Ancient Chinese court music introduced to U.S. audiences

NEW YORK, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- At Flushing Town Hall in New York, a captivating performance of ancient Chinese yayue, or court music, was presented on Friday.

The show was delivered by the Yuzhen Jinsheng Yayue Orchestra from Beijing Normal-Hong Kong Baptist University, as part of their world tour. The performance featured a complete set of ritual instruments, meticulously reconstructed based on archaeological specifications. Prior to this, the orchestra had also performed at Cary Hall in Lexington, near Boston, on Jan. 31.

The ensemble traveled with bronze bells (bianzhong), stone chimes (bianqing) and other instruments, all reconstructed at a one-to-one scale based on artifacts unearthed from the Nanyue King's Mausoleum, an archaeological site dating back more than 2,000 years.

Huang Yu, associate vice president of the university, said yayue was historically used in court rituals rather than public entertainment. "Yayue was created not for spectacle, but for reflection," he said.

Cai Jindong, director of the U.S.-China Music Institute at Bard College, said that the performances showed how ancient court music can be reintroduced to contemporary audiences.