Chinese instrument classification
Encyclopedia
Chinese musical instruments were traditionally classified according to the materials used in their construction. The eight classifications are silk
, bamboo
, wood
, stone
, metal
, clay
, gourd
, and hide. There are other instruments that may not fit these classifications.
Silk instruments are mostly string instruments (including plucked, bowed, and struck). Since the very beginning, the Chinese have used silk for strings, though today metal or nylon are more frequently used.
Bamboo mainly refers to woodwind instruments.
Most wood instruments are of the ancient variety.
The full list of these categories is wood, stone, bamboo, bone, silk, skin, plant and metal
The "stone" category contains various forms of stone chimes.
Silk
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity...
, bamboo
Bamboo
Bamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family....
, wood
Wood
Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundreds of thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression...
, stone
Rock (geology)
In geology, rock or stone is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids.The Earth's outer solid layer, the lithosphere, is made of rock. In general rocks are of three types, namely, igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic...
, metal
Metal
A metal , is an element, compound, or alloy that is a good conductor of both electricity and heat. Metals are usually malleable and shiny, that is they reflect most of incident light...
, clay
Clay
Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...
, gourd
Gourd
A gourd is a plant of the family Cucurbitaceae. Gourd is occasionally used to describe crops like cucumbers, squash, luffas, and melons. The term 'gourd' however, can more specifically, refer to the plants of the two Cucurbitaceae genera Lagenaria and Cucurbita or also to their hollow dried out shell...
, and hide. There are other instruments that may not fit these classifications.
Silk instruments are mostly string instruments (including plucked, bowed, and struck). Since the very beginning, the Chinese have used silk for strings, though today metal or nylon are more frequently used.
Bamboo mainly refers to woodwind instruments.
Most wood instruments are of the ancient variety.
The full list of these categories is wood, stone, bamboo, bone, silk, skin, plant and metal
The "stone" category contains various forms of stone chimes.