Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c11.65

v2.c11.65

**(I) Music:** Music exchange between India and China has had 2,000 years of history. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, Indian music was introduced into China with the spread of Buddhism. In the third century CE, Buddhist music began to be popular in China. In Dunhuang frescoes and Yungang stone carving, we could see many Indian musical instruments such as Xiao, flute, Qin, konghou (stringed instrument), pipa, and brass cymbal. During the era of Emperor Wu of Han, China could copy the konghou. By the late Tang Dynasty, the musician Li Ping was well-know because of being good at playing the konghou. Li He (a poet in Tang Dynasty) has even made the vivid description in his verse, “Jade shatters on Kunlun Mountains, and phoenixes shriek” that Li Ping’s playing skill has reached the acme of perfection.