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Joanne Yau

This is the fourth in a series of articles about classical Chinese instruments and the traditional Chinese music orchestra, in which we explore how musicians play the eight different types of instrument, and their history.
Clay, a versatile material that turns into all kinds of objects when married with water and fire, is most often associated with pottery, which has thousands of years of history in China and other parts of the world.
Less well known are the musical instruments made of clay commonly played in China since the Zhou dynasty (1046BC-256BC). Today, clay is one of the bayin, the eight categories into which Chinese instruments are grouped based on the material traditionally used to make them.
The xun – pronounced huen in Cantonese – a flute shaped like an egg but with a flat bottom, is the signature clay instrument of modern Chinese orchestras.

Modern examples have multiple finger holes, but the earliest surviving sample, unearthed at an archaeological site in Zhejiang province that dates to 5000BC, has only one finger hole.
The instrument is similar to the ocarina used in Western music, in that both are small, handheld flutes. However, the xun does not have a protruding mouthpiece, and it is always made with clay, whereas the ocarina can be made from a variety of materials.


Blowing air into the mouthpiece creates a breathy, sometimes melancholic sound that can be calming and meditative.
The earliest xun were made from stone or bone and evolved from a tool used by hunters to attract prey animals – a stone or ball of hardened mud tied to a length of rope that made a sound when tossed, thanks to the holes carved into it.
The shape of the flute and the number of finger holes became standardised during the Shang dynasty (1600BC-1046BC). The instrument had five or seven holes, the latter producing all the tones and half-tones on the Chinese pentatonic scale.

The instrument was subsequently introduced to the imperial court, where its soothing tone became popular.
During the Qin dynasty (221BC-207 BC) and Han dynasty (220BC-200AD) two sizes of the flute were developed, the song xun and the ya xun. The latter, being bigger, produces deeper notes.
According to the first surviving Chinese dictionary, “a larger xun is like a goose egg, with a flattened bottom and six holes; a small one is like a chicken egg”.
The instrument earns a mention in Shijing, or The Classic of Poetry, compiled by the philosopher Confucius. “The elder brother plays xun, the younger brother plays chi,” a line in the book reads (the chi being an ancient bamboo flute), thus aligning music-making with the fraternal love ingrained in Chinese culture.
The xun was neglected in the decades following the end of Chinese imperial rule, but interest in the instrument was revived by archaeological excavations in the 20th century, and it took its place in musical ensembles such as the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, where it is the only clay instrument.


The xun is used both to perform solos and to accompany the bamboo flute and guzheng, or Chinese zither. Composer Tan Dun often writes music for it, for example in the soundtrack for 1998 movie Fallen, starring Denzel Washington.
In Studio Ghibli film My Neighbour Totoro, the titular character plays a Japanese version of the xun called the tsuchibue, which owes its existence to the influence of Chinese culture in western Japan during the Yayoi period (300BC-250 BC).
YouTube channels such as Xun – WuSuXin show the instrument being used to play a repertoire that extends beyond Chinese classical music; for example, excerpts from the soundtracks to Studio Ghibli films.


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Chinese culture

All about the Chinese clay flute, from its ancient origins to Studio Ghibli inspiration

A musician plays the xun, an ancient Chinese clay flute that began life as a hunting tool to attract prey. Today, it is the signature clay instrument of modern Chinese orchestras. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Wu Chih-ting, a Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra member, with a xun. It is the signature clay instrument of modern Chinese orchestras. Photo: Jonathan Wong

A musician plays the xun at a village in Zoucheng, Shandong. Blowing air into the mouthpiece creates a breathy, sometimes melancholic sound that can be calming and meditative. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

All about Chinese chime bells and gongs, classical musical instruments with a long history

Performers strike hand-held gongs during cerebrations for the Dragon Boat Festival in Linfen, China, in 2020. Of the metal instruments played in a Chinese orchestra, gongs and chime bells are the most common. Photo: Getty Images

Bianzhong, or chime bells, are an ancient instrument often found in tombs and were already in use in the earliest recorded periods of Chinese civilisation. Photo: Getty Images

Chime bells from the tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng, exhibited in the Hubei Provincial Museum. Photo: Getty Images

An illustration of a Chinese waterman and his barge, next to a large gong, in the 18th century. Photo: Getty Images

4 ancient Chinese instruments defined music throughout the ages of bygone eras

Ancient Chinese music features a distinctive sound, largely due to the centuries-long use of string instruments, which create rich, harmonious tones that reflect China’s cultural heritage. Photo: SCMP composite/Wikipedia


The pipa is a four-stringed, pear-shaped instrument that has a rich history dating back over 2,000 years and is known for its expressive sound and versatility. Photo: Wikipedia

Mastery of the guqin became essential for Chinese nobles as it was one of the “four arts” that elites were expected to learn. Photo: Wikipedia 

For much of its history, the erhu was popular in southern China, but a resurgence of interest in Chinese folk music in the 1920s brought the instrument to prominence in Beijing. Photo: Wikipedia

The sheng has changed over the past century by adding more bamboo pipes for chords and adjusting the air chamber for better sound. Photo: Wikipedia

The history of Chinese musical instruments and how they fit in modern orchestra – overview

Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra member Wang Kaihan sits with her pipa. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra member Wang Kaihan with her pipa, an instrument sometimes called the “Chinese lute”. We look at the history of Chinese musical instruments and their role in a modern Chinese orchestra in this first in a series of articles. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra member Lu Yi with his sheng, a wind instrument dating to 1100BC. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra member Song Hui with her erhu, a two-stringed bowed instrument. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra percussion principal Luk Kin-bun with a drum. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra dizi virtuoso Wu Chih-ting with a xun, an ancient wind instrument. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Traditional Chinese instrument hits new heights in hands of social media phenom Mantawoman

Chinese dulcimer player Mantawoman on stage. Photo: Mantawoman

Mantawoman, the social media phenomenon known for playing contemporary pop music on the Chinese dulcimer. Photo: Mantawoman

A singer-songwriter as well as player of the hammered dulcimer, Mantawoman’s sound mixes traditional Chinese techniques with contemporary inspirations. Photo: Mantawoman

Mantawoman crouches beneath her instrument on stage during a performance. Photo: Mantawoman

Hailing from San Francisco in California, Mantawoman studied at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing and is based in Margate, in the UK. Photo: Mantawoman

How traditional Chinese instruments sheng and ‘Chinese bagpipes’ make music using gourds

The Chinese sheng (above) is formed from a gourd and bamboo pipes. Photo: Shutterstock

The sheng and “hulusi” or Chinese bagpipes (above) are traditional Chinese wind instruments that use a bottle gourd for a base and bamboo pipes with finger holes to play notes. Photo: Shutterstock

A dried calabash or bottle gourd. These were used for millennia for transporting liquids, and in ancient China were turned into musical instruments including the sheng and “hulusi” or “Chinese bagpipes”. Photo: Shutterstock

Lu Yi, sheng player with the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra. Photo: Jonathan Wong

The ‘Chinese bagpipes’ come in various forms and colours, and are often decorated in classical Chinese style. Photo: Shutterstock

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Chinese musical instruments

All about the Chinese drum, orchestra essential once seen as a way to talk to the gods

A drumming workshop on stage at Tsuen Wan Town Hall. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Luk Kin-bun, the percussion principal of Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, with a large “tanggu” drum. The instrument, a mainstay of Chinese orchestra percussion sections, has been around in China for thousands of years in various forms. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Monie Chak, a drumming teacher with the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, conducts a workshop on stage at Tsuen Wan Town Hall. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Hong Kong Paralympian Daniel Chan plays the tanggu, a barrel-shaped drum made of wood, on stage in a workshop at Tsuen Wan Town Hall. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Performers at a Hong Kong Drum Festival 2024 event at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre in Tsim Sha Tsui. Photo: Dickson Lee

Exploring the Chinese zither and erhu, ‘2-stringed barbarian instrument’ a bit like violin

Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra erhu player Song Hui with her instrument. Often compared to the violin, it is a relative newcomer compared to another stringed instrument, the Chinese zither, or guqin. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Master instrument maker Choi Chang-sau with a guqin at Choi Fook Kee Musical Instrument Factory in Shek Kip Mei, Hong Kong. Photo: SCMP

Chinese students show a member of a delegation of students from the US state of Washington how to play the guqin in Beijing earlier this year. Photo: Xinhua

Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra member and erhu virtuoso Song Hui with her instrument. Photo: Jonathan Wong

All about bamboo flutes the dizi and xiao, their evolution and uses in Chinese music

A woman plays a dizi, a Chinese bamboo flute. The first flutes excavated in China were made from bone. Today, ones made from bamboo are widely used in Chinese music and opera. Photo: Getty Images

Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra Lin Yu-hsien with her dizi, a bamboo flute. Photo: Jonathan Wong

The xiao can be played seated or standing. Photo: Getty Images

Made using jade or limestone, Chinese musical instrument the lithophone has a long history

A Chinese lithophone, or “bianqing”. Photo: Sina

Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra member Luk Kin-bun with a lithophone. Made of stone and struck with a wooden mallet to produce sounds, the Chinese musical instrument. has a long history. Photo: Jonathan Wong

The bianqing is a common sight when Chinese instrument orchestras perform. Photo: Sina

Some bianqing have stones carved with decorations, like this qing from the Shang dynasty. Photo: National Museum of China

The Chinese clay flute, from its origins as a hunting tool to its modern use in orchestras and film soundtracks, has a long and rich history


The Chinese clay flute began life as a hunting tool to attract prey. It evolved to become an imperial court instrument and today is the signature clay instrument of modern Chinese orchestras.


Chinese history

All about the Chinese clay flute, from its ancient origins to Studio Ghibli inspiration

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The Chinese clay flute, from its origins as a hunting tool to its modern use in orchestras and film soundtracks, has a long and rich history

The Chinese clay flute, from its origins as a hunting tool to its modern use in orchestras and film soundtracks, has a long and rich history