Category of the Instruments employed in Zhejiang Instrumental Music

Guqin

Guqin is a plucked seven-string Chinese musical instrument of the zither family. It has been played since ancient times, and has traditionally been favored by scholars and literati as an instrument of great subtlety and refinement. Guo Chuwang, born in Yongjia, was the most influential guqin player in the Song Dynasty. He was also the founder of Zhejiang School and composer of the piece Xiaoxiang Shuiyun. His students all turned to be excellent players of the generation and contributed to the traditional instrumental music. Zhejiang School became the most important one among all schools across the country since the Song Dynasty.

Suona

The suona is a Chinese double-reed horn. It has a distinctively loud and high-pitched sound, and is used frequently in Chinese traditional music ensembles, particularly those that perform outdoors. Suona, an important music instrument of the "blow-and-beat" music, was played extensively on ceremonial occasions or important holidays in Zhejiang since the Ming and Qing Dynasty. During the reign of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the folk painter of Pujiang, Li Weixian (1825~1907) painted a colored drawing of people playing instruments, vividly reproducing the real scene of the folk "blow-and-beat" music.

Pipa

The pipa is a four-stringed Chinese musical instrument, belonging to the plucked category of instruments. Sometimes called the Chinese lute, the instrument has a pear-shaped wooden body with a varying number of frets ranging from 12 to 26. It has been played solo, or as part of a large ensemble or small group since the early times. During the Qing Dynasty, there were two major schools of pipa— the Northern (Zhili, 直隸派) and Southern (Zhejiang, 浙江派) schools. Chen Zijing, born in Nanhui County, was known as the pipa master of Zhejiang School. Another famous pipa players in Zhejiang is Li Fangyuan of Pinghu School who came from a family of many generations of pipa players.

Guzheng

The guzheng, also known as Chinese zither, is a Chinese traditional plucked musical string instrument with over 2500 years of history. When it comes to the guzheng, Wang Yuncheng and his son enjoyed great reputation in Zhejiang, according to another player Wang Xun. Around 1900, their students like Jiang Yinchun rose to fame and were especially good at playing Da Qu. In 1920, Jiang taught Wang Xun several Da Qu music such as Hai Qing Na He (Hai Qing Catching the Crane), Jiang Jun Ling (General) and Yue Er Gao (Moon Hanging High).Zhejiang Folk Instrumental Music in Different Styles

According to ways of performing, Zhejiang folk instrumental music can be classified as solo and concert. Solo can be further divided into pipe wind instrument, stringed instrument and plucked instrument while concert can be further divided into Si Zhu (featuring the combination of stringed instruments and pipe instruments), Chui Da (blow-and-beat music) and Luo Gu (gongs and drums).