Chinese musical instruments

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This is an introduction to and list of traditional Chinese instruments.

Chinese musical instruments were traditionally classified into 8 categories known as bayin (). The eight categories are: silk, bamboo, wood, stone, metal, clay, gourd and skin. There are other instruments which may not fit these classifications. This is one of the first musical classifications ever devised.

Silk instruments are mostly stringed instruments (including those that are plucked, bowed, and struck). Since ancient times the Chinese have used twisted silk for strings, though today metal or nylon are more frequently used. Instruments in the silk category include:

Bamboo mainly refers to woodwind instruments, which includes;

Most wood instruments are of the ancient variety:

The "stone" category comprises various forms of stone chimes.

Chinese instruments are either played solo, collectively in large orchestras (as in the former imperial court) or in smaller ensembles (in teahouses or public gatherings). Normally, there is no conductor in traditional Chinese music, nor any use of musical scores or tablature in performance. Music was generally learned aurally and memorized by the musician(s) beforehand, then played without aid. As of the 20th century, musical scores have become more common, as has the use of conductors in larger orchestral-type ensembles.

These watercolour illustrations, made in China in the 1800s, show several types of musical instruments being played:

Woman playing a dizi.

Woman playing a jinghu.

Woman playing a luo.

Woman playing a pipa.

Woman playing a sanxian.

Woman playing a shimianluo.

Woman playing a xiaoluo.

Woman playing a wind instrument with a curved bell.

Woman playing a xiao.

Woman playing what looks like a yangqin or some sort of psaltery-like instrument.

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