Mutual Relations between Iranian and Chinese Musical Instruments

Iran plateau has always been akin to a gargantuan crossroad lying between the East and The west. Since days of yore, Iran has established ties with other cultures in different territories including diplomatic, political, military and commercial grounds and has even shared religious beliefs with those cultures. The relation between Iran and china dates back to the ancient time. The influence of Chinese culture on the culture of Iran has increased markedly since the invasion of the Mongolians. This landmark, in the history of Iran, has had a profound impact on the course of art developments especially on the evolutions of painting. The main question is what bearing the cultural exchanges between Iran and china has had on the music of each country. A lot of research has conducted on the influence of Chinese culture on the other territories such as painting, yet very little research has ever been carried out in the realm of music. What is noticeable about this research is that the mutual impact of Iranian and Chinese music on one another has been studied. The results of the present research suggest that musical interactions between Iran and
China fall into two periods, namely pre-Islamic era and Islamic era. During the pre-Islamic era, it was the Iranian music which was holding a great sway on Chinese culture. For instance, the influence of the Barbat in the city of Turpan, China, owing to the Silk Road and the immigration of Manichaeists can be mentioned which ensued by the emergence of the Pipa. In post-Islamic era, especially since the dawn of Mongols rule, an enormous impact of Chinese and Mongolian musical culture on Iranian music can be witnessed, and the presence of Chinese and Mongolian musical instruments in Iran bears the testimony of such profound influence. In the music books on the Ilkhanate and Timurid dynasties, the instruments such as the Shudarga, the Pipa, the Yatouqan, the Jabchiq or Khitanpanflues which belongs to Khitan (North China) are mentioned, whereas the Ozan and the Ney Chavour are attributed to Turkish tribes. The Yatouqan is considered an absolute stringed instrument and the Jabchiq is the only wind instrument whose origin is attributed to the Chinese swath of lands. The names of Chinese and Mongolian instruments in music books, since the rule of Mongols, have enjoyed a great consequence. The existence of these names is indicative of the influence of these instruments in the Iranian musical culture, among which the Shudarga, the Tiqan, the Komuz and the Pipa can be referred to in the historical accounts. The Shudarga was paid a considerable heed in the illustrated historical resources and Persian miniatures of various schools as of the Safavid rule. The resources employed in this paper can be categorized into written and illustrated ones. Written resources include ancient musical manuscripts, historical and social passages recorded during different Islamic eras. Illustrated ones consist of paintings, murals and other depicted documents handed down to us from pre-Islamic and Islamic epochs. The research methodology used in the paper is historical, descriptive and analytical.