The sheng (mouth organ) is a Chinese free-reed aerophone. In the ancient musical instrument classification system "Ba Yin" (8 Sounds), it belongs to the "gourd" category. It consists of two parts: a set of bamboo pipes and a gourd, wood or metal chamber with a mouthpiece. The legendary goddess Nü Wa is credited to be the inventor of the sheng. In Chinese fairy tales this instrument is always connected with phoenix. The arrangement of the pipes symbolized the closed wings of phoenix. Because it can produce several pitches simultaneously, it was also called the "he" (harmony); it was regarded as being able to neutralize the dissonance from other instruments. The harmonious intervals of the fourth, fifth, and octave are commonly produced in traditional playing. New and enlarged models can produce triads and other chords. Historically it was used in ritual ensembles, court entertainments and folk music. Nowadays it is a popular folk instrument as well as a member of the modern Chinese orchestra.
Among early literary sources, a poem in the "Book of Songs"; (Shi Jing), dating from the 11th to 6th centuries BCE mentions: "I have an honored guest, [we] play zither and blow mouth organ [for him]"; (Xiao Ya Chapter I-1). It describes the use of this musical instrument in a party in a nobility house.
In 1978, the discovery of the huge set of 64 bronze bells at the tomb of Marquis Yi of Zen in Sui County, Hubei Province (433 BCE) stunned the world. But equally impressive were many other types of musical instruments in the tomb among them 6 damaged mouth organs consisting of gourds with wooden mouth pieces, bamboo pipes, and bamboo reeds. These are the earliest mouth organs having survived for over 2400 years. (1)
The sheng is the earliest free-reed instrument. Arranged in circle or in rows, the pipes in different lengths are inserted vertically to the cup-shaped gourd (chamber). The lower portion of each pipe inside the chamber contains a brass reed (replacing bamboo reed of the earlier time), and a finger hole is drilled on the exposed portion of the pipe. When the hole is covered by the finger, inhaling and exhaling air vibrates the reed to create a pitch. When more than two pipes are activated, harmony is created. Traditional sheng contain different numbers of pipes with 17 pipes being most popular (some of the pipes do not actually sound, for visual and aesthetic purposes). But contemporary models contain 24 or more pipes, all in action (a 37-pipe model is used for this concert). Due to modernization, the bamboo and wood are replaced by metal in modern sheng. There are many models in different sizes, some featuring keys or levers and some even operated by a keyboard. Large and low pitched models are placed on a stand rather than held in the hands.
Among the elements of Chinese culture absorbed by her neighbors such as Japan and Korea in ancient times were the mouth organs. They are still in used without much change in shape and construction but playing their respective music. The Korean saenghwang used to be a member of the court music ensemble but is less popular now. The Japanese shō, on the other hand, is very prominent in the Togaku ("Chinese" Music) of Japanese Gagaku (Elegant Music, i.e. court music) and is featured in some contemporary compositions. The tone-clusters (multi- pitches) of shō playing in Togaku has a "Debussy-like quality" as described by the distinguished musicologist Shigeo Kishibe. (2) The famous Shōsōin in Nara even preserves several Tang Dynasty mouth organs given to Japan in the 8th century. (3) Some contemporary composers such as Lou Harrison (1917-2003), Unsuk Chin, Christopher Adler, Tim Risher, etc., employ mouth organs of different cultures in their compositions. Isang Yun (1917-1995) imitates the texture and nuance of mouth organ in his orchestra work "Réak". The tone clusters played by the chamber organ in ";Curlew River"; by Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) reflects the shō in Togaku.
While a wide variety of instruments that use a free-reed within a single pipe (such as krummhorn or bagpipes) existed in Europe prior to 1600, the free-reed principle applied to individual notes of the scale in musical instruments seems to be of Asian (Far East and Southeast Asia) origin. The possible origin of European free-reed instruments such as harmonium, reed organ, harmonica, and accordion is credited to the Chinese sheng even though much more research is needed to substantiate it. In 1770, the French Jesuit Jean Joseph Marie Amiot (1718-1793), a renowned scholar serving in the court of Emperor Qianlong (reigned 1735-1796) of the Qing Dynasty, sent a sheng back to Paris. The sound produced by reed vibration freely attracted much curiosity and interest in the scientific and music circles in Europe and triggered experiments in creating modern free-reed instruments. (4) So the story goes!
Han Kuo-Huang, Ph. D. Distinguished Teaching Professor Emeritus, School of Music, Northern Illinois University
- Feng Guangsheng."Winds" in Music in the Age of Confucius, ed. by Jenny F. So: 87-99 Washington, D.C.: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, 2000.
- Shigeo Kishibe. The Traditional Music of Japan. Tokyo: Japan Cultural Society, 1969: 19.
- Kenzo Hayashi. Shōsōin no gakki. Tokyo: Nihon Keizai Shinbunsha, 1967. (In Japanese with English summary)
- Howarth, James. "Free-Reed Instruments" in Musical Instruments through the Ages, ed. by Anthony Baines: 321. Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1961.