History of Dizi (Bamboo Flute)

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Dizi, a traditional Chinese musical instrument, became popular as early as the Warring States Period (475-221BC). It first appeared in Hemudu Clan (in present-day Hubei Province) 7,000 years ago.
This transverse bamboo flute has a blowing hole, a stop hole and six finger holes. The two holes furthest from the player and fundamental tone holes and next to them are two auxiliary tone holes. Its range is two and a half octaves. During the blossoming of the art of opera in the late Ming (1368-1644) and early Qing (1644-1911) Dynasties, Dizi was adopted as an accompanying instrument for various kinds of stage dramas.

There are two basic kinds of Dizi -- Bangdi, which was the
shorter one, got its name because it was used to accompany clapper-type operas. It has a strong and piping tone, suitable for expressing robust and lively emotions; Qudi, also named as Sudi for its origin from Suzhou city, is often used to accompany Kunqu Opera. It is five levels lower than Bangdi in pitch. Its tone is pure and mellow, making it suitable for expressing delicate and understated moods.

A large number of techniques are used when playing these wind instruments, such as tapping, appoggiatura, tremolo, legato, flower tongue, augment, glide, trill, overtone and prong. Famous Dizi tunes include The Golden Trembling Willows, Audience With the Emperor, Joyous Meeting, Five Clappers, The Partridge Soars, The Bird in the Shade, and Scenic Suzhou.

笛子

笛子是中国的土产，历史悠久，源远流长。早在战国时期(公元前475——公元前221）就很流行，在长沙（中国中南部）马王堆三号墓出土的文物中，就有两只笛类乐器。在浙江（中国东部）河姆渡遗址出土的骨笛距现在有七千多年，中国笛的历史可见一斑。

中国传流的笛子大多是竹笛，笛上有6个按音的孔，一个吹奏孔和一个笛膜孔。竹子遍于乡野，而且竹笛易于制作，因此流传很广。竹笛非常悠扬，带有山野乡村的风格，因此就有牧童倒骑牛背、横吹笛子的情景。竹笛还可以抒情，古代文人常用笛子发出的凄楚的笛音来抒发自己郁闷的心情。

中国笛除了竹笛还有玉笛、瓷笛、铁笛、铜笛等等种类，演奏的技巧也是各种多样的，表现力极其丰富，在汉族中常用的有两种笛子，一种是流传于南方的曲笛（因为这种笛子是为昆曲伴奏的主要乐器而得名）。由于这种曲笛产于苏州（中国东南部）所以也叫苏笛。曲笛比较粗而且长，大约有70厘米长，声音柔和清新，甜美圆润，具有南方细腻、委婉的风格，代表作品有《小放牛》、《姑苏行》、《鹧鸪飞》等等，另一种是流行于北方的梆笛（因为其给梆子腔伴奏而得名--梆笛）这种笛子小巧，只有40厘米长，声音非常清脆、嘹亮，擅长演奏一些欢乐的曲子。比如：《荫中鸟》、《喜相逢》、《五梆子》等等，具有中国北方粗犷、豪放的风格。

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