Chinese Music: Dynasties, Theory, and Evolution

Some instruments featured a simple harmony based on fourths, fifths, and octaves, similar to medieval organum. The quality, richness of timbre, and softness are characteristic of Chinese music.

Historical Periods of Chinese Music

Yuan Dynasty: A Flourishing of Arts

In the 13th century, the Mongols came to China. This period boosted the arts, bringing new scales and instruments. The first operas of this dynasty appeared, and five works are preserved.

Qing Dynasty: Decline and Innovation

The Qing Dynasty saw a significant decline in the arts, with drama being the only genre that was salvaged. Symmetrical melodies were introduced, along with ternary rhythm.

Contemporary Era: Western Influence and New Forms

Joseph Amiot (1784) wrote a significant work about music in China. On stage, men and women began acting together. Songs were created for certain trades, and patriotic songs were sung in unison, promoting choral music. Court music and Taoist music became less prominent. Classical music evolved, showing influences from other styles. New Western instruments were introduced, and Western influence grew stronger. Currently, several symphony orchestras have been created. This era features a mixed music, with melodies based on pentatonic scales harmonized in a Western style.

Chinese Music Theory Fundamentals

The Lü System: Pitch and Scales

Ling Lun created a series of bamboo tubes with specific proportions (3:2). The proportion of these tubes was equivalent to a perfect fifth. The first five Lü pipes produced a successive ascending series of perfect fifths (e.g., Fa-Do-Re-Sol-La), which form the basis of a pentatonic scale. The ratios of 2/3 and 4/3 created a series of alternating ascending and descending fifths, generating all the notes of both pentatonic and heptatonic scales. With the invention of the Lü pipes, the octave was divided into 12 equal parts (12 semitones of the chromatic scale). For the Chinese, the six odd-numbered sounds in the series of fifths represent the Yang and Yin principles.

Modal Systems and "Ways"

What Europeans call "modes" or "tones" is referred to as "ways" in Chinese music. There are 12 Lü pipes, each serving as the origin for a scale of 5 to 7 degrees. The Chinese also use the term "system" to describe these modal frameworks, which are analogous to our "ways."

Harmony and Texture in Chinese Music

Harmony is not used in the Western sense; the music is often homophonic. Music frequently features octaves or unison. Perfect fourths and fifths are often doubled, creating a rudimentary harmony. Its texture is often described as heterophonic, distinct from strictly monodic, homophonic, or polyphonic styles. Chinese music typically covers three octaves, a range established by Cai Yu.

Musical Genres and Scales

Genres utilize tonic and anhemitonic diatonic scales. The pentatonic scale predominates in religious, secular, and instrumental music. The chromatic genus is rarely used.

A fully tempered scale was never formally adopted. Orchestration is characterized by rich timbre. There are many instruments, with 8 classifications. Music notation was traditionally written from top to bottom and from right to left, and the melodic direction often descends.