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Pipa ( pi-pa or p'i-p'a) - four-stringed lute with 30 frets and

pear-shaped body. The instrumentalist holds the pipa upright and play
with five small plectra attached to each finger of the right hand. The
pipa history can be dated back at least 2000 years and developed from
pentatonic to full scales. This instrument has extremely wide dynamic
range and remarkable expressive power.

Ruan ( )- commonly referred to as "Chinese guitar", is an ancient four-stringed moon-shaped lute


with long and straight neck and various number of frets,
dated back at least to Qin Daynasty (around 200 BC). Ruan is
used to be called "p'i-p'a" (pipa) or qin-pipa. Since the
introduction of the oud-like instrument through the "silk-
road" around 5th century, a new type of "pipa" with pear-
shaped body and bent neck has been gradually developed
into the present form since the Tang Dynasty (618-917AD),
and the name pipa, which used to be a generic term for all
pluck string lutes, has been specifically given to this newly-developed version, whereas the old form of
pipa with straight-neck and round body got the name "Ruan", after the name of the grand master of this
instrument, Ruan Xian who was one of the seven great scholars known as "Seven Sages of the Bamboo
Grove" in Chinese history of the 3rd century (the Six Dynasties). They were truely good friends and did
spend much time together in arts and wine during one of the darkest periods in Chinese history. Ruan
Xian and Ji Kang (master of guqin, Chinese 7-stringed zither), are most famous for their musical
achievements and the life as true artists. The Ruan is mostly used for Peking opera, and now also in
modern Chinese orchestra. There are a family of ruan of various size including "Zhong Ruan" (middle
Ruan) and "Da Ruan" (large Ruan) used in the same sense as viola and cello in western orchestra.
Yueqin ( )- moon-shaped lute with shorter neck and four strings, played with a
spectrum, used for accompanying local operas. "Yue" stands for "the moon" in Chinese.

Guqin ( ) - seven-
stringed zither without bridges,
the most classicalChinese
instrument with over 3000
years of history. The guqin is often referred to as the instrument of sages for
the purpose of enriching the heart and elevating human spirit. Confucius
(around 600 BC) was a master of this instrument. In the Imperial China's past,
well-educated people of the elite society were expected to master the four
arts, namely, the qin (guqin), qi (weiqi, which has somehow been known as
"Go" in the West according Japanese pronuciation), shu (Calligraphy), and hua
(painting). Being on top of the four traditional arts, the guqin has historically
been regarded as one of the most important symbols of Chinese high culture. Unfortunately only small
number of people in China could play the instrument, because classical musical education of this kind
has never reached general public. Fortunately, the situation has much been improved in recent decades,
there have been a growing number of guqin players both in and outside China. Since november 2003,
Guqin has been registered as one of the master pieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of the
humanity by UNESCO
Konghou ( Kong Hou) - One of the most ancient Chinese music
instruments that appeared in written texts of the Spring and Autumn period
(around 600 BC). The structure of the Konghou looks similar to the harp,
however, with its bridges spanning the strings in the way similar to guzheng.
There were the wo-konghou (horizontal konghou), su-konghou (vertical
konghou) and phoenix-head konghou. Unfortunately not much of this
ancient instrument has been preserved. The reproduction of the konghou
started in the mid 50's. The structure of Today's konghou is a combination of
su-konghou and wo-konghou with the shape similar to harp. The performing
skill is diversified. Besides right-hand techniques, the left hand can play
vibratos, glissandos, etc. The tone quality is mellow and graceful and has a
typical Chinese flavour.

The huqin family

Erhu ( )- or Er-Hu, a two-stringed fiddle, is one of the most popular Chinese

instruments in the Hu-qin ( ) family, where Hu stands for "foreign" or "the


northern folk" in Chinese, and "qin" is a general name for all kinds of string
instruments.
Zhong-Hu ( ): If we call the "Erhu" Chinese violin, the Zhong-Hu is then the Chinese viola, where
"Zhong" stands for "middle", thus the abbreviated name for the mid-pitched Erhu. It was developed on
the basis of Erhu in the 1940s. Both the structure and performing skill of these two kinds of Hu-Qin are
quite the same, yet Zhong-Hu has a deeper-sounding timbre but not as agile. Being more suitable for
singing melodies (particularly some Mongolian melodies), Zhong-Hu is thus often used as tutti or
accompanying instruments, sometimes for solo too.

Jing-Hu ( ): Principally used as accompanying instrument for Beijing Opera, Jing-Hu is another
important two-stringed fiddle in the Huqin family. It was developed in Qin dynasty ( around 1790 ),
which is often called the Hu-Qin. The pitch of Jing-Hu is the highest among all instruments of the Hu-Qin
family. Due to its forceful and clarion timbre, Jing-Hu is suitable almost exclusively for Beijing
opera.

Ban-Hu ( ): Ban-Hu has many other names such as Pang-Hu, Qin-Hu, Hu-Hu and Da-Xian, etc. It
is the leading accompanying instrument for Bang-Zi and other northern tunes or ballads, particularly for
the local operas in Henan Province, central China. Similar to Jing-Hu, the timbre of Ban-Hu is clarion and
bright, which makes it hard to join other instruments for tutti. Therefore it's usually for solo, especially
for presenting joyful and passionate moods.

Gao-Hu ( ), also called High-pitched Erhu or Yue-Hu, is especially designed for playing
Cantonese folk melodies and operas. Gao-Hu is often used for performing vivid and brisk rhythms,
particularly for higher-pitched tunes that Erhu cannot play. In comparison with Erhu, Gao-Hu has louder
volume yet brighter tones, and thus it servers both as solo and leading instrument in performing
Cantonese operas and folk melodies.

Yehu ( ):two stringed bowed instrument similar to erhu, however, with a coconut sound body
where Ye means coconut. It is found mostly in South China and Taiwan.

Sihu ( ): four stringed huqin used for accompanying local opera, most commonly found in the
North, such as Sanxi, Shanxi and Neimonggu. It is one of the three leading instruments (together with
dizi, yangqin) in "Er Ren Tai" of Neimonggu (Inner Mongolia). "Si" stands for "four" in Chinese. The
structure is similar to Erhu except it has four strings. The horse-hair of the bow is divided into two group
that go between the four strings.

Zhuihu( ), also known as Zhuiqin, is one of the most popular instruments in Henan and
Shandong Provinces, used for local opera and story-telling. The instrument was invented toward the end
of Qing Dynasty (1644 to 1912) based on the pluck string Sanxian and bowed string erhu. The striking
difference from Erhu is that Zhuihu has a fretless fingerboard similar to Sanxian. The use of the bow is
similar to that of erhu. Basically the instrument is derived from a smaller version of Sanxian performed
with a bow, producing beautiful sounds with a strong local flavour, capable of imitating a lot of natural
sounds such as birds and horse etc. The playing methods adapt the left hand techniques for the Sanxian
and the bow techniques of erhu. The Zhuihu is one of the most beautiful instruments of the huqin
family, which has become very popular soon after its invention in Henan and Shandong.

Leiqin ( ) is derived dirrectly from Zhuihu with few small modifications when the instrument
was introduced to Guangdong Province. The playing method is the same as Zhuihu.

Morin Khur ( Ma-Tou-Qin): The Morin Khur or horse-headed violin


is a typical Mongolian bowed instrument with two strings, however, very different
from Er-Hu. The horse hair of the bow doesn't go between the two strings,
instead, the instrument and the way of playing is more similar to cello than to
erhu. The instrument was originally made from a horse head for the body, horse
skin for the resonator, and horse hair for the strings and bow. The music played
upon this instrument is of great variety and virtuosity. Much of the music typically
sounds like human voice, and can imitate a horse to such an extent as real such as
galloping horse, the whinnying, etc. The modern Morin Khur has a wooden body
and soundboard, 2 horse hair strings, and has a rich warm tone and very beautiful
sound. The peghead is decorated with a detailed carving of a horse's head.

III. Hammered string instruments

- Yang-Qin or Chinese dulcimer

Yangqin ( ) is a Chinese hammered dulcimer with


a near-squared soundboard. The instrument is very similar
to Santur, played with two bamboo sticks.

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