The _chin-ku_, a large drum fixed on a pedestal which raises it above six feet from the ground, is embellished with symbolical designs. A similar drum on which natural phenomena are depicted is called _lei-ku_; and another of the kind, with figures of certain birds and beasts which are regarded as symbols of long life, is called _ying-ku_, and also _tsu-ku_. The flutes, _ti_, _yüeh_, and _ch’ih_ were generally made of bamboo. The _kuan-tzŭ_ was a Pandean pipe containing twelve tubes of bamboo. The _hsiao_, likewise a Pandean pipe, contained sixteen tubes. The _p’ai-hsiao_ differed from the _hsiao_ inasmuch as the tubes were inserted into an oddly-shaped case highly ornamented with grotesque designs and silken appendages. The Chinese are known to have constructed at an early period a curious wind-instrument, called _hsüan_ (the “Chinese ocarina”) (Fig. 11). It was made of baked clay and had five finger-holes, three of which were placed on one side and two on the opposite side, as in the cut. Its tones were in conformity with the pentatonic scale. The reader unacquainted with the pentatonic scale may ascertain its character by playing on the pianoforte the scale of C major with the omission of _f_ and _b_ (the _fourth_ and _seventh_); or by striking the black keys in regular succession from _f_-sharp to the next _f_-sharp above or below. [Illustration: FIG. 11.――HSÜAN.] The _shêng_ (Fig. 12_b_) is one of the oldest instruments of the Chinese still in use, and may be regarded as the most ancient species of organ with which we are exactly acquainted. Formerly it had either thirteen, nineteen, or twenty-four tubes placed in a calabash; and a long curved tube served as a mouth-piece. A similarly-constructed instrument, though different in outward appearance, is the _ken_ of Siam and Burmah. The Siamese call the _ken_ “The Laos organ,” and it is principally used by the inhabitants of the Laos states. Moreover, there deserves to be noticed another Chinese instrument of this kind, simple in construction, which probably represents the _shêng_ in its most primitive condition. It is to be found among the Miao-tsze, or mountaineers, who are supposed to be the aboriginal inhabitants of China. They call it _sang_. This species has no bowl, or air-chest; it rather resembles the Panpipe, but is sounded by means of a common mouthpiece consisting of a tube, which is placed at a right angle across the pipes. The Chinese assert that the _shêng_ was used in olden time in the religious rites performed in honour of Confucius. Tradescant Lay, in his account of the Chinese, calls it “Jubal’s organ,” and remarks, “this seems to be the embryo of our multiform and magnificent organ.”