Taoist Music (Laoshan Taoist Music)

Laoshan Taoist music arose in the Taoist temples of Mount Lao in Qingdao, a celebrated Taoist mountain since ancient times; the music developed alongside Taoist ritual, blending court, folk and Taoist musical traditions over a long history.

Performed during Taoist rites and scripture chanting, it pairs liturgical singing with instruments such as the sheng, pipe, flute, bell and chime stone; solemn and clear in style, it weaves sound into ceremony to create a hushed, ethereal atmosphere.

Laoshan Taoist music is a national-level item of intangible cultural heritage, carrying the essence of Mount Lao's Taoist culture and of traditional Chinese religious music—a precious living source for the study of Taoist ritual and early music.

It can be heard at the Taoist temples of Mount Lao in Qingdao and at related Taoist rituals and cultural performances, with the mountain's temples its main sites of transmission and performance.