中国唱片

Chinese classical music refers to the courtly, literati, and ritual musical traditions of China that emphasize refinement, poetic symbolism, and ethical cultivation. It privileges timbre, gesture, and modal color over harmonic progression, and is closely tied to classical poetry, calligraphy, and philosophy. Its core idioms include solo and small-ensemble repertoire for guqin, pipa, xiao, dizi, sheng, guzheng, ruan, and erhu, as well as ritual/ceremonial ensembles. Melodies typically draw on pentatonic and heptatonic modal systems (gong–shang–jue–zhi–yu), use nuanced ornamentation, and favor heterophony when played in ensemble. The tradition is historically transmitted through lineage, handbooks, and mnemonic/character notations (e.g., jianzipu and gongchepu), with performance practice emphasizing breath, space, and expressive inflection (slides, harmonics, and vibrato).

Jiangnan sizhu (literally “silk-and-bamboo” from the Jiangnan region of China) is a refined chamber tradition centered on string (silk) and flute (bamboo) instruments. Typical ensembles feature dizi (transverse bamboo flute), erhu and other huqin fiddles, pipa (pear-shaped lute), sanxian (three-string lute), yangqin (hammered dulcimer), and sometimes sheng (mouth organ). The music is heterophonic: all players render the same qupai (fixed tune) simultaneously while decorating it with individualized ornaments, resulting in a shimmering, interwoven texture. Performances often unfold in an arch of tempo—from slow, spacious introductions to fluid moderate sections and lively climaxes—suited to intimate venues like teahouses and guild halls. The melodic language is largely pentatonic within traditional Chinese modal systems and cyclical rhythms.

Red song refers to revolutionary and patriotic mass songs from China that praise the Communist Party, socialism, workers, peasants, the People’s Liberation Army, and national unity. Musically, they favor memorable, easily singable melodies—often pentatonic or diatonic—set to clear march-like rhythms in 2/4 or 4/4, and arranged for unison or robust choral singing with brass, snare drum, and sometimes folk-derived instrumentation. Many pieces adapt or paraphrase local folk tunes and work songs, and are performed by large ensembles or massed choirs for rallies, parades, and state ceremonies. Lyrically, they use direct, slogan-like lines, calls-and-responses, and recurring refrains intended for mass participation. The overall affect is triumphant and mobilizing, with a strong emphasis on collective identity and patriotic fervor.

Yayue (雅乐, “elegant music”) is the Confucian ceremonial and court music of ancient China, codified for state rites, ancestral worship, and courtly rituals. It is characterized by solemn, stately tempos; pentatonic modal organization; heterophonic ensemble textures; and iconic ritual instrumentation such as bronze bell-chimes (bianzhong) and stone chimes (bianqing), alongside silk-string zithers (qin, se), bamboo flutes (xiao, di), the sheng mouth-organ, drums, and other instruments organized according to the ancient “eight sounds” (ba yin) classification. Unlike entertainment or folk styles, Yayue functioned as moral-ritual sound, aligning music with cosmology, governance, and ethical cultivation in the Confucian order.

Ancient Chinese music refers to the ritual, courtly, and folk sound-world that developed from the early dynastic era through the Han dynasty, roughly 2100 BCE to 200 CE. It centers on ordered ritual ensembles (yayue) using bronze bells (bianzhong), stone chimes (bianqing), drums, and winds, alongside refined zither traditions (guqin and se). Its pitch organization is grounded in the pentatonic modal system (gong, shang, jue, zhi, yu), measured and explained via the lü (12 pitch-pipes) theory, and guided by a philosophy that linked music to cosmic order and moral governance (especially in Confucian thought). Textures were largely monophonic or heterophonic, with melodies ornamented by slides, bends, and delicate timbral inflections. Court ceremony, diplomatic display, ancestral rites, and poetry-singing (as in the Shijing/Book of Songs) shaped form and performance practice, while the Han-era Yuefu (Music Bureau) institutionalized the collection and cultivation of folk repertories.