China has a deep-seeded musical history that can be traced back to as long as seven thousand years in the past. Music is one of four cherished Chinese art forms in the history of Chinese musical instruments. The different musical instruments of Chinese music are classified into three groups. There are the string musical instruments, the wind instruments and the percussion instruments.

Of all these musical instruments Chinese string instruments are further sub-divided into either bowed or plucked string instruments. Further classifications are sometimes made in this area on the basis of the materials used. Pipa and Erhu are two examples of Chinese string instruments.

The Pipa is a four-stringed. Pear-shaped lute. It is usually held upright and played using five plectras which are attached on each fingertip of one hand. One of the earliest records of using this instrument dates back to two thousand years ago.

The Erhu, on the other hand, is a two-stringed fiddle. This instrument may have hailed from the northern region of China and is an extremely popular stringed musical instrument.
Other stringed instruments include the Sanxian, which is a three-stringed lute, the Ruan which is an ancient, moon-shaped lute and the guqin which was favored by the ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius.

The dizi is an example of ancient Chinese musical instruments in the category of wind instruments. This is traditionally made of bamboo and is hence not only easy to learn but one can also learn how to make ancient Chinese musical instruments like this easily and hence extend the lifeline of ancient Chinese music. The dizi is also a cheap to manufacture.