In ancient times, there were special music management agencies.

For example, there were Yuefu in the Han Dynasty, the "Da Le Department" and the "Advocacy Department" in the Sui and Tang Dynasties, Jiaofang, Liyuan, the four-part Daqu Department, Faqu Department, Qiuci Department, and Drum and Flute Department in the Song Dynasty, and the Yuan Dynasty's " Taichang Temple", "Da Le Department" and other institutions.

Some music is lost because the music score is lost, and some is because the playing method is lost. For example, the music score of Ji Kang's "Guangling San" was first seen in the "Magical Secret Music" compiled and printed by Zhu Quan in the Ming Dynasty. However, it is very old, and Ji Kang left the music after playing it. The music was only composed by the listeners at that time, so there must be differences. Moreover, whenever dynasties change and war breaks out, it is even more difficult to preserve music scores, and it is inevitable that some music scores will be lost.