History and Development The Sheng is a wind instrument with a long history. The shang and the yu, another accident instrument, are very similar. The only difference lie in range of pitch and the number of reeds. the sheng is smaller in size and has different number of reeds ranging from 13 to 19, while the yu in has 36 reeds. the sheng gradually assumed the role of the yu in the orchestra, because it was easier to carry. Information about the two instrument was recorded in inscriptions on bones or tortoise shells from 1401 B.C. to 1122 B.C. In 1986