One sound, one life

A new feature uncovers the Chinese origins of the bamboo flute, Xu Fan reports.

Director Yu Xin recalls the first time she heard shakuhachi music when she was driving across a viaduct in Beijing three years ago. She was playing the album Sorae by Japanese musician Kinohachi, who began learning the instrument during childhood.

An ancient type of bamboo flute known as chi ba in Chinese, shakuhachi was introduced from China to Japan during the Tang Dynasty (618-907).