New Buddhist music was composed for the purpose of popularizing Buddhist teachings in a new form. The texts of most of the new Buddhist songs were written by Buddhist masters, while the composers were generally lay Buddhists. The first generation of new Chinese composers were Zhang Zhi-Wen (1879-1929)，Shen Xin-Gong (1869-1947)，and Li Xu-tong，also known as Master Hong Yi (1880-1942). New Buddhist songs may be classified in three categories：(1) Buddhist songs to be sung as religious music; (2) Buddhist-inspired works, which aregenerally instrumental pieces with Buddhist titles; and (3) melodies of traditional Buddhist chants arranged for instruments. Anthologies of new Buddhist songs are listed and described.
