Yunchu suona is a musical instrument that spreads in Persia and Arabia. Even the name suona is a transliteration of ancient Persian. Later, people found the image of playing suona on the murals of ci music in the Song and Jin Dynasties, which confirmed that suona had spread to the Central Plains of China in the Song and Jin Dynasties.
In Ming Dynasty, suona was recorded in ancient books, and it was widely used in China in Zheng De period of Ming Dynasty. Qi Jiguang, a military commander in Ming Dynasty, used suona in military music. In his army, flute players play suona.
There are detailed records about suona in the Three Events Map compiled by Wang Xie in Ming Dynasty. It says the suona is shaped like a seven-hole trumpet. Its head and tail are made of copper, and it is made of wood. It is a military musical instrument, and it is also very common among the people. Wang Pan, a writer of Sanqu in Ming Dynasty, wrote "Blowing the Horn to the Emperor", which is a good article describing the suona. It is described as follows:
Small, hey, turn it down, it's big. The official ship is in a mess, and the price increase depends on you. The army listens to the army's sorrow, and the people listen to the people's fear. Where can I tell the true from the false? Seeing this, I blew the house down and hurt that one. I just blew the water away.
By the late Ming Dynasty, suona had occupied an important position in China traditional opera music, which was used to accompany singing and cut cards. In folk instrumental music based on traditional opera music, suona has also become an indispensable instrument.
In the Qing Dynasty, suona was called "Surnai" and was included in the court's Uighur Buller. Later, suona gradually became one of the musical instruments widely used by people of all ethnic groups in China.
During this period, people made suona by opening eight holes in the wooden conical tube, with seven holes in the front and one hole in the back. The upper end of the tube is equipped with a thin copper tube with a reed whistle with double springs, and the upper end of the wooden tube is equipped with a copper bowl speaker. Although the suona has eight holes, the sound of the seventh hole is the same as that of the drum, and the sound of the eighth hole is the same as that of the first hole.