Why does Chinese traditional music sound bad to me?

Chinese traditional music is highly melodic, probably even more so than classical music, so I'm a little puzzled by this question. The timbres are different of course, and generally the instruments can be 'tinnier' than western ones, but they're beautiful to me too. There are some instruments which are more mellow, so perhaps you'll enjoy them more: 1. 萧 xiao1, or the vertical flute, here playing one of the ten great ancient Chinese pieces, 梅花三弄 Plum-Blossom in Three Movements: 2. 中阮, zhong1 ruan3, a guitar-like instrument originating from the Middle East, playing a more modern composition, 丝路驼铃, Camel Bells on the Silk Road: As to why you might not like what you hear, I can think of a few possibilities. First, the Chinese have not, until recent times, treated their own music as a high art in the same fashion as the classical music tradition. The level of precision that is expected as a bare minimum in classical music has not traditionally been considered necessary, so most erhu buskers and amateur musical groups have horrendous tuning, but they don't really understand the gravity of their transgressions. Modern attitudes have changed and are changing, however: today, you can specialize in Chinese musical instruments in Chinese conservatories, like the young zhongruan performer above, and even as an active Chinese musician I have also seen attitudes change quite drastically among amateurs over the last 15 years. Second, there's a lot more bending of notes and sliding between pitches than typically occurs in classical music. This may be something that you're not familiar with, but is very much a part of the Chinese musical idiom. It is most apparent in the differences between the Chinese flute and the concert flute (春到湘江, Spring Arrives on Xiang River): (The quality of the video isn't great, but the flautist is excellent.) I hope that went at least a little way toward giving Chinese traditional music a shot! It's an artform that is very much alive and actually changing very quickly, even though it is rooted in very ancient traditions.

First, yes, there is an entirely different theory behind Chinese music. Different from the western theory, it has another system that is so complicated and old that even me, a native Chinese musical instrument player who had played for 8 years, cannot have a good command of it. （This is a type of ancient Chinese music sore. It is written in the form of a n article, using ancient Chinese characters, which terrified me we I was young.） Second, "a busker in the subway or a performance at the Chinese Cultural Festival" is actually not a traditional Chinese music work. The music you heard is usually written between 1940 to 2008. I don't like that kind of music either. You can try listening to some real traditional music. And remember that every one has his or her own taste of music, so it is normal for you to like or dislike some kind of music. Every kind of music has its own charm, but you don't need to enjoy every one.