Everything about Huqin totally explained
Huqin (;
pinyin: húqín) are a family of bowed
string instruments used in
Chinese music. They consist of a round, hexagonal, or octagonal
sound box at the bottom with a stick attached that protrudes upwards. Instruments in the
huqin family have two strings (except the
sihu, which has four strings tuned in pairs) and their soundboxes are typically covered with either snakeskin or thin wood.
Huqin instruments have either two (or, more rarely, four) tuning pegs, one peg for each string. The pegs are attached horizontally through holes drilled in the stick. Most
huqin have the bow hair pass in between the strings.
The most common huqin are the
erhu (essentially a Chinese
violin),
zhonghu (Chinese
viola), and
gaohu (a higher pitched instrument commonly used in
Cantonese music.) Over thirty types of
huqin instruments have been documented.
Huqin instruments are believed to descend from an instrument called the
xiqin, originally played by the Xi, a nomadic people of Central Asia.
In the 20th century, large bass
huqin such as the
dihu,
gehu, and
diyingehu were developed for use in modern
Chinese orchestras. Of these, the
gehu and
diyingehu are essentially versions of cellos and double basses 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 are also used in neighboring countries, such as
Mongolia,
Korea,
Japan,
Vietnam,
Thailand,
Laos, and
Cambodia.
List of Chinese huqin instruments
Erhu (二胡); also called nanhu
Gaohu (高胡); also called yuehu
Banhu (板胡)
Jinghu (京胡)
Jing erhu (京二胡)
Zhonghu (中胡)
Yehu (椰胡)
Erxian (二弦)
Tiqin (提琴)
Daguangxian (大广弦)
Datong (大筒)photo
Datongxian (大筒弦)photo
Hexian (和弦)
Huluhu (traditional: 葫盧胡; simplified: 葫芦胡)
Maguhu (traditional: 馬骨胡; simplified: 马骨胡)
Tuhu (土胡)
Jiaohu (角胡)
Zhuihu (traditional: 墜胡; simplified: 坠胡)
Zhuiqin (traditional: 墜琴; simplified: 坠琴)
Leiqin (雷琴)
Sihu (四胡)
Sanhu (三胡)
Dahu (大胡)
Dihu (低胡)
Cizhonghu
Gehu (革胡)
Laruan (拉阮)
Paqin (琶琴)
Dixianqin
Xiqin (奚琴)
Niutuiqin or niubatui (牛腿琴 or 牛巴腿) (Guizhou)photo
Matouqin (馬頭琴) (Mongolia)
Aijieke (艾捷克) (Xinjiang)(External Link)
Sataer (萨它尔) (Xinjiang)photo
Related instruments in other Asian nations
Cambodia
Tro (Cambodia)
Kokyu (Japan)
Korea
Haegeum (Korea; derived from the xiqin)
Morin khuur (Mongolia)
Thailand
Saw (Thailand)
Byzaanchy
Vietnam
Đàn gáo (Vietnam)
Đàn hồ (Vietnam; hồ derives from Chinese hu)
Đàn nhị (Vietnam; also called đàn cò)Further Information
Get more info on 'Huqin'.
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