Yangqin  

 

 

“Among the plucked instrument introduced here, the yangqin has the shortest history in China. It was imported to China in the transitional period between the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and the Qing Dynasty (1616-1911). During that time, it was also called hudieqin 蝴蝶琴, or a string instrument in the shape of a butterfly, gangsiqin 鋼絲琴, or an instrument with steel strings, and yangqin 揚琴, however with a different Chinese character for yang. There have been many arguments over the origin of the name of this instrument. Some said it is called yangqin 洋琴, where yang means foreign, because it was imported from the western world. The others said it is called yangqin 揚琴, where yang stands for Yangzhou 揚州, a region around Shanghai, because it established its popularity in Yangzhou. Finally it is called the "butterfly" instrument because of the shape it had in earlier times. There is also much dispute over the route through which this instrument was imported to China. Some claimed that it took a western route through Xinjiang 新彊to the mainland, while others believe that it came through Guangdong 廣東, or Canton province, i.e. from the eastern part of China. No matter through which route the instrument came to China, the yangqin was definitely developed from the Persia Santur (it became the Hungarian cimbalom in East Europe). The yangqin was smaller then, with two rows of bridges. Under the influence of the development of a modern Chinese orchestra, larger instruments with three to five rows of bridges are made to perform compositions written with Western idioms. A muting pedal device was also made to stop the struck strings from ringing, which can result in a clearer harmonic progression on the instrument. However, this device has not been popular. Metal strings are stretched over several rows of bridges. The number of bridges on each row varies from three to thirteen, and the number of strings over each bridge varies from one to four. The multiple strings on each bridge are tuned in unison.

 

Traditionally, yangqin is used to accompany regional operas, narrative songs and play a part in regional ensemble, including Jiangnan sizhu 江南絲竹, or Silk and Bamboo Music of the Jiangnan provinces, Guandong yinyue 廣東音樂, or Cantonese Music, and Chaozhou xianshi 潮州弦詩, or Chaozhou Ensemble. Today, it is also an important instrument in the modern Chinese orchestra. Instead of plucked with fingers or a plectrum, the yangqin is struck with a pair of thin bamboo sticks. The strings on both sides of most of the bridges are tuned a fifth apart: lower note on the right side, higher note on the left side. The arrangement of the bridges and the notes, and the range of the instrument vary as different manufacturers make their own models of the instrument. Nevertheless, generally bridges on the right have lower notes than those on the left, and bridges closer to the player have lower notes than those further away.

The "solo tradition" of the yangqin, like that of most of the Chinese instruments, only started to develop in the twentieth century. A large part of its solo repertoire comprises adaptations of traditional instrumental or vocal genres.” (So Hon To)

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