Hulusi: China musical instrument

The hulusi that is also called cucurbit flute is a free reed wind musical instrument fabricated in China. The musical instrument is held vertically and has three bamboo pipes that pass through a gourd wind chest; the center pipe has finger holes and the outer two pipes are typically drone pipes.it is common for a hulusi to possess only one drone pipe while the second outer pipe is just a decoration. The drone pipe of the musical instrument has a finger hole that permits it to be stopped. Advanced configurations have finger holes analogous to a clarinet or to an oboe that can greatly extend the range of the musical instrument to many octaves.

source: folkmelody.com

The hulusi instrument was originally used mainly in Yunnan region by the Dai and other non-Han ethnic groups, although it is now performed all through the Chinese empire. Just like the related musical instrument known as ‘bawu’, the musical instrument has a very pure sound like that of the clarinet.

Though the hulusi instrument is still very much in use in the china, it has been adopted by the European composers and performers in the recent years.

An analogous musical instrument known as ‘hulusheng’ is a mouth organ with a gourd wind chest. The name of the musical instrument, ‘hulusi’ comes from Chinese word ‘hulu’ that means ‘gourd’, and ‘si’ that means ‘silk’. The musical instrument is called bilangdao in the Dai language.