Yueqin

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The yueqin (Chinese: 月琴, pinyin: yuèqín; also spelled yue qin, or yueh-ch'in; and also called moon guitar, moon-zither, gekkin, la ch'in, or laqin) is a traditional Chinese string instrument. It is a lute with a round, hollow wooden body which gives it the nickname moon guitar. It has a short fretted neck and four strings tuned in courses of two (each pair of strings is tuned to a single pitch), generally tuned to the interval of a perfect fifth. Occasionally, the body of the yueqin may be octagonal in shape.[1]

According to legend, the instrument was invented in China during the Qin dynasty. It is an important instrument in the Beijing opera orchestra.

[edit] External links

• (Chinese) Yueqin page
• (Chinese) Yueqin photos (second and third rows)

[edit] Video

• Yueqin video from The Musical Instruments E-book

[edit] See also

• Đàn nguyệt
• Traditional Chinese musical instruments