Chinese flutes

One of the gudi flutes discovered at Jiahu, on display at the Henan Museum.

Chinese flutes come in various types. They include

• Dizi (and its varieties such as the bangdi; all transverse flutes, usually made of bamboo)
• Xiao (end-blown vertical bamboo flute)
• Gudi, an ancient vertical flute made from the bones of large birds
• Paixiao (pan pipes)
• Koudi (a very tiny bamboo flute)
• Xun (clay ocarina)

The bawu, hulusi, and guan are sometimes mis-identified as flutes, but they are reed instruments.

Chinese flutes are generally made from bamboo and belong to the bamboo classification of Chinese music, although they can be (and have been) made of other materials such as jade.

External links

• Ron Korb's Asian Flute Gallery (features descriptions and photos of the dizi, xun, and other Chinese wind instruments

• Chinese flute (dizi) finger chart