胡乐 (hú yuè) — music of the ancient non-Han peoples from northern and western regions (Xiongnu, Xianbei, Turkic, etc.); (historical) foreign-influenced music that entered the Chinese central plains

Definition

Historical term for music from the northern/western non-Han peoples (Xiongnu, Xianbei, Turkic, etc.) that flowed into the Central Plains. Distinct from 中原音乐, which is Han Chinese court music.

noun
music of the ancient non-Han peoples from northern and western regions (Xiongnu, Xianbei, Turkic, etc.)(historical) foreign-influenced music that entered the Chinese central plains

Examples

  • 胡乐，、。
    Táng dài gōng tíng zhōng liú xíng gè zhǒng hú yuè, bāo kuò qiū cí lè, tiān zhú lè děng.
    Various types of Hu music were popular in the Tang imperial court, including Kucha music and Indian music.
  • 胡乐。
    hú yuè De chuán rù duì zhōng yuán yīn yuè de fā zhǎn chǎn shēng le zhòng yào yǐng xiǎng.
    The introduction of Hu music had a significant impact on the development of music in the Central Plains.
  • 胡乐。
    Xiàn zài yǒu xiē xué zhě zhuān mén yán jiū gǔ dài hú yuè de yuè qì hé qǔ diào.
    Some scholars now specialize in researching the instruments and melodies of ancient Hu music.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

胡húforeign
乐lèmusic

胡 marks foreign or non-Han origin and 乐 means music, giving music from outside the central plains.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
⺼Written in full as肉ròumeat
Sound part声符shēngfú
古
古gǔ胡hú
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

胡 combines 古, which points to its sound, with ⺼ (肉), meaning meat or flesh.

Open 胡 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 樂; 乐 is its simplified writing.

In the traditional form 樂, 絲 (string) with 木 (wood) shows strings on a piece of wood, a musical instrument; the simplified 乐 is a later shorthand.

Open 乐 →

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