''Huqin'' () is a family of bowed

string instrument String instruments, stringed instruments, or chordophones are musical instruments that produce sound from vibrating strings when a performer plays or sounds the strings in some manner. Musicians play some string instruments by plucking the s ...

s, more specifically, a spike fiddle popularly used in

Chinese music Music of China refers to the music of the Chinese people, which may be the music of the Han Chinese in the course of Chinese history as well as ethnic minorities in today's China. It also includes music produced by people of Chinese origin in ...

. The instruments consist of a round, hexagonal, or octagonal sound box at the bottom with a neck attached that protrudes upwards. They also usually have two strings, and their soundboxes are typically covered with either

snake Snakes are elongated, limbless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales. Many species of snakes have skulls with several more ...

skin (most often python) or thin wood. Huqin instruments usually have two tuning pegs, one peg for each string. The pegs are attached horizontally through holes drilled in the instrument's neck. Most huqin have the bow hair pass in between the strings. Exceptions to having two strings and pegs include variations of huqin with three, four, and sometimes even more than five. These include the zhuihu, a three stringed huqin, the sihu, a huqin of Mongolian origin, and the sanhu, a lesser-known three-stringed variation. The most common huqin are the '' erhu'', which is tuned to a middle range; '' zhonghu'', which is tuned to a lower register, and '' gaohu'', which is tuned to a higher pitch. The lowest pitched huqins include the dahu and gehu. The highest pitched huqin is the jinghu, used in the Beijing opera. Over eighty types of ''huqin'' instruments have been documented. ''Huqin'' instruments are believed to have come from the nomadic Hu people, who lived on the extremities of ancient Chinese kingdoms, possibly descending from an instrument called the '' Xiqin'' (

奚琴 Xiqin may refer to: * Xiqin (instrument), a bowed string Chinese musical instrument * Western Qin (385-400, 409-431), a Xianbei state and one of the Sixteen Kingdoms * Xiqin Guildhall, a museum in Zigong, Sichuan, China Towns or townships in China ...

), originally played by the Mongolic Xi tribe. Like the people of China, Mongolian people also have cultural and ethnic heritage of the ancient Hu nomads, and the Mongol version of the ''xiqin'', known as the '' khuuchir'', is testament to this shared heritage. In the 20th century, large bass huqin such as the ''

dihu The ''dihu'' ( 低胡, pinyin: dīhú) is a large bowed string instrument from China. It has a large soundbox covered on one end with snakeskin. Like most other members of the huqin family of instruments, it has two strings and is held vertically ...

'', ''

gehu The ''gehu'' ( 革胡; pinyin: géhú) is a Chinese instrument developed in the 20th century by the Chinese musician Yang Yusen ( 杨雨森, 1926–1980). It is a fusion of the Chinese huqin family and the cello. Its four strings are also ...

'', and ''

diyingehu The bass ''gehu'' (低音革胡; pinyin: ''dīyīngéhú'', ; also called ''digehu'' or ''beigehu'' 倍革胡, literally "bass ''gehu''") is a Chinese bowed string instrument in the ''huqin'' family. It was developed by Yang Yusen along with t ...

'' were developed for use in modern Chinese orchestras. Of these, the ''gehu'' and ''diyingehu'' would be analogous to Occidental cellos and double basses respectively, and were designed to have a timbre that would blend in with the sound of traditional ''huqin''. These instruments generally have four strings and fingerboards, and are played in a similar manner to cellos and double basses, and are very different from the traditional ''huqin''. Similar instruments also feature in the music traditions of neighboring countries, such as

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million ...

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Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the ea ...

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Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand ...

and

Laos Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist s ...

List of Chinese huqin instruments

* Erhu (二胡); also called ''nanhu'' ( 南胡) * Erquanqin (二泉琴); slightly larger erhu used specifically to play the melody Erquan Yingyue (二泉映月) * Gaohu (高胡); also called ''yuehu'' ( 粤胡) * Banhu (板胡) * Jinghu (京胡) *

Jing erhu The ''jing erhu'' () is a Chinese two-stringed bowed musical instrument in the ''huqin'' family of instruments, similar to the ''erhu''. It is so named because it is used in ''jing xi'', or Beijing opera. It is lower in pitch than the '' jinghu'', w ...

(京二胡) * Zhonghu (中胡) * Yehu (椰胡) * Erxian (二弦) * Tiqin (提琴) *

Tihu Tihu (Pron:ˈtɪhuː) is a town and a town area committee established in 1951 in Nalbari district in the Indian state of Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak ...

(提胡) * Daguangxian (大广弦) *

Datong Datong is a prefecture-level city in northern Shanxi Province in the People's Republic of China. It is located in the Datong Basin at an elevation of and borders Inner Mongolia to the north and west and Hebei to the east. As of the 2020 ce ...

(大筒)photo
/sup> *

Datongxian The ''daguangxian'' (; literally "great, broad string nstrument) is a Chinese bowed two-stringed musical instrument in the ''huqin'' family of instruments, held on the lap and played upright. It is used primarily in Taiwan and Fujian, among t ...

(大筒弦)photo
/sup> * Kezaixian (壳仔弦) - two-stringed fiddle with coconut body, used in Taiwan opera * Hexian (和弦) *

Huluhu The ''huluhu'' (traditional: 葫蘆胡; simplified: 葫芦胡; pinyin: húlúhú) is a Chinese bowed string instrument in the ''huqin'' family of instruments. It has two strings, and its sound box is made from a gourd, with a face made of thin wo ...

(traditional: 葫蘆胡; simplified: 葫芦胡) *

Maguhu The ''maguhu'' ( 馬骨胡; simplified: 马骨胡; pinyin: mǎgǔhú) is a Chinese bowed string instrument in the ''huqin'' family of musical instruments. It has two strings and its sound box is made from the femur bone of a horse (or alte ...

(traditional: 馬骨胡; simplified: 马骨胡) *

Tuhu The ''tuhu'' ( 土胡, pinyin: tǔhú) is a Chinese bowed string instrument in the ''huqin'' family of instruments. It is used primarily by non-Han ethnic groups of southern China, particularly the Zhuang, who live in the Guangxi province and us ...

(土胡) * Jiaohu (角胡) *

Zhuihu The ''zhuihu'' ( 坠胡, pinyin: zhùihú; also called ''zhuiqin'' or ''zhuizixian'') is a two-stringed bowed string instrument from China. In construction, it resembles the ''sanxian'', and likely evolved as a bowed version of that musical instru ...

(traditional: 墜胡; simplified: 坠胡) * Zhuiqin (traditional: 墜琴; simplified: 坠琴) *

Leiqin The ''leiqin'' ( 雷琴 or 擂琴, literally "thunderous instrument"; also called ''leihu'') is a Chinese bowed string musical instrument. Construction It has a metal soundbox covered with snakeskin and a long fretless fingerboard. The two str ...

(雷琴) * Sihu (四胡) *

Sanhu The ''sanhu'' proper (Chinese: 三胡; pinyin: sānhú) is a Chinese bowed musical instrument with three strings. It was developed in the 1970s and is essentially a three-stringed version of the two-stringed ''erhu'', with an additional bass str ...

(三胡) *Liuhu (六胡) *

Dahu The dahu is a legendary creature that resembles a mountain goat and is well known in France and francophone regions of Switzerland and Italy, including the Aosta Valley. The dahu, a quadrupedal mammal, may have been inspired by the chamois, a ...

(大胡) *

Dihu The ''dihu'' ( 低胡, pinyin: dīhú) is a large bowed string instrument from China. It has a large soundbox covered on one end with snakeskin. Like most other members of the huqin family of instruments, it has two strings and is held vertically ...

(低胡) ** Xiaodihu (小低胡) ** Zhongdihu (中低胡) ** Dadihu (大低胡) *

Cizhonghu The dahu ( 大胡, pinyin: ''dàhú'') is a large bowed string instrument from China. It has a large soundbox covered on one end with python skin. Like most other members of the huqin family of instruments, it has two strings and is held verti ...

Gehu The ''gehu'' ( 革胡; pinyin: géhú) is a Chinese instrument developed in the 20th century by the Chinese musician Yang Yusen ( 杨雨森, 1926–1980). It is a fusion of the Chinese huqin family and the cello. Its four strings are also ...

(革胡) **

Diyingehu The bass ''gehu'' (低音革胡; pinyin: ''dīyīngéhú'', ; also called ''digehu'' or ''beigehu'' 倍革胡, literally "bass ''gehu''") is a Chinese bowed string instrument in the ''huqin'' family. It was developed by Yang Yusen along with t ...

(低音革胡) *

Laruan The ''lāruǎn'' ( 拉阮; also spelled ''la ruan'') is a relatively new Chinese string instrument blending the acoustics of the ''ruan'' with that of the Western cello. Its larger counterpart is the ''dalaruan'' (大拉阮), which corresponds to ...

(拉阮) ** Dalaruan (大拉阮) *

Paqin The ''paqin'' ( 琶琴) is a modern bowed lute originating in China. The instrument has a pear-shaped wooden body like pipa, with neck no frets but bowed by horsehair bow. It has a bass variant, the '' dapaqin'' and a alto variant is the ''xiao ...

(琶琴) **

Dapaqin The ''dapaqin'' ( 大琶琴) is a modern bowed string instrument originating in China. It is the bass variant of the '' paqin''. Its name literally means "big ''paqin''". Its tone is similar to that double bass. See also * '' Paqin'' * Chinese ...

(大琶琴) * Xiqin (奚琴) * Niutuiqin or ''niubatui'' (牛腿琴 or 牛巴腿) (Guizhou)photo
/sup> *

Matouqin The ''morin khuur'' ( mn, морин хуур, morin khuur), also known as the horsehead fiddle, is a traditional Mongolian bowed stringed instrument. It is one of the most important musical instruments of the Mongol people, and is considered ...

(馬頭琴) (Inner Mongolia) * Aijieke (艾捷克) (Xinjian

* Sataer (萨它尔) (Xinjiang)photo
/sup> * Shaoqin (韶琴) an electric erhu

Related instruments in other Asian nations

Cambodia

* Tro (Cambodia) ** Tro che (Cambodia) ** Tro Khmer (Cambodia) ** Tro sau thom (Cambodia) ** Tro sau toch (Cambodia) ** Tro u (Cambodia) ** Tro Ou Chamhieng (

Cham people The Cham (Cham: ''Čaṃ'') or Champa people (Cham: , ''Urang Campa''; vi, Người Chăm or ; km, ជនជាតិចាម, ) are an Austronesian ethnic group. From the 2nd century to 1832 the Cham populated Champa, a contiguous territor ...

, Cambodia)

Japan

* Kokyū (Japan) (though this is actually descended from the rebab and related instruments, through South East Asia and the Ryukyu islands)Minoru, Miki 2008, Composing for Japanese Instruments, pp 116-117

Korea

* Haegeum (Korea; derived from the '' Xiqin'') ** Sohaegeum (North Korea) ** Junghaegeum (North Korea) ** Daehaegeum (North Korea) ** Jeohaegeum (North Korea)

Kyrgyzstan/Kazakhstan

* kyl kiak ( Kobyz)

Mongolia

* Morin khuur (Mongolia) * Sihu (Mongolia)

Thailand

*Saw (Thailand) ** Saw duang (Thailand) ** Saw u (Thailand) ** Saw sam sai (Thailand) ** Saw peep or saw krapawng (northeast Thailand) **

Saw bong A saw is a tool consisting of a tough blade, wire, or chain with a hard toothed edge. It is used to cut through material, very often wood, though sometimes metal or stone. The cut is made by placing the toothed edge against the material and m ...

(northeast Thailand)

Tuva

* Byzaanchy * Igil

Vietnam

* Đàn gáo (Vietnam) * Đàn hồ (Vietnam; ''hồ'' derives from Chinese ''hu'') * Đàn nhị or Đàn Cò (Vietnam)

Notes

External links

Huqin photographs
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(page 3) {{Authority control Bowed string instruments Chinese musical instruments Continuous pitch instruments Spike lutes