The xiao is a traditional Chinese end-blown (vertical) flute made of bamboo. Unlike its “sister” — the transverse dizi flute with its ringing, bright timbre — the xiao sounds quiet, soft, gentle, and soulful.
It is one of the most ancient Chinese instruments, its history reaching back millennia. The sound is produced by blowing into a special notch at the top end of the tube. The calm, contemplative voice of the xiao has long been associated with the image of the scholar-hermit, with poetry, solitude, and harmony with nature. The xiao is superbly suited to intimate, concentrated music-making, and it is often combined with the guqin zither — and this refined duo embodies the very essence of the classical Chinese aesthetic of contemplation and inner peace.
