Qiuci music

Pipa

Qiuci was an important center for Central Asian trade and the Indo-European culture. Trade routes running north to the Junggar Basin and south to Hotan across the Taklamakan intersected with the Silk Road at Qiuci (Kucha). 

Paixiao

Since the people of the ancient Qiuci State all excelled in singing and dancing, the art of song and dance in the state became very developed. Since Qiuci was located in the middle section of the ancient Silk Road, music from ancient India, Daqin and other European and Asian countries was also prevalent here. In addition, dances accompanied by music originated in Sule, and other states of the western region were also introduced to the Central Plains via Qiuci, making Qiuci a real hub of culture and arts in the region.

In AD384, Lu Guang, a pre-Qin general, stormed the Qiuci State and confiscated numerous books on dances and valuable treasures. Later on, Qiuci music became popular in China.

In the Sui (581-618) and Tang (618-907) dynasties, Qiuci music was played among the common people, as well as in the courts. Their musical instruments (lutes, the pipa and paixiao pipes) and notation were being adopted. Today, the city is still influential in the arts and culture of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and its surrounding areas.

 Naxi ancient music

The Naxi people are fond of song and dance. Featuring flutes, reed pipes and wind and stringed instruments, Naxi ancient music is a kind of classical music that combines sacred tunes from Taoist and Confucian ceremonies with literary lyrics and poetry.

Naxi ancient music, which is popular in the Lijiang area of Southeast China's Yunnan Province, is believed to have its roots in Xi'an ancient music. It can be performed in two ways - sitting or walking. Seated performances are a kind of chamber music that involve more than 20 musical instruments, including wind instruments, such as the di zi, sheng (a kind of reed pipe wind instrument), guan zi , and percussion instruments, such as the zuo gu ("sitting drum"), war drum, du gu ("single drum"), big and small cymbals, big gongs, a slit drum, etc.

Today, Naxi ancient music is reputed as the "living fossil of music".