Ancident Music from Lijiang

Interesting, I found the music really hard to listen to. My guess was that the jade instruments had gotten badly out of tune during the time when the musicians had to bury their instruments during the Cultural Revolution. It's also interesting to look at your picture, because it looks a bit different than it did when I was there perhaps 5 years go. As now, the band was mostly made of very ancient men and young women. It appears that the mix is changing toward the latter, as this generation dies off.

yes, the music is impressive, especially its survival through hundred years, thanks to the remote location of Lijiang. On the other hand, it is pitty that many ancient culture were destroyed by wars or revolution.

The music itself may NOT be as perfect as musici nowadays. But it is even more break-taken since it comes from ancident times, just like the goods from the tombs. It may not as good as things we use everyday, but it is more amazing to have a sense of connection to the old times.

Oh, that's the famous "Dayan Ancient Music Association". You are so lucky to have heard that famous Naxi music group!

I have two of their CDs and have heard them live in Shanghai. They are really outstanding. If you like traditional Chinese music, you should check them out. Lots of gongs, drums, "didzi" (bamboo flutes) and "sheng" (multi-bamboo pipe & gourd instrument). Droning, haunting, ethereal sound. It's even more exciting when you consider the anciency of the music you are hearing, stilll alive, little changed since the Tang Dynasty.

It's good news that the group is still performing and maybe even adding newer, younger members. It's so important to keep alive this kind of direct cultural thread to the past, a real treasure of human culture.

Great recommendation, WJS!

Lijiang is one of my favorite places to go in China. I've had the good fortune of attending one of their performances 8 years ago in Lijiang. I like it not just because of the music, but because of what it represents. I hope this type of culture and music never goes extinct, and will be there generation after generation. In today's China, where everything's moving so fast towards modernization, lots of the ancient traditions and customs are getting lost. That would be a real shame if it happens.

Went there in 2004, Enjoy the show very much. I saw a show in an cultural exhange center. The front of the
building looks like a dome. Across the street, there is a statue of Mao. Quite of few people enjoy riding bike around that area.
Brings back fond memories...

That is a beautiful photograph you've taken! Thank you very much for sharing your experience.

-Jon