The mainland of China covers a huge area that is occupied by many different cultural ethnic groups which have mingled to different degrees for well over 4000 years.
Therefore the Chinese music styles are numerous with different styles. But through the vast musical history there has been vast numbers of main themes that come out and dominate the power of belief in music. As a result of this it has made it necessary to have it controlled by the government at the state level.
There is little known about the sound of the ancient music of china but there are written documents that do provide information about the theory of the music in the society. This history of the music has always been joined to politics. The music bureau of the new administration created pitch standards and also over saw both ceremonial and court music. Absolute pitch was known as an important part of the system of weights and measure with each new dynasty new measures were imported.
Many of the Chinese philosophers recognized fairly early the power that music has over both the mind and the emotions - and also the importance of music in education. They suggested state control in aspect of its control over the ideals of the groups. But even though ancient music has little weight on today modern Chinese music the main views have continued and are able to be seen in various movements like the Cultural Revolution.
Since the time Confucianism became the religion of China, which occurred in the Han dynasty till the revolution of 1911, yayue, or elegant music, was the state music. This music was associated with Confucian rituals. Every dynasty since has tried to keep up with this ancient style. When huyue (386-589) or foreign music especially from the north and west, became popular Court Confucianistis were bothered. But the predominance of yayue was brought back in later dynasties. But after the disappearance of the imperial courts to China yayue is now only performed in Confucian temples.
The regional theater has well over 300 forms in China. The most famous of which is the Beijing opera which was developed in the late 18th Century. The earlier companies of these opera houses performed teahouses in atmospheres rich with casual conversation and casual mingling. The characters of these operas are characterized by their vocal range but also the type of person that the person is trying to represent. There are four main types of people that are represented in the Chinese opera. First of all you have the male characters, these are the baritone voices. Then there were the book lovers who would sing in falsetto. The celibate daughter and the devoted wife would also be a main character. Finally you have the flirtatious women. The Chinese opera is a very popular form of the Chinese music culture.
The music of China has always had a vast and rich history and ancient music has always played an important role in the culture of China.
