Henan is a central province of China, known for an unusual way of playing the guzheng; the technique, known as you yao, consistings of using the right hand to pluck the strings, starting from the movable bridge to the fixed bridge, while using the left hand to press the strings at the other end, creating a rich and dramatic sound effect. Guzheng music evolved over time to what is now known as Qu opera. Henan (Chinese: æ²³å; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Ho-nan), is a province of the Peoples Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. ... A province, in the context of China, is a translation of sheng (ç shÄng), which is an administrative division of China. ... The guzheng(å¤ç®) (pronunciation: Media:guzheng. ...
Henan's folk heritage includes ballads and is characterized by large position changes and gliding vibrato. A ballad is a story in song, usually a narrative song or poem. ... Vibrato is a musical effect where the pitch or frequency of a note or sound is quickly and repeatedly raised and lowered over a small distance for the duration of that note or sound. ...
Chinese musical roots date back millennia - among archeological finds are a magnificent set of 65 bronze bells from the fifth century BC - and its forms can be directly traced to the Tang dynasty, a golden age of great poets such as Li Bai and Bai Juyi, who were also avid Musicians.
New "revolutionary" music, composed from the 1930s on, was generally march-like and optimistic and, after the Communist victory of 1949, the whole ethos of traditional music was challenged.
Folk music has a life of its own and tends to follow the Confucian ideals of moderation and harmony, in which showy virtuosity is out of place.
Music of China appears to date back to the dawn of Chinese civilization, and documents and artifacts provide evidence of a well-developed musical culture as early as the Zhou Dynasty (1122 BC - 256 BC).
The Imperial Music Bureau, first established in the Qin Dynasty (221-207 BC), was greatly expanded under the Emperor Han Wu Di (140-87 BC) and charged with supervising court music and military music and determining what folk music would be officially recognized.
Musical forms considered superstitious or anti-revolutionary were repressed, and harmonies and bass lines were added to traditional songs.