Naxi Music From Lijiang

Dongjing (dongjing yinyue) is a Han-Chinese ritual and literati ensemble tradition, most famously preserved among Naxi and Han communities in Yunnan, China. Rooted in Daoist and Confucian ceremonial contexts, it features refined, contemplative instrumental pieces sometimes interwoven with scripture recitation. The music is typically heterophonic: multiple instruments render the same melody with individual ornamentation, yielding a rich, shimmering texture. Melodic language draws on Chinese modal systems and pentatonic scales, while repertoire is organized around qupai (fixed tune models) elaborated through variation. Performances use gongche notation and emphasize balance, breath, and a ritual atmosphere over virtuosic display.