The Unique Chinese National Musical Instruments

The Chinese-made musical instruments, qin, zheng, bamboo flute and xiao, enjoy an irreplaceable position in the international instrument market, for their time-honored history, unique musical effect and delicate craftsmanship. Ancient zheng, named after its sound, is one of the oldest musical instruments of China. According to ancient records, zheng was popular in the Qin region (Shaanxi today) in 400 B.C. At that time, a zheng had 10 swings and was made of wood. In 900 B.C., the

Exploration on the Foundations of Contemporary Education and Ethnic Music Education from the Perspective of Traditional Chinese Musical Instruments

With the rapid development of multicultural arts,music education has become an important component of the educational research system.However,the teaching of traditional Chinese folk musical instruments,as an essential branch of music education teaching,has been neglected.This paper discusses the significance of Chinese folk musical instrument education from three aspects:the history of Chinese folk musical instruments,the development of folk musical instrument teaching,and the integration of modern musical instrument education with folk musical instrument education.

Controversies on the Values for Health Instruments of Chinese Medicine

Currently, there are increasing debates on the necessity of health instruments in Chinese medicine（CM） emerging in China. This study aims to reevaluate its status and values. Analyzing the causes, limits, advantages, and properties characters of health instruments in CM, it is found that weak fundamental research, incomplete self-awareness, and complicated social factors are the primary causes of debates. A comprehensive analysis showed health instruments in CM have health evaluation benefits to people from a dominant Chinese culture, meet the requirements of cultural background, and bring long-term value to Chinese instrument researches. However, its values and status should be treated differently depending on various subtypes. Although little theoretical and practical evidences proved that patients-reported health instruments in CM should be proposed independently, the doctors- and nurses-reported questionnaires are necessary. With this in mind, the study group proposes the ＇Chinese cultural instruments（CCIs）＇ and ＇health-related CCIs＇. The latter one aims to evaluate the health status of people in a dominant Chinese culture. The CCIs theory represents Chinese instrument researches on a larger regional and higher level, and resolves the debates on instruments between CM and Western medicine in China. Health instruments in CM bring more scientific and social benefits for Chinese instrument researches. However, it does not include cultural demands, and lacks scientific significance. CCIs have all its virtues, and add solutions to the latter＇s theory bottleneck and scientific debates, thus bringing increased benefits to clinical assessment in complementary and alternative medicine researches.

Acoustics of Chinese bowed string instruments Jinghu and Erhu

This paper gives a general description of the acoustical properties of Chinese bowed string instruments Jinghu and Erhu. The resonator of instrument has been studied by equivalent circuit to show the effect of coupling motion between membrane and resonator tube. From the analysis of motion and waves on the string, an expression for frequency response of vibration of string is given. This response has direct relationship with the reflection coefficient at the bridge. The reflection coefficient has been measured by using impulse method. The frequency characteristics of sound by bowing are dependent on two kinds of motions on the string. A method to obtain the sound spectra for Jinghu and Erhu by playing seven notes is presented in this paper.

Responsiveness of the Chinese Quality of Life Instrument in Patients with Congestive Heart Failure

Objective： The Chinese Quality of Life Instrument （ChQOL） was developed as a valid generic health status instrument based on the well-established theory of health in Chinese medicine. Psychometric properties of the ChQOL were good. In the present study, the responsiveness of the ChQOL in patients with congestive heart failure （CHF） were investigated and compared with two generic questionnaires, the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form 36-item Health Survey （SF-36） and World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment （WHOQOL-BREF）, as well as one disease-specific questionnaire, the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire （MLHF）. Methods： Thirty-nine in-patients with CHF who had undergone treatment with integrative medicine were recruited. The health status measurements were performed at enrolment and after a 4-week treatment. The following responsiveness indices were used： the effect size （ES） and standardized response mean （SRM）. All patients were classified into those groups with stable measures and those groups with changes after a 4-week treatment, based upon both the doctor＇s global rating of changes in heart function tests, and the patient＇s global rating of changes in overall quality of life. Results： All domains of the ChQOL showed significant improvement. In the comparison of the responsiveness indices, the ChQOL was regarded as more responsive than the WHOQOL-BREF or SF-36 utility, but it was less responsive than the MLHF. Conclusions： The ChQOL was better in sensitivity and responsiveness for assessing congestive heart failure as a generic measure than the SF-36 and WHOQOL-BREF. The ChQOL is considered suitable as an outcome measure for clinical trials in patients with congestive heart failure.

Assessing the Quality of the First Batch of Evidence-Based Clinical Practice Guidelines in Traditional Chinese Medicine

Objective: To assess the quality of the first batch of Chinese evidence-based clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) using the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation (AGREE) instrument. Methods: Evidence-based CPGs in TCM supported by the World Health Organization Western Pacific Regional Office (WHO/WPRO) and whose development was organized by the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences were identified and manually retrieved. CPGs were assessed using the AGREE instrument, and the data in each CPG were analyzed in terms of the six domains in the AGREE instrument: scope and purpose, stakeholder involvement, rigor of development, clarity and presentation, applicability, and editorial independence. Results: Twenty-eight CPGs were identified, of which 26 were included in the study. The AGREE instrument rated the 26 CPGs in terms of the six domains. The assessment results showed the following average scores: for editorial independence, 84.16%; for rigor of development, 80.95%; for scope and purpose, 79.96%; for clarity and presentation, 70.88%; for stakeholder involvement, 61.28%; for applicability, the average score was only 27.09%. In summary, nine CPGs were rated as "strongly recommended", six as "recommended with provision or alternation", and 11 as "unsure". Conclusion: Most of the first batch of Chinese evidence-based CPGs in TCM had significant shortcomings in applicability. It is suggested that special attention be paid to enhancing the quality of applicability when developing evidence-based CPGs in TCM.

Dizi—A Traditional Chinese Wind Instrument

RETIRED worker Zhang Guizhen knows a lot about dizi, a traditional Chinese wind instrument, because she worked in the Beijing Traditional Instrument Factory for 20 years and her only task was to make dizi.