| The research on the konghou,an exotic ancient musical instrument,was mainly based on some second hand data like literal and pictorial materials before the archaeological discovery. Therefore, there were a lot of different viewpoints. In this article, the author would take the konghous as the main research objects, some of which (made in about 5 century B.C) were unearthed at the Qiemozagunluke area of Xinjiang, China in 1996 and the others of which (made in about 7 century B.C) were unearthed at the Yanghai graveyard of Shanshan County of Xinjiang, China in 2003, analysis and research these two more important archaeological discoveries using musical archaeological methods.In Chinese ancient literature, the recordation of konghou early appeared in the Han Dynasty (206 B.C-A.D. 25) while the pictorial materials in some fresco of Buddhism cavern in China did not appear until A.D. 4 century. These six precious cultural relics indicate that in fact the konghou appeared 500 years earlier than the time which had been confirmed before. Their intuitionistic patterns and structures as well as its clearly cultural connotation also provide a broader space for studying Chinese musical history and the history of Chinese musical instruments.Compared with the harps in Mesopotamia, Assyria, Iran mural and Pazyryk, these harps have certain general character in their patterns and structures and also have their individual character. These similarities and differences manifest the characteristics of multiculture produced in the process of foreign cultural evolution. This made the konghou become a duality of Chinese and western music culture and music esthetics. And it provides a new angle of view to the research of Chinese musical history.Through combining the Chinese ancient literature during 2000 years about the konghou with nearly 200 old pictures, the author would attempt to fully explain the courses of introduction, development and disappearance of the ancient instrument.
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