
The ''xun'' (;
Cantonese
Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese, a Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family. It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) and its surrounding Pearl River Delta. While th ...
= hyun1) is a
globular,
vessel flute
A vessel flute is a type of flute with a body which acts as a Helmholtz resonator. The body is vessel-shaped, not tube- or cone-shaped; that is, the far end is closed.
Most flutes have Bore (wind instruments)#Cylindrical bore, cylindrical or Bor ...
from China. It is one of the oldest musical instruments in China and has been in use for approximately 7,000 years.
The xun was initially made of stone, baked clay, or bone,
and later of
clay
Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolinite, ). Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impuriti ...
or
ceramic
A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcela ...
; sometimes the instrument is made with
bamboo
Bamboos are a diverse group of mostly evergreen perennial plant, perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily (biology), subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family, in th ...
. It is the only surviving example of an earth
(also called "clay") instrument from the traditional "eight-tone" (
bayin) classifications of musical instruments (based on whether the instrument is made from metal, stone, silk, bamboo, gourd, earth, hide, or wood).
Components
The xun is an
egg
An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the ...
-shaped
aerophone
An aerophone is a musical instrument that produces sound primarily by causing a body of air to vibrate, without the use of strings or membranes (which are respectively chordophones and membranophones), and without the vibration of the instrume ...
, containing at least three finger holes in front and two thumb holes in back. It has a blowing hole on top and can have up to ten smaller finger holes, one for each finger. It is similar to an
ocarina
The ocarina (otherwise known as a potato flute) is a wind musical instrument; it is a type of vessel flute. Variations exist, but a typical ocarina is an enclosed space with four to twelve finger holes and a mouthpiece that projects from the bo ...
but does not contain a
fipple mouthpiece, unlike other Chinese flute-like instruments, such as the Wudu and Taodi. The xun can come in a variety of sizes.
The entry for the Xun in the oldest surviving Chinese encyclopedia, ''
Erya'' (Refined Definitions, c. 3rd century BC), describes it as being of two types:
# large, shaped like a goose egg, with flattened bottom and six holes (lower pitch);
# small, shaped like a chicken egg (higher pitch).
History and development
The origin of this unique wind instrument dates back to the
Stone Age
The Stone Age was a broad prehistory, prehistoric period during which Rock (geology), stone was widely used to make stone tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years and ended b ...
and has much to do with early Chinese hunting practices.
During ancient times, people often tied a stone or mud ball to the rope that was used for hunting wild animals. Some of the balls were hollow, which allowed it make many sounds when thrown. Most people found it enjoyable and learned how to blow air into it. Gradually, the "stone meteor" became the musical instrument we know as "xun".
Archaeologists have discovered vessel-flutes like the xun in common graves of the
Xia dynasty
The Xia dynasty (; ) is the first dynasty in traditional Chinese historiography. According to tradition, it was established by the legendary figure Yu the Great, after Emperor Shun, Shun, the last of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, Fiv ...
. Those had three finger holes and could produce the notes do, mi, so, la and fa. The shape of the instrument and number of finger holes of the xun as we know it today were standardized during the
Shang dynasty
The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Chinese royal dynasty that ruled in the Yellow River valley during the second millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty and followed by the Western Zhou d ...
. Most xun of that era had five finger holes and produced sound of much better quality. They were able to produce all the tones and half-tones in a single octave.
By the
Zhou dynasty
The Zhou dynasty ( ) was a royal dynasty of China that existed for 789 years from until 256 BC, the longest span of any dynasty in Chinese history. During the Western Zhou period (771 BC), the royal house, surnamed Ji, had military ...
, it was a common instrument and was played in the imperial courts. The design of the xun varied according to whether it was played for enjoyment or for celebrations.
Cultural significance

The use of xun in the Chinese history was found mainly in the performance of palace music. However, the sound of xun is also associated as the symbol of respectable hermits, lady in sorrow, or heroes at the end of their strength, and is considered the best instrument to perform a heartbreaking tone, or to make solemn music within the royal court.
The sound of xun represents a particular beauty, which combines with loneliness, desolate and elegance. It is the embodiment of the unique Chinese aesthetic conceptions. In a traditional Chinese orchestra, xun plays the important part of alto voice. Its soft, heavy voice makes high-pitch and low-pitch in a harmonious proportion. In this sense, xun represents also the idea of harmony, which is one of the main parts of traditional Chinese values.
In literature
''
Erya'' (爾雅): "A large xun is like a goose egg, with a flattened bottom and six holes; a small one is like a chicken egg"
''
Classic of Poetry
The ''Classic of Poetry'', also ''Shijing'' or ''Shih-ching'', translated variously as the ''Book of Songs'', ''Book of Odes'', or simply known as the ''Odes'' or ''Poetry'' (; ''Shī''), is the oldest existing collection of Chinese poetry, co ...
'' (詩經): "The elder brother plays xun, the younger brother plays
chi ransverse flute
See also
*
Ocarina
The ocarina (otherwise known as a potato flute) is a wind musical instrument; it is a type of vessel flute. Variations exist, but a typical ocarina is an enclosed space with four to twelve finger holes and a mouthpiece that projects from the bo ...
*
Chinese flutes
Flutes made in China come in a variety of different types:
Transverse flutes:
*dizi (instrument), Dizi (and its varieties such as the dizi (instrument), qudi and dizi (instrument), bangdi; primary transverse flutes, usually made of bamboo and di ...
*
Traditional Chinese musical instruments
*
Music of China
The music of China consists of many distinct traditions, often specifically originating with one of the country's various Ethnic groups in China, ethnic groups. It is produced within and without the country, involving either people of Chinese or ...
References
{{Authority control
Chinese musical instruments
Vessel flutes