Chinese Music started at the dawn of Chinese civilization with documents and artifacts providing evidence of a well-developed musical culture as early as the Zhou Dynasty (1122 BC – 256 BC).Today,the music continues a rich traditional heritage in one aspect,while emerging into a more contemporary form at the same time.
Chinese classical music often has thematic,poetic or philosophical associations and is typically played solo,on instruments such as the qin (commonly known as guqin),7-string zither with over 3000 years of well-documented history,or the pipa,a lute with over 2000 years of history.
In traditional China,most well–educated people and monks (intelligentsia) could play classical music as a means of self-cultivation,meditation,soul purification and spiritual elevation,union with nature,identification with the values of past sages,and communication with divine beings or with friends and lovers.They would never perform in public,or for commercial purposes,as they would never allow themselves to be called “professional musicians”.
