Abstract: This article examines the little-studied in the Russian scientific ethnographic and musicological literature Daurian traditional musical instrument mukulien (Chinese 木库莲), which is classified as jew’s harp. The goal of this article lies in determination of its role in modern spiritual culture of the Daurians, as well as characterization of the key stages of the history and evolution of mukulien, including the description of constructive peculiarities based on the material of folk legends and modern Chinese ethnographic research. The scientific novelty lies in the fact that in scientific ethnographic literature, the Daurian jew's harp (mukulien) has not previously become a separate subject of research. The article employs the historical, ethnographic, philosophical and musicological analysis. The previously unstudied Daurian legend about the invention of mukulien by the Daurian widow to console her heart from grieving is introduced into the scientific discourse. As a result, the author traces the main stages in the development of mukulien in Daurian culture, as well as determines the key aspects of further study of the phenomenon of jew’s harp.