Dongjing (music)

Prior to the establishment of the People's Republic of China, most Han towns and cities in Yunnan contained Dongjing associations, exclusive religious societies oriented around worship of the Taoist deity Wenchang Wang.

The term Dongjing is an abbreviation of the title of the Taoist scripture Dadong Xianjing (大洞仙經), or "Immortals' Book of the Great Grotto".

Often, the orchestra will include the wooden fish (muyu), the pipa, sugudu, and sanxian lutes, the reed pipe, and the guqin and guzheng zithers.

In the pre-1949 rituals, participants had to be male, virtuous and honorable (usually this meant that membership was hereditary), and they had to donate to the association.

Because of these requirements, and as evidenced by the Sinicized repertoire, performances and rituals could be seen as asserting the Dongjing members' elite status within the Naxi community.