Naxi Ancient Music (Dongjing Music)
Local people have set up an Ancient Music Association in 1988 to play Naxi ancient
music (Dongjing Music). Some pieces of the Dongjing Music are from the Tang
Dynasty (618--907) and the Song Dynasty (960--1879).
Dongjing Music was used in ancient China as part of elaborate musical ritual activities.
It was used to promote inner peace, and Taoists adopted it for physical and spiriluat
exercises The music used to be popular among the educated elites in China during the
Ming and Qing dynasties. The headman of Naxi brought the music back from Nanjing
city, Fujian and Sichuan provinces during the Jiajing period (1522--1566) of the Ming
Dynasty, However, Dongjing music was almost lost in central Chlna with the spread of
wesleln knowledge in the warring years of the late Qing Dynasty (1644--1911).
Fortunately Naxi people absorbed and preserved the ancient Han music, In fact, the
gurvival of the DongJing music is due in part to the remoteness and geographical isolation of the city, as well as the peaceful environment and the intelligence of the Naxi people.
Being one of the four largest and best preserved ancient towns in China, the old town
of Lijiang city was listed as a national historical and cultural city in 1986. It was included
in the UNESCO World Culture Heritage list in 1997.