Guqin

The guqin  (Chinese: 古琴; Pinyin: gǔqín; Wade-Giles: ku-ch'in; IPA: ; literally "ancient stringed-instrument") is the modern name for a plucked seven-string Chinese musical instrument of the zither family (中華絃樂噐/中华弦乐器). It has been played since ancient times, and has traditionally been favored by scholars and literati as an instrument of great subtlety and refinement, as highlighted by the quote 「士無故不撤琴瑟」, meaning "a gentleman does not part with his qin or se without good reason," as well as being associated with the ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius. It is sometimes referred to by the Chinese as 「國樂之父/国乐之父」, meaning "the father of Chinese music" or 「聖人之噐/圣人之器」, meaning "the instrument of the sages".

Traditionally the instrument was called simply qin 「琴」, which can also be written as 「琹」, 「珡」 or other ancient forms, but by the twentieth century the term had come to be applied to many other musical instruments as well. The yangqin 「揚琴/扬琴」 hammered dulcimer, the huqin 「胡琴」 family of bowed string instruments, and the Western piano (Traditional Chinese: 鋼琴; Simplified Chinese: 钢琴; Pinyin: gāng qín; literally "steel stringed-instrument") are examples of this usage, so the prefix "gu-" 「古」 (meaning "ancient") was added for clarification. It can also be called qixianqin 「七絃琴」 ("seven-stringed instrument"). The guqin is not to be confused with the guzheng (「古箏/古筝」 "ancient stringed-instrument (with moveable bridges)"), another Chinese long zither also without frets, but with moveable bridges under each string. Because Robert Hans van Gulik's famous book about the qin is called The Lore of the Chinese Lute, the guqin is sometimes inaccurately called a lute. Other incorrect classifications, mainly from music compact discs, include "harp" or "table-harp".

The guqin is a very quiet instrument, with a range of about four octaves, and its open strings are tuned in the bass register. Its lowest pitch is about two octaves below middle C, or the lowest note on the cello. Sounds are produced by plucking open strings, stopped strings, and harmonics. The use of glissando — sliding tones — gives it a sound reminiscent of a pizzicato cello, fretless double bass or a slide guitar. the qin is also capable of over 119 harmonics, of which 91 are most commonly used. By tradition the qin originally had five strings, but ancient qin-like instruments with 10 or more strings have been found. The modern form has been standardized for about two millennia. A number of players and listeners have commented that qin music sounds similar to Blues music in one way or another, but it should be noted that there are also many differences.