ABSTRACT
China is a multiethnic, multicultural society, but the study of its music has concentrated on the traditions of the majority ethnic group, the Han Chinese. This is often true not only of Western-language surveys but also of Chinese-language studies of topics such as instrumental music. The input of Central Asian musics in ancient China is well documented in studies of music history, but some of the more contemporary histories include virtually no mention of developments outside Han culture. This section, then, is a break away from typical overviews of Chinese music.
