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The guan (管; wind instrument. Unlike instruments in the Shawm family such as the Western Oboe or Chinese Suona , the ''guan'' has a cylindrical bore, giving it a clarinet-like tone. It was an important leading melodic instrument in the court and ritual music of ancient China and is still popular in wind band music of northern China, as well as in some other Chinese regions. In ancient times the instrument was called ''bili'' (traditional: 篳篥; simplified: 筚篥), and this term is still used as a synonym for the ''guan'' in northern China. In northern China, the ''guan'' is commonly known as ''guanzi'' (管子), and is made of hardwood. In Cantonese Music , the ''guan'' is known as ''houguan'' and is made of bamboo. The ''houguan'' is made in three sizes. The ''guan'' is quite difficult to play, largely due to the difficulty of controlling the Embouchure ; a Chinese saying states that "the '' Sheng '' (mouth organ) takes 100 days to learn, but the ''guan'' takes 1,000 days to learn." The ''guan'' is related to the Korean '' Piri '' and Japanese '' Hichiriki '', both of which derive from the Chinese instrument. In the 20th century, a larger, modernized version of the guan featuring metal keys was developed in China; it is used primarily in large orchestras of traditional instruments. EXTERNAL LINKS
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