Chinese instrument classification

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Chinese musical instruments were traditionally classified according to the materials used in their construction. The eight classifications are: silk, bamboo, wood, stone, metal, clay, gourd and hide. There are other instruments which may not fit these classifications.

Silk instruments are mostly string instruments (including plucked, bowed, and struck). Since the very beginning, the Chinese have used silk for strings, though today metal or nylon are more frequently used.

Bamboo mainly refers to woodwind instruments.

Most wood instruments are of the ancient variety.

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