Nanguan (南管; pinyin:nánguǎn,literally "southern pipes",also called nanyin (南音),nanyue (南乐),or nanqu (南曲)) is a style of Chinese classical music originating in the southern Chinese province of Fujian (福建),and is also now highly popular in Taiwan,particularly Lukang.
Fujian is a mountainous coastal province of China.Its provincial capital is Fuzhou,while Quanzhou was a major port in the 7th century CE,the period between the Sui and Tang eras.Situated upon an important maritime trade route,it was a conduit for elements of distant cultures.The result was what is now known as nanguan music,which today preserves many archaic features.
It is a genre strongly associated with male-only community amateur musical associations (quguan or "song-clubs"),each formerly generally linked to a particular temple,and is viewed as a polite accomplishment and a worthy social service,distinct from the world of professional entertainers.It is typically slow,gentle,delicate and melodic,heterophonic and employing four basic scales.
