The first free reed instrument was the Chinese sheng (笙; pinyin shēng), which is mouth-blown. It is thought that Johann Wilde and Pere Amiot traveled to China and brought the first shengs back to Europe in 1740 and 1777 respectively, although some believe shengs were known in Europe centuries earlier. However, it was only in the early 1800s that Amiot's sheng inspired the invention of the harmonica, accordion, and reed organ.

There are many types of sheng, Gaoyin Sheng (高音笙, pinyin Gāoyīn Shēng), Zhongyin Sheng (中音笙, pinyin Zhōngyīn Shēng), Diyin Sheng (低音笙, pinyin Dīyīn Shēng), etc. The Gaoyin Sheng is a high pitch sheng, the Zhongyin Sheng, middle pitch, and the Diyin Sheng, a low pitch sheng. There are different number of tubes on different shengs, ranging from 21 to 51 tubes.