The Di mo is a special bamboo membrane; a kind of musical reed used in a distinctive Chinese flute called the Di zi.

Di Mo papers with packaging

Di mo are paper-like shavings of bamboo supplied as tubular sleeves. Only a little square is needed at a time, so for application, a small section is cut off the end of the Di mo sleeve, and that small tube is cut open to make a rough square of flat membrane.

Application

The Di mo is applied to the membrane hole (or Mo kong ) of the Di zi using a special, traditional glue called Ar Jiao. One of the advantages of Ar Jiao is that the glue is water-soluble, so that it can be wetted again to re-adjust the Di mo.

After applying the glue around the Mo kong, the Di mo is applied, and then adjusted while the glue is still wet so that many creases form in a sequence along the length of the hole. Each crease should be parallel to the one before, crossing the hole horizontally, so that together they form a sort of pleat or corrugation.

Although the purpose of applying Di mo is simply to make the Di zi operational, the application technique is considered to be an art in itself.