Archaeologists in China unearthed 160 precious bone flutes in Hemudu, a typical site of the world-famous matriarchal commune, which is the earliest flute in the world.
These flutes are mostly made of bird bones, about 6- 10 cm long and about 1 cm in diameter. Most of them have two horizontal sound holes, and there are also 1 holes and 3 holes. Some bone flutes also have a small bone stick inserted in the lumen, which can twitch and make a crisp sound when blown. At present, there is still a kind of flute called Ina circulating among Tajiks in Xinjiang, which is very similar to this kind of flute. "Ina" is made of the wing bone of a vulture, with a thick end and a thin end, and a sound hole on the thin end. What is particularly amazing is that one of these bone flutes unearthed in Hemudu is a bone flute with a blowhole and six sound holes, which is almost exactly the same as today's bamboo flute.
The excavation of Hemudu bone flute has aroused the interest and concern of relevant experts at home and abroad, and many experts are studying it specially. Liu Shizhen of Tianjin, China has made remarkable achievements in this field. Liu Shizhuang is a disabled person, but he has amazing perseverance and is self-taught. His paper "Hemudu Bone Flute in China and Zhejiang" written in English was read at the Third International Conference on Music Archaeology held in Hanno, Germany, and was highly praised by Chinese and foreign experts. His paper on China bone flute published in France was also unanimously appreciated. Due to his outstanding achievements in studying Hemudu bone flute, Liu Shizhuang was hired by UNESCO as the first China member of the International Folk Music Committee.
In his thesis, Liu Shizhuang pointed out that China bone flute was produced 3000 years earlier than other countries in the world. Moreover, 7000 years ago, it was really remarkable to make a bone flute with a blowhole and six sound holes, as well as the prototype of a modern horizontal flute.
Zhao Songting, a famous flute player, gave an academic report on "A Brief Talk on Flute Art" at Hangzhou University 1987. He said that China bone flute originated from life. When our ancestors ate the meat of birds and animals and sucked the bone marrow, they found that tubular bones could make sounds, so they gradually developed into flutes. At the meeting, Jiang Guoji, a disciple of Zhao Songting, known as the "Divine Flute in Water Town", also played an imitation bone flute. His voice is loud, clear and beautiful.
Lu Zhou, a young teacher in Yuyao City, Zhejiang Province, drained the bone marrow with a drumstick bone weighing more than 4 kg, washed it, polished it with sandpaper, and then dug a hole to imitate it into a bone flute with realistic shape and beautiful tone. Lu Zhou also created a bone flute solo "Back to Hemudu" reflecting the working life of Hemudu people 7000 years ago. In the national folk music and dance competition held by the Ministry of Culture from 65438 to 0986, Lu Zhou played the song "Going Back to the River" with his antique bone flute, which was a success. Both performance and composition won prizes. Mr. Zhang Xianghua, a Hong Kong musician, played the bone flute and How to Play presented by Lu Zhou at a concert in Hong Kong. The result was a sensation and was praised as "the most popular program of the whole concert".