Shawm of the Han Chinese. A transliteration of the Arabic zūrnā or the related Central Asian Surnāy, the Chinese name usually appears as suona or (during the 18th century) suernai. Other historic names include dachui (‘great blow’) and jinkoujiao (‘golden mouth horn’). Contemporary popular names include laba (technically, a long metal horn), haidi (a small suona variant), and many local names.
The suona body is usually constructed of a type of redwood or other hardwood, with seven frontal finger-holes and one thumb-hole. Its bore is conical and its exterior scalloped in profile (perhaps in imitation of bamboo nodes). Sizes vary according to region and function, moderate-sized instruments measuring about 45 cm or longer. A very small double reed (made from a species of river reed, luwei) is bound with thin copper wire to a hollow metal staple, below which is a lip plate which guides playing position. This reed assembly is inserted into the upper end of the instrument. Loosely fitted over the lower end is a large flaring metal bell. In performance, the player’s mouth completely encloses the reed without touching it. Experienced players use circular breathing to produce the characteristic uninterrupted tone. Normal performance range is about one and a half octaves, though a more extended range is possible. Tonal colour is bright, especially suitable for outdoor occasions.
The suona was introduced into China from Central or West Asia. While not documented in Chinese literature until the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), it was clearly pictured in cave art about 1000 years earlier. Recently discovered on the wall of an old Silk Road religious monument in far western Xinjiang province, dating to between the 3rd and 5th centuries ad, is a drawing of a musician playing a relatively short one-piece shawm. As shown by Liu Dongsheng (1987), this instrument is strikingly similar to the colourfully-decorated suernai still played by the Uighur people living in that area. By the Ming period, the suona was already established on the Central Plain of north China. According to a reference in the encyclopedia Sancai tuhui (1619), the instrument was constructed in a form similar to that of today: ‘Suona, looks like a laba, but has seven holes; its head and tail are made of copper, tube of wood’. The reference states further that ‘it was used for military purposes, but now is very popular among the people’.
Usage of the suona (now usually with eight holes) in village wedding and funeral processions (and many other outdoor occasions) is today widespread in China and Taiwan among both Han Chinese and minority peoples. Large instruments are often played for funerals, smaller ones for weddings. The suona is also commonly employed in traditional opera ensembles to announce auspicious moments, such as weddings or the entrance of soldiers or high-ranking guests. During and following the 1950s, the instrument was constructed in ‘families’ (e.g. alto and tenor) and given Western-style keys (for adaptation to equal temperament), but these ‘reformed’ instruments today are employed primarily by professional musicians within the context of the concert hall.
See also China, §IV, 4(i).
K. Hayashi: Dongya yueqi kao [Study of East Asian musical instruments] (Beijing, 1962/R), 407ff
Yuan Bingchang and Mao Jizeng, eds.: Zhongguo shaoshu minzu yueqi zhi [Dictionary of musical instruments of the Chinese minorities] (Beijing, 1986), 143ff
Liu Dongsheng and others, eds.: Zhongguo yueqi tuzhi [Pictorial record of Chinese musical instruments] (Beijing, 1987), 295–7
Liu Dongsheng and Yuan Quanyou, eds.: Zhongguo yinyue shi tujian [Pictorial guide to the history of Chinese music] (Beijing, 1988)
Liu Dongsheng, ed.: Zhongguo yueqi tujian [Pictorial guide to Chinese instruments] (Ji'nan, 1992), 144–7
S. Jones: Folk Music of China: Living Instrumental Traditions (Oxford, 1995/R, 2/1998 with CD), 157–80, 312–18
ALAN R. THRASHER