chinese music, fuxi, music

The Mythology and History Behind Chinese Music

China has one of the oldest music cultures in the world, with a history spanning thousands of years. When it comes to how Chinese music originated, the Chinese have an interesting mythological tale to explain this — one that involves a magical creature. Mythology During a time when immortals walked on the earth, a young ...

Emma Lu

A Chinese flute player.

Healthy Vibrations: Does Playing Music Make Plants Grow Better?

The positive effects of music on people are well-documented. Hearing classical, soothing melodies has been found to decrease stress levels and increase calmness in people. However, it seems to not only have an effect on human beings, but also on plants. Several studies in this area have found that plants exposed to classical music tend ...

Jessica Kneipp

Balsam flowers.

Some Amazing Ways Music Affects Human Beings

Anyone who has listened to music for long hours will understand that it has a deep impact on their mind. The harmony of sounds triggers various emotions and responses within us so that we are often lost thinking about our deepest feelings when listening to our favorite soundtracks. It has the ability to bring about ...

Emma Lu

Symphony Orchestra Captivates Tens of Thousands of People in Taiwan

Cosponsored by the cultural department of various city and county governments, as well as some civic organizations in Taiwan, the New York-based Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra was invited to perform in Taiwan for a third straight year in September 2018.  Watch the trailer of the Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra 2018: The Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra ...

Billy Shyu

Shen Yun orchestra.

Why Chinese Arts Are Considered Part of a Healthy Cultivation

Among all the activities designed to enrich the body and mind of a human being, the Chinese arts of painting, calligraphy, and music have a special place. Being an ancient civilization, the Chinese have had thousands of years to perfect these three arts. What the Chinese arts of painting and calligraphy can do for you ...

Armin Auctor

Playing the erhu.

How Ancient Chinese Predicted a Dynasty’s Future by Its Music

Most ancient Chinese sovereigns could enlighten to some encoded meaning in music and placed great importance on what it signified. It’s been a common belief throughout Chinese history that music can express the ideas or feelings of the sovereign, its officials, and its people. Many were able to predict the future of a dynasty by ...

Emma Lu

Music Therapy

Music therapy has developed into a modern science, but it was first developed in China. The Chinese have searched for the secrets of the universe’s melody and rhythm for millennia. Music therapy is part of Chinese medicine, and the two have an interwoven, continuous relationship. Music, the theory of yin and yang, and the five ...

Nspirement Staff

The Pipa: The Traditional Chinese Guitar

The pipa is often referred to as the Chinese lute, and may remind you a little bit of a Western guitar. The history of the instrument reaches back over 2,000 years. The pipa is a stringed instrument that gained great popularity in the Tang Dynasty (618-907). As an instrument for fairies and gentlewomen, the pipa ...

Nspirement Staff

A woman playing a pipa.

Jiangsu Musician Yearns for Shen Yun

Pan Xiang and his daughter are well-known musicians from Jiangsu Province, China. They yearned for the chance to see a Shen Yun performance. He suffered years of persecution under the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). His so-called “crime”? Asking the local authorities to return a letter written to him by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao. His family ...

Max Lu

A group of musical instruments.