The ''sihu'' () (known as a / / ''khuuchir'' in

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, ...

, where this term defines the whole ''

huqin ''Huqin'' () is a family of bowed string instruments, more specifically, a spike fiddle popularly used in Chinese music. The instruments consist of a round, hexagonal, or octagonal sound box at the bottom with a neck attached that protrudes u ...

'' family) is a Chinese bowed string instrument with four strings. It is a member of the ''

'' family of instruments.

Construction

The instrument's name comes from the words ''sì'' (四, meaning "four" in Chinese, referring to the instrument's number of strings) and ''hú'' (胡, short for ''huqin'', the family of instruments of which the ''sihu'' is a member). Its soundbox and neck are made from hardwood and the playing end of the soundbox is covered with

python Python may refer to: Snakes * Pythonidae, a family of nonvenomous snakes found in Africa, Asia, and Australia ** ''Python'' (genus), a genus of Pythonidae found in Africa and Asia * Python (mythology), a mythical serpent Computing * Python (pro ...

cow Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ma ...

, or sheep skin. There are several sizes of ''sihu''; the lowest of these is generally tuned C, C, G, G; the medium size is tuned G, G, D, D; and the smallest size is tuned D, D, A, A.

Technique

The instrument is held vertically, with its soundbox on the player's lap, and its strings are tuned in pairs. The hair of the bow passes between the two pairs of strings.

Use

The ''sihu'' is primarily associated with the

n culture, and is played by Mongolians in Mongolia and also in the

Inner Mongolia Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. Its border includes most of the length of China's border with the country of Mongolia. Inner Mongolia also accounts for a ...

Autonomous Region of China. The Mongolians call it the ''Khuurchir''. It is also used as a traditional instrument in the Liaoning,

Jilin Jilin (; alternately romanized as Kirin or Chilin) is one of the three provinces of Northeast China. Its capital and largest city is Changchun. Jilin borders North Korea ( Rasŏn, North Hamgyong, Ryanggang and Chagang) and Russia (Prim ...

Heilongjiang Heilongjiang () formerly romanized as Heilungkiang, is a province in northeast China. The standard one-character abbreviation for the province is (). It was formerly romanized as "Heilungkiang". It is the northernmost and easternmost province ...

provinces of China. It is also used as an accompanying instrument in various Chinese narrative genres, including Beijing ''dagu'', plum blossom ''dagu'', ''

Xihe Dagu Xihe is the atonal pinyin romanization of the Mandarin pronunciation of various Chinese names. It may refer to: People *Xihe (deity) (), a Chinese solar deity Places *Xihe Commandery (西河郡), a former commandery of imperial China around Fen ...

'', Tianjin new tunes, Shandong ''qin shu'', Northeast ''dagu'', Hubei song, Shaoxing ''lianhua luo'', Shanxi ''er ren'', Inner Mongolia ''er ren'', northeast dance duet, lucky play, Beijing opera derived drama from ballads, Hebei ''pi ying'' (shadow theater), and Henan ''erjiaxian'' traditional entertainment involving talking, singing, and drama. The sihu, often sometimes called the

tiqin The ''tiqin'' () is a name applied to several two-stringed Chinese bowed string musical instruments in the ''huqin'' family of instruments. Types There are several types of ''tiqin'': *The ''tiqin'' used for ''kunqu'' opera *The ''tiqin'' used f ...

back then, was the premier folk instrument of the Qing Dynasty, used in both folk and court ensembles by

Han Han may refer to: Ethnic groups * Han Chinese, or Han People (): the name for the largest ethnic group in China, which also constitutes the world's largest ethnic group. ** Han Taiwanese (): the name for the ethnic group of the Taiwanese p ...

Mongol The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member ...

, and Manchu musicians, until

Liu Tianhua Liu Tianhua (; 1895–1932) was a Chinese musician and composer best known for his innovative work for the ''erhu''. Liu's students, such as Jiang Fengzhi and Chen Zhenduo, continued to contribute to the development of the ''erhu''. He was the ...

brought the

erhu The ''erhu'' (; ) is a Chinese two-stringed bowed musical instrument, more specifically a spike fiddle, which may also be called a ''Southern Fiddle'', and is sometimes known in the Western world as the ''Chinese violin'' or a ''Chinese two- ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

in the 1920s. Since then, the sihu has mostly fallen into obscurity, even among Mongols. Similar instruments include the Mongolian '' dörvön chikhtei khuur'' (''four eared fiddle'') and the Tuvan ''

byzaanchy The ''byzaanchy'' (Tuvan: бызаанчы; Russian: Бизанчи; also transliterated ''byzanchi'' or ''byzanchie'') is a four-stringed vertical spike fiddle used in the traditional music of Tuva. It is similar to the Chinese '' sihu''. Howev ...

''. In China, ''dörbön chikhtei khuur'' (Chinese: 胡兀尔 or 都日奔齐和胡尔) is considered an alias of sihu.

External links

Sihu article''Sihu'' photo
Mongolian musical instruments Chinese musical instruments Drumhead lutes Bowed instruments Huqin family instruments {{china-music-stub

Construction

Technique

Use

See also

External links