The ''sihu'' () (known as a / / ''khuuchir'' in
Mongolia, where this term defines the whole ''
huqin'' family) is a Chinese
bowed
Bowed string instruments are a subcategory of string instruments that are played by a bow rubbing the strings. The bow rubbing the string causes vibration which the instrument emits as sound.
Despite the numerous specialist studies devoted to th ...
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 ...
with four strings. It is a member of the ''
huqin'' 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
Hardwood is wood from dicot trees. These are usually found in broad-leaved temperate and tropical forests. In temperate and boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostly evergreen. Hardwood (which comes from ...
and the playing end of the soundbox is covered with
python,
cow, 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
Mongolian culture, and is played by Mongolians in Mongolia and also in the
Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
. The Mongolians call it the ''Khuurchir''. It is also used as a traditional instrument in the
Liaoning
Liaoning () is a coastal province in Northeast China that is the smallest, southernmost, and most populous province in the region. With its capital at Shenyang, it is located on the northern shore of the Yellow Sea, and is the northernmost ...
,
Jilin,
Heilongjiang provinces of China.
It is also used as an accompanying instrument in various Chinese narrative genres, including Beijing ''dagu'', plum blossom ''dagu'', ''
Xihe Dagu'', 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 back then, was the premier folk instrument of the Qing Dynasty, used in both folk and court ensembles by
Han,
Mongol, and
Manchu
The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636) and ...
musicians, until
Liu Tianhua brought the
erhu to
Beijing 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''. In China, ''dörbön chikhtei khuur'' (Chinese: 胡兀尔 or 都日奔齐和胡尔) is considered an alias of sihu.
See also
*
Huqin
*
Byzaanchy
*
Traditional Chinese musical instruments
External links
Sihu article''Sihu'' photo
Mongolian musical instruments
Chinese musical instruments
Drumhead lutes
Bowed instruments
Huqin family instruments
{{china-music-stub