”Luo” belongs to metal and idiophone category in both Eastern and Western instrumental classification system. Nowadays, scholars commonly consider that China and Southeast Asia are the regions where Luo made its early appearance. Some Western scholars strongly believe that the place of origin of Luo was in the west of China back to the early 6th century. However, Luo's origin is still not accurately confirmed and mutually recognized in academic circles.As China is a gigantic country with a rich history, the percussion instruments have been found in its people's daily life from ancient until present times. Therefore, its types are various and extremely different. Among the other percussion instruments, the types of Luos are the most common and performed in the daily life in China. The proof is that the Chinese usually use ”Luo gu” to refer to all the percussion instruments in general.This article considers the history of the Chinese Luo and its forms as the leading object of study.The content of historical part includes an explication of the definitions of terms, a historical tracing and development and so on. The part concerning the instrument shapes concerns the shapes of Luo instruments, the manufacture and mediator tools. We hope this study will provide a more related research material and making further contributions in the field of education and academic circles.
中國鑼的歷史及其形制之研究 = Research on History of Chinese Luo and Its Forms
