The ''fangxiang'' (also ''fang xiang'', ''fang hsiang''; zh, s=, t=, p=fāngxiǎng; also known in the West as the Chinese chang) is an organized-suspended (bianxuan) Chinese

metallophone A metallophone is any musical instrument in which the sound-producing body is a piece of metal (other than a metal string), such as tuned metal bars, tubes, rods, bowls, or plates. Most frequently the metal body is struck to produce sound, usual ...

that has been used for over 1,000 years. It was first used in the

Liang dynasty The Liang dynasty (), alternatively known as the Southern Liang () or Xiao Liang () in historiography, was an imperial dynasty of China and the third of the four Southern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties period. It was pre ...

(502—557 CE), and then standardized in the Sui and Tang dynasties mostly for court music.

Construction and design

A ''fangxiang'' consists of 16 tuned rectangular iron, bronze, or jade tuned slabs with 16 different chromatic pitches, laid in a frame in two rows. The slabs are struck with a hammer and played melodically. Unlike the metallophone today, Chinese changed the thickness of the metal plates to obtain different pitches. Each of the slabs is of the same length and width but they are of graduated thickness, with the thicker slabs producing lower tones and the thinner slabs producing higher tones."Fangxiang (方响)." – China Culture. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Sept. 2013. <>. The method of playing is to beat with a (

hangul The Korean alphabet is the modern writing system for the Korean language. In North Korea, the alphabet is known as (), and in South Korea, it is known as (). The letters for the five basic consonants reflect the shape of the speech organs ...

: ,

hanja Hanja (; ), alternatively spelled Hancha, are Chinese characters used to write the Korean language. After characters were introduced to Korea to write Literary Chinese, they were adapted to write Korean as early as the Gojoseon period. () ...

: ) in both hands.

History

In ancient times, the was a popular instrument in Chinese court music. It was introduced to

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

, where it is called (hangul: ; hanja: ) and is still used in the court music of Korea. A similar instrument used in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

is called (kanji: ). The first appeared in China in the

, one of the

Northern and Southern dynasties The Northern and Southern dynasties () was a period of political division in the history of China that lasted from 420 to 589, following the tumultuous era of the Sixteen Kingdoms and the Eastern Jin dynasty. It is sometimes considered a ...

(502–557). During the Sui and Tang dynasties (581–840), the instrument became a popular court instrument. There were many famous performers at that time, including Xianqi Ma and Bing Wu. Also at that time, many poets created sets of lyrics intended to be accompanied by . Here are two Tang-era poems about the : : :Fangxiang Song (Fangxiang Ge) : :by Li Yan (Tang dynasty) : : : : : : : : : :Fangxiang : :by Lu Guimeng (Tang dynasty, ?-881) : :

Music contribution

In the 1980s, the was expanded to include 51 keys. The keys were arranged based on 12-tone equal temperament and double scale arrangement. On the top lane, it is the C# scale, and on the bottom lane it is the C major scale ranging from f to C₄. The shelf used for holding those keys can rise up and fall down for the convenience of performing. The new design of the sounds clear and melodious, and it is really good for accompaniments in the Chinese traditional orchestra music. For example, in the music "The Great Wall Capriccio", it is used to sound like a bell.

International development

The was used by the American composer Lou Harrison in his
Music for Violin with Various Instruments: European, Asian and African
' (1967, revised 1969). Harrison had taken research trips to Japan and South Korea (1961) and Taiwan (1962).

References

External links

{{Traditional Chinese musical instruments Chinese musical instruments Plaque percussion idiophones Keyboard percussion instruments