Abstract: Mostly two-way, cross-cultural communication refers to the interaction between different cultural groups. While the music of the Central Plains, or the central heartland China as traditionally referred to as, spread westward, that of Central Asia spread eastward all the time. In this process, the music of the Central Plains was subject to continuous “influence and transformation” as a result of its choosing to accept exterior influence. The Hexi Corridor, a long passage in the mountains west of the Yellow River linking the Central Plains to the northwest of China and an important part of the Silk Road, is a convergence hub where multiple ethnic groups and their cultures meet. Taking Dunhuang Ci as the subject of research, the paper analyses its characteristics, compares the tune from the Central Plains and that circulating in the Central Plains, discusses the impact and shock on the music of Central Plains on its journey westward, and explores the cultural psychology of the music of the Central Plains to accept such influence and transformation so as to find out the two-way interaction of sino-Hu cultural exchange and the north-south and east-west multi-directional paths of the Silk Road.

Key words: Silk Road, cross-culture, Central Plains music, transmission, acceptance