Gansu

Gansu

' is a province located in the northwest of the People's Republic of China.It lies between the Tibetan and Huangtu plateaus, and borders Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Ningxia to the north, Xinjiang and Qinghai to the west, Sichuan to the south, and Shaanxi to the east...

 is a region in northwest China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

. The capital is Lanzhou

Lanzhou

Lanzhou is the capital and largest city of Gansu Province in Northwest China. A prefecture-level city, it is a key regional transportation hub, allowing areas further west to maintain railroad connections to the eastern half of the country....

, a city with a vibrant musical life, including many nightclubs. The daoqing folk tradition is an important part of the music of Gansu, especially in Huanxian; daoqing is also found in Yichi in Ningxia Hui and Dingbian in Shaanxi

Shaanxi

' is a province in the central part of Mainland China, and it includes portions of the Loess Plateau on the middle reaches of the Yellow River in addition to the Qinling Mountains across the southern part of this province...

. Daoqing is used to accompany shadow play

Shadow play

Shadow play or shadow puppetry Shadow puppets have a long history in China, India, Turkey and Java, and as a popular form of entertainment for both children and adults in many countries around the world. A shadow puppet is a cut-out figure held between a source of light and a translucent screen...

 theater.

Daoqing comes from the Tang Dynasty

Tang Dynasty

The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...

 and was originally a cappella

A cappella

A cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...

 Taoist music

Taoist music

The importance of music in Taoist ceremony is demonstrated by revealing how central beliefs are reflected through elements of music such as harmony, instrumentation and rhythm. The ritual celebrating the birth of Guanyin was observed at the Evergreen Taoist Church of Australia, Deagon to identify...

. Beginning with the Southern Song Dynasty, however, percussion instruments like the jianban and yugu have been used, and the lyrical themes have moved from Taoist parables to folktales. Other instruments used include gong

Gong

A gong is an East and South East Asian musical percussion instrument that takes the form of a flat metal disc which is hit with a mallet....

s, cymbal

Cymbal

Cymbals are a common percussion instrument. Cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys; see cymbal making for a discussion of their manufacture. The greater majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sound a...

s, suona

Suona

The suona ; also called laba or haidi is a Han Chinese shawm . It has a distinctively loud and high-pitched sound, and is used frequently in Chinese traditional music ensembles, particularly those that perform outdoors...

, dina

Dina

Dina may refer to:*Sanskrit word meaning "day"*Dina , game by Bit Corp*Hebrew word meaning "judged"*Dina , Russian futsal club based in Moscow-Places:*The Massina Empire...

, shuibangzi, flute

Flute

The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...

, sixian, bangu

Bangu

Bangu may refer to:-* Bamileke, a Semi-Bantu ethnic group of people from Cameroon.* Bangu , a district of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.* Bangu Atlético Clube, a football team in Bangu, Rio de Janeiro...

 and erhu

Erhu

The erhu is a two-stringed bowed musical instrument, more specifically a spike fiddle, which may also be called a "southern fiddle", and sometimes known in the Western world as the "Chinese violin" or a "Chinese two-stringed fiddle". It is used as a solo instrument as well as in small ensembles...

. One of Gansu's most notable musicians in the West is Jie Ma

Jie Ma

-External links:* http://www.majiepipa.com/bio.htm* http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/apr/20/hey-whats-that-sound-pipa* http://www.meridiangallery.org/en/concert/earth_music.htm* http://www.freddyclarke.com/wobbly-world/...

, who blends her family's traditional pipa and ruan technique with more contemporary forms such as jazz, improvisation, fusion, and world music and lives in the United States.

Wild Children, a folk-rock band from Lanzhou

Lanzhou

Lanzhou is the capital and largest city of Gansu Province in Northwest China. A prefecture-level city, it is a key regional transportation hub, allowing areas further west to maintain railroad connections to the eastern half of the country....

 but based in Beijing

Beijing

Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...

, blended Gansu folk songs with more contemporary sounds until the death in 2004 of its co-founder, Xiao Suo.