C-ambient is an abbreviation of
Chinese ambient music, a loosely defined musical genre in
mainland China. Similarly to the term
C-pop, it was coined by the Chinese media in order to distinguish Chinese ambient musicians from foreign musicians. The origin of modern C-ambient is said to be pioneered by Chen Qigang, who wanted to create ambient music inspired by French artists particularly
Jean Michel Jarre in the Chinese-language popular culture and media
] Stylistically, C-ambient differs from ambient in that C-ambient employs elements of ethnic Chinese music and
traditional Chinese music instruments which can be played with a
pentatonic scale, such as
er hu and
pi pa, often electric, electroacoustic or distorted as opposed to acoustic.