence of stringed instruments is much later than percussion instruments, wind instruments and stringed instruments. According to the literature, the Tang Dynasty only appeared to roll the bamboo sheet "rolling zheng" and "Xiqin". Song Jqin played with a horsetail bow, and appeared the name of "Huqin". On the basis of Xiqin and Huqin, various types of stringed instruments were developed.

Baidu Encyclopedia - Chinese Ethnic Musical Instruments