According to legend, Cao Zhi in the Three Kingdoms period had made a song "Bamboo Fugue", if this is considered the earliest record about the bamboo, then its history is at least 1,700 years old. In the "Water Margin" 110, Song Jiang was ordered to conquer Fang La on the road to see people play "Hu knock", feel the grace of the host lieutenant and do poetry: "a low to a high, loud and clear sound through the blue sky. Empty with a lot of male energy, no one to carry the diffuse futile." Of course, the novel is written by later generations, but it also shows that the time of the writer of the book, shaking bamboo has been very common.
According to the evidence, the first air bamboo is a kind of folk children's toys evolved from the gyro. In different times and places, the air bamboo has different names. Before the Ming and Qing dynasties, people called it "empty bell", in the south, some people called "buzz", Tianjin people called it "wind gourd" or "boring gourd "Sichuan people call it "ringing spring", Shanghai people call it "dumbbell", Shanxi people call it "Hu knock", Changsha people call it "Tian Lei Gong", "Tian Lei Gong", "Tian Lei Gong", "Tian Lei Gong", "Tian Lei Gong", "Tian Lei Gong", "Tian Lei Gong", "Tian Lei Gong". "Tian Leigong", the Taiwanese call it "pull bell", most people in the north call it "bamboo".
According to the late Ming Dynasty, Liu Dong and Yu Yizheng wrote in their book "Spring Festival", "The Spring Festival", which describes how the festival was organized by the Emperor's Capital. Spring field" described: "empty bell, router wood hollow, side mouth, soup with asphalt, Zhuo ground such as Yang Zhong, and the handle on the flat. Don't a rope around its handle, don't a bamboo ruler has a hole, degree of its rope and against the grid empty bell, rope le right but, bamboo le left but. A le, empty bell boom and turn, big sound bell, small dung beetles fly sound, a bell sound break time is already. System diameter inch to eight or nine inches. Its release, a person to three people." Here is to say, the empty bell "router wood hollow (in fact, cut off the bamboo into small segments), the side of the mouth (bamboo segments open small holes)", the mouth of the bamboo into a semi-circular "whistle", bamboo segments of the upper and lower cross-section of a thin wooden board sealed tightly, become the wind box; board of the center of the circle through the bamboo stick, on the long and the next short, wrapped in a thick cord In the long handle, "don't have a bamboo ruler has a hole", the rope will be through the bamboo ruler's hole, force tight, and then put in a hurry, the empty bell on the ground constantly rotating and whistle (gas into the hole due to the pressure and discharge). The empty bell is the early name of the bamboo, different from now, play it when the action is not shaking, its rotation is not in the air, but on the ground.
According to another Qin Xiaoyi compiled "overseas treasures? Lacquer ware", there is a "red baby play pattern round box", the lid of the box is engraved with baby play. In the picture, a child is shaking the bamboo, there is a child next to cover their ears to watch. Disk-shaped bamboo, with a wooden shaft, bamboo sticks tied rope wrapped around the wooden shaft tugging and shaking. This painting shake bamboo method is identical with the current method. It is understood that this red lacquer box for the Ming dynasty Yongle year production. If the scene is true, then it can be said that as early as the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, the characteristics of the bamboo shape and play have been quite mature.
To the Qing Dynasty, shake bamboo has developed into a popular acrobatic program. Acrobatics people in the original pattern on the basis of the creation of many new patterns and difficult skills. Performances with beautiful dance and melodious accompaniment of music into one, and improve people's aesthetic appeal.
Hangzhu, made of bamboo and wood, hollow, hence the name; the Qing Dynasty had a mixed name with the empty bell, commonly known as ringing gourd; Jiangnan also known as the pull bell. To Beijing, Tianjin produced the most famous.