Musical Intruments from China (Part I)

The introduction of  Musical Instruments from Japan still on my mind
But we have to move on to others country to keep our mind wide opened xD

Chinese musical instruments were traditionally classified into 8 categories known as bayin (八音). The eight categories are: silk, bamboo, wood, stone, metal, clay, gourd and hide. There are other instruments which may not fit these classifications. This is one of the first musical classifications ever.

Silk (絲)

Silk instruments are mostly stringed instruments (including those that are plucked, bowed, and struck). Since ancient times the Chinese have used twisted silk for strings, though today metal or nylon are more frequently used. Instruments in the silk category include:

Plucked

Guqin (Chinese: 古琴; pinyin: gǔqín) – 7-stringed zither


 

Guzheng (古箏) – 16–26 stringed zither with movable bridges


 

Pipa (琵琶) – pear-shaped fretted lute with 4 or 5 strings


 

Sanxian (三弦) – plucked lute with body covered with snakeskin and long fretless neck


 

Ruan (Chinese: 阮; pinyin: ruǎn) – moon-shaped lute in five sizes: gaoyin-, xiao-, zhong-, da-, and diyin-; sometimes called ruanqin (阮琴)

 

Liuqin (柳琴) – small plucked, fretted lute with a pear-shaped body and four strings


 

Yueqin (月琴) – plucked lute with a wooden body, a short fretted neck, and four strings tuned in pairs


 

Bowed 

Huqin (胡琴) – family of vertical fiddles

Erhu (二胡) – two-stringed fiddle
Zhonghu (中胡) – two-stringed fiddle, lower pitch than erhu
Gaohu (高胡) – two-stringed fiddle, higher pitch than erhu; also called yuehu (粤胡)
Banhu (板胡) – two-stringed fiddle with a coconut resonator and wooden face, used primarily in northern China
Jinghu (京胡) – two-stringed fiddle, very high pitched, used mainly for Beijing opera
Jing erhu (京二胡) – erhu used in Beijing opera
Erxian (二弦) – two-stringed fiddle, used in Cantonese, Chaozhou, and nanguan music
Tiqin (提琴) – two-stringed fiddle, used in kunqu, Chaozhou, Cantonese, Fujian, and Taiwanese music

Yehu (椰胡) – two-stringed fiddle with coconut body, used primarily in Cantonese and Chaozhou music

Sihu (四胡) – four-stringed fiddle with strings tuned in pairs

Dihu (低胡) – low pitched two-stringed fiddles in the erhu family, in three sizes:
Xiaodihu (小低胡) – small dihu, tuned one octave below the erhu
Zhongdihu (中低胡) – medium dihu, tuned one octave below the zhonghu
Dadihu (大低胡) – large dihu, tuned two octaves below the erhu
Dahu (大胡) – another name for the xiaodihu

Matouqin (馬頭琴) – (Mongolian: morin khuur) – Mongolian two-stringed "horsehead fiddle"

Struck

 

  Yangqin – a Chinese dulcimer.
Well, tonight we stop at here, goodnight and sweet dreams ;)