"Sheng" (pinyin: shēng) is a first-class Chinese character (commonly used word), which first appeared in the Warring States period. Its original meaning refers to a wind instrument, which consists of thirteen bamboos of different lengths, and the bamboo mat is also called "Sheng".

Sheng is a traditional national musical instrument with melodious timbre and unique expressive force and charm. Sheng has a long history in ancient China. It is a wind instrument composed of many pipes, usually composed of thirteen or seventeen bamboo pipes. Each tube has a different length and size to produce a different tone.

Sheng is a very important part of China's cultural tradition and one of the indispensable musical instruments in China's traditional music. Widely used in ancient music, opera, folk music and other occasions. At the same time, in modern music, sheng has also been introduced and become an important element of modern music, which is loved and used by more and more musicians and composers.

The formation and development of sheng;

At present, the earliest known sheng is Sheng, and 6 pieces have been unearthed, including 12, 14 and 18 pipes. The reed is made of bamboo, the body is painted black, and the bottom has exquisite patterns. Before the Han Dynasty, Confucianism and Confucianism played an important role in the court, while Confucianism was relatively more important.

The bucket is made of gourd and the mouth is made of wood. More than a dozen bamboo tubes of different lengths are arranged on the bucket in a horseshoe shape. After the Tang Dynasty, musicians changed sheng barrels into wood, and later, after it spread, they changed wooden barrels into copper barrels, and at the same time changed reeds from bamboo to copper.

Different regions have different styles of sheng. After the founding of New China, Chinese musical instrument manufacturers and musicians have made many improvements to Sheng, and many new varieties have been produced successively, such as amplified Sheng and keyboard Sheng, which have overcome the shortcomings of wide range, poor tuning and low playing speed, and brought new vitality to Sheng.

Sheng timbre is bright and sweet, high notes are crisp and transparent, midrange is soft and full, bass is deep and deep, and the volume is loud. Moreover, among the traditional wind instruments in China, it is also the only instrument that can play harmony. When playing with other musical instruments, it can play the role of harmonizing the timbre and enriching the sound of the band. In large national orchestras, sheng sometimes uses three kinds of sheng: treble, alto and bass.

Reference to the above content: Baidu Encyclopedia-Sheng (Chinese characters)

Baidu Encyclopedia-Sheng (Musical Instrument)