Unfortunately, the records we have struggle to distinguish between a violin and a cello. We'd need them to explain it like experts today might explain the differences between a fiddle, a viol, and a violin. To apply the classification conventions of today without time travel we'd need the ancient writers and their sources to explain the differences between these instruments down to the smallest detail. (4) In modern times we use the smallest differences in size or shape to distinguish one instrument from another. It's surprisingly difficult.Ī source from around 1060 CE says the sè was a zheng, while a source from around 1580 CE says the qín and zhēng were exactly the same. To talk about their history we need to figure out at what point their predecessors diverged to become qín, sè, or guzheng. These three instruments developed along intertwining paths.

The wonderful guzheng, sitting now at 21 strings, fits right in the middle. It had around 5-7 strings, no moveable bridges, and was far smaller. (3) The early qín was on the simpler side. It was longer and deeper than a modern guzheng and has featured 25-50 strings over its history. The sè is on the large and complex side of the spectrum. Think of them as two ends of a zither spectrum. Two such zithers are the sè (瑟) and the qín (琴). Keep that in mind as we explore: I use zheng for guzheng predecessors and zither for the broad category that includes many different instruments. At some point zheng came to mean the guzheng and its direct predecessors. Early writings use 'zheng' to mean 'zither' they aren't specific. Those early board and string instruments were definitely zithers but they were very different from the 古筝 of today. The name 'guzheng' is two characters, 古 and 筝 (Gǔ and zhēng). Gǔ means ancient and zhēng means zither. To talk about the guzheng we have to clear something up. 'The guzheng!' you might cry! Well, you'd be half right. (2) Some of the instruments might remind us of the guitars and banjos of today - but others were more like planks with strings of different length. But we do know that sometime in the past people were playing musical instruments capable of astounding music. In China, it happened so long ago we don't know the earliest origins. This happened all over the world. Untold numbers of people discovered the magic of wringing sound from taut lines.

By changing the material the strings were made of or by changing what they were attached to, they realized they could make a whole variety of noises. By tightening and loosening the strands they found they could change the pitch. Someone tied thin strands between two points and plucked them. It does not store any personal data.Our story begins long, long ago in a land far, far away-or maybe right where you are sitting. The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category 'Performance'. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category 'Other. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category 'Necessary'. The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category 'Functional'. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category 'Analytics'.

These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. So what are these popular Chinese orchestral instruments? Traditional Chinese instruments can be generally grouped into two common categories: string and woodwind. The pinnacle of the development of traditional Chinese instruments was reached in the Tang Dynasty, during which the emperors were masters in music, and many exotic instruments were introduced to and adopted in ancient China due to frequent cultural exchanges between China and other regions of the world. Cumbersome instruments like the Bronze Chimes gradually gave way to compact musical instruments such as woodwind and string traditional Chinese instruments like Dizi and Guqin. However, the music managed to find its way to common people. At first, the musical instruments were exclusive to the upper social class serving as a symbol for their status, power, and taste, distinct from the lower classes. As early as three thousand years ago, up to 70 Chinese musical instruments were played to please the royal family and aristocrats.

Chinese string instrument guzheng