tungso
The tungso (sometimes tongso, transliteration of its Chinese name of dòngxiāo) is a Korean notched, end-blown vertical bamboo flute used in Korean traditional music. It is similar to the danso, but longer and larger. The hanja tong (洞) was used to describe the shape of the instrument that resembles a long cave.
tungso
국립국어원 · https: krdicmedia.korean.go.kr/front/search/searchResultView.do?file_no=197528 · CC BY-SA 2.0 kr
- Field
- musical instrument
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wikidata · Q4207259 · wikipedia · Tungso
In this article
Overview
Overview
The instrument is parallel to the Chinese xiao, and equivalent to its variant, dongxiao, and the Japanese name is shakuhachi. A distinctive feature of the tungso, unlike other vertical flutes is that it may have a buzzing membrane, similar to that of the Korean transverse flute, the daegeum. This is especially common in the folk variety of the instrument. The tungso is a vertical flute made of thick, aged bamboo. Until the mid-Joseon period, tungso had been used mainly in court music, but by the end of the 19th century and the early 20th century, it became a more widely used instrument. Today, it is played in accompaniment to masked dances like the Bukcheong sajanoreum. The tongso is made thicker and larger than danso, and the length is 55 cm and the inner diameter is 2 cm.
Key facts
Key facts
• Hangul — 퉁소 • Hanja — 洞 • Rr — tungso, tongso • Mr — t'ungso, t'ongso
Use
Use
Like the daegeum, there is a special hole called cheonggong covered with a thin membrane made of reed between the breathing mouth and the hole, which produces a vibrating sound. The tungso was also played as court music, but is rarely played now.
Literature
Literature
Literature
Research on the Tungso of the Korean Nationality—Centered on the Field Investigation of Mijiang Village, Hunchun City, THE JOURNAL OF ASIAN STUDIES, 2022
Scholarly footprint
Literature
Scholarly footprint
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Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Tungso, revision 1244090003 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
References
Citations
References
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reference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Collectables
20,755 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
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