Sources of Chinese music history: The history can be traced back to the time of the Yellow Emperor.

Chinese music once had a profound influence on the music in the surrounding areas of China. At the same time, from the Six Arts taught by Confucius to modern Western music, Chinese music has continued to enrich and develop in the process of absorbing foreign musical elements. China is known as the "Land of Ritual and Music". Ancient music plays an important role and status in personality development, cultural life and national etiquette. Confucius put forward the learning steps of "starting with poetry, establishing oneself with etiquette, and achieving success with music."

During the Neolithic Age, which lasted from 6,700 to 7,000 years ago, our ancestors may have been able to make pottery xuns and dig bone whistles. The bone flute at the Jiahu site in Wuyang County, Henan Province dates back to about 8,000 years ago and is the oldest wind instrument in the world.

One of the seven-hole bone flutes is very well preserved. Experts have conducted experiments and found that the bone flute can still be used to play music and can produce a seven-tone scale. But ancient China basically only used the pentatonic scale. These primitive musical instruments undoubtedly tell people that humans at that time already had the ability to appreciate music.

Comparison of Chinese and Western Music

Chinese music has mastered the heptatonic scale from a long time ago, but has always preferred the more harmonious pentatonic scale, focusing on developing music in the pentatonic, while integrating the center Focus on the pursuit of melody and rhythm changes, and underestimate the role of harmony.

The development direction of Chinese music is different from that of Western music. Western music gradually developed from the pentatonic scale of ancient Greece to the heptatonic scale to the twelve equal temperament; it developed from monophonic to the use of harmony. So if Western music is like a thick wall, the outline on it is like the melody, and the bricks and stones are like the wall. Even if the outline is straight, as long as there is harmony, it is still a wall, just like some of Handel's works.

Chinese music is different. It is like a Chinese painting drawn with lines. If there is no outline (melody), it is not music, but harmony is dispensable. Therefore, Westerners who have never been exposed to Chinese music hear Chinese music "like threads floating in the air", while Chinese people who have never been exposed to Western music feel that Western music is like "mixed noise."

The above content refers to Baidu Encyclopedia-Chinese Music