Sheng Pipe Music: Chaohua Chuige

Chaohua chuige is an ancient folk wind music from the Chaohua area of Xinmi in Zhengzhou, led by pipe-and-reed instruments such as the sheng mouth-organ and the guan pipe. Long handed down, it is regarded as a living survival of the Central Plains' ancient ceremonial wind-and-percussion music, preserving a strongly archaic flavor.

It is performed on wind instruments — sheng, guan and flutes — together with percussion; its tune-titles are antique and its melodies far-reaching. Musicians play as an ensemble, chiefly at festivals, temple fairs and folk ceremonies, with a vigorous, distinctive timbre all its own.

Chaohua chuige is a national-level item of intangible cultural heritage. As a precious survival of ancient Central Plains music, it preserves the tune-titles and playing forms of old wind ensembles and holds real value for the study of traditional Chinese instrumental music.

In the Chaohua area of Xinmi in Zhengzhou, chuige can be heard at performances by folk ensembles and during temple fairs and festivals — a rare chance to experience the resonance of ancient Central Plains music.