In ancient times, Chinese instruments were usually divided into eight groups, depending on what they were made from, including stone, wood, silk, metal, bronze, soil, leather and gourd.
In this episode, we will get some insight into a representative instrument of the gourd type, the sheng, one of the oldest free-reed instruments in the world.
After the i ... Show More
Feb 5
Galloping strings--The spirit within the bow
In this episode, the hooves are replaced by horse-hair: the Morin Khuur speaks, sighs and gallops in the hands of the soloist Morin Khuur performer Chaoke Jiletu. You’ll feel 180 nylon filaments tremble like prairie grass, and learn why the bow is called the instrument’s “two leg ... Show More
26 m
Sep 2025
Mustafa Alim: Choosing rhythm over the pulse
This episode follows Mustafa Alim, a musician from Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwest China, who fell in love with the accordion. Actively promoting accordion culture, he has engaged in cross-cultural exchanges through domestic and international accordion festivals and ... Show More
22m 34s
Apr 2025
Encore: Music strings a bridge cross the border
Over the past decade, Liu Yuening, a Chinese dulcimer professor with the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, has committed herself to using music as a bridge to enhance intercultural communication between China and India.
She believes cultural exchanges between the two g ... Show More
28m 51s
Apr 2023
Heart and Soul: Sikhism’s lost song
In the heyday of the Sikh Empire, Kirtan (Sikh hymns) were performed using stringed instruments such as the sarangi, rabab and taus. The rich, complex tones these instruments create are said to evoke a deeper connection to Waheguru (God). But in the late 19th Century, these tradi ... Show More
26m 29s