Dressed in robes supposedly dating back 2,000 years, 18 people appeared on a stage set in the lobby of the Henan Museum.

Some held guqin (seven-stringed ancient Chinese musical intruments), some held erhu, pipa, bamboo flutes and xiao -- an ancient type of flute. All were as part of a traditional Chinese music concert.

Looking graceful, the musicians, either sitting elegantly or standing by a set of bells, started to play. The music was serene. When the music was loud and strong, it was like the resonating cries of airborne wild geese. When soft and light, colourful butterflies seemed to fly among flowers.

The concert was presented by the Huaxia Ancient Music Ensemble twice a day at the museum in Zhengzhou, capital of Henan Province.

Since being founded in March 2000, the ensemble has given more than 2,100 such performances at the museum.

"Having done much research into ancient music, costumes and rituals, the performance is meant to demonstrate the legacy of Chinese culture," said Zhang Wenjun, curator of the museum.

Some 9,000 years ago, people living in the vast plains of Central China's Henan Province were believed to have known how to play music. According to historical records, the music of the Getian tribe had been spread among the primitive tribes in the Yellow River valley.

Some 4,000 years ago during the Xia Dynasty (c.21st century-16th century BC), a musical piece called Daxia had been dedicated to Great Yu for his efforts in harnessing floods.

When it came to the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BC), the noblemen were noted for their "dancing constantly in the palace and singing contentedly in the chamber."

Moreover, much traditional folk music, rooted in the regions covering today's Henan, Hebei and Shanxi provinces, has been well played for thousands of years.

According to the curator, the musical instruments unearthed in recent years have been abundant and diverse, especially those from the early days which account for over 90 per cent of the finds.

Zhang said a flute made from the leg-bone of a crane with seven drilled holes on it, for example, still works well. The discovery of the flute indicated that Chinese started to play music at the beginning of the Neolithic Age.

"Other wind instruments include the xun, an egg-shaped clay pipe instrument featuring a sorrowful and distressed sound, dating back 5,000 years," he added.

"For the percussion instruments, the fish-shaped qing was unearthed from the Yin ruins of the Shang Dynasty in today's Anyang, Henan Province, more than 3,000 years ago.

"The findings show that Chinese music once reached a high level. So they are of great value in terms of research and can be reused for performances."

To revive such rich musical relics and build up a brand-new image, the provincial museum invested 300,000 yuan (US$36,200) into duplicating 20-odd ancient musical instruments, which were the most representative of the central plains culture over thousands of years.

The replicas include bronze chime bells, a wooden drum with a tiger-shaped stand, a bone flute, which is made of animal bone powders, a gaudy lacquer-coated brocade se, which is a 25-string plucked instrument similar to the zither, fish-shaped stone chimes and the xun clay pipe.

However, the sound of the original music has confounded Chinese scholars for years because it was either forgotten by people or had fallen into oblivion after thousands of years of vicissitude.

According to Ding Chengyun, one of the major composers of ancient styles of music, the revitalization is proving most difficult.

"Modern people knew little about it," said Ding, who is also a professor at Zhengzhou-based Henan University.

"I had drawn inspiration from the scores of the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907) in my work," said Ding, who has been studying ancient music for decades.

According to Ding, the oldest musical scores recorded today are believed to be those of the Tang Dynasty, discovered in the Dunhuang Grottoes in Gansu Province, which have been deciphered by Chinese scholars after decades of research.

Ding said he had translated and arranged a series of ancient scores from the ancient book of "Music in Xilu Hall," which was formed in the late Tang Dynasty, featuring plenty of ancient scores collected from primitive times.

"The subjects vary from sacrificial ritual, love and war to the stories of famous people in history," Ding said.

"In a sense, the more extensively and deeply you understand traditional Chinese culture, the more typical and perfect ancient music you will create.

"I hope modern people can feel the joy and sadness, and even touch the souls of our ancestors while listening to the concert.

"What I expect the most is to revitalize ancient music and realize the communication between modern people and our remote past."

Pan Linrang, one of the 18 members of the troupe who plays the xun, said: "Playing ancient music requires not only imagination but also being conscientious.'"

Apart from regular training, the musicians, who can only enter the troupe after passing strict exams, are encouraged to take courses about ancient music history.

The museum has also invited renowned domestic archaeologists, musical archaeological professors and musicians to give them training seminars as well as lectures on archaeology.

Meanwhile, Zhang, the curator, said he will not only add more replicas of ancient musical instruments but also explore more ancient pieces including Han music, court music of the Tang Dynasty, plays of the Song Dynasty (960-1279) and folk songs in the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911).

"We hope the audience enjoys the sounds from our ancestors," Zhang said.

(China Daily November 10, 2003)