The guzheng.docVIP

The guzheng, or gu zheng (Chinese: 古筝; pinyin: gǔzhēng) or zheng (筝) (gu- means ancient) is a traditional Chinese musical instrument. It belongs to the zither family of string instruments. The guzheng is the parent instrument of the Japanese koto, the Korean gayageum, and the Vietnamese ?àn tranh. A modern guzhengThe guzheng should not to be confused with the guqin, another ancient Chinese zither but without bridges. Description The modern-day guzheng is a plucked, half-tube zither with movable bridges and 21 strings, although it can have anywhere from 15 to 25 strings (a customized version exists with more than 34 strings). The guzhengs strings were formerly made of twisted silk, though by the 20th century most players used metal strings (generally steel for the high strings and copper-wound steel for the bass strings). Since the mid-20th century most performers use steel strings flatwound with nylon. The guzheng has a large resonant cavity made from wu tong wood (Paulownia tomentosa). Other components may be made from other woods, usually for structural and decorative purposes. History The guzheng has existed since the Warring States Period and became especially popular during the Qin dynasty. The ancient guzheng had 12 strings, which gradually evolved into it current forms. Until 1961, the common guzheng had 18 strings. In 1961 Xu Zhengao together with Wang Xunzhi introduced the first 21-string guzheng after two years of research and development. In 1961, they also invented the S-shaped left string rest, which was quickly adopted by all guzheng makers and is still used today, whether in the shape of the letter S, C, etc. The 21-string zheng is the most commonly used, but some traditional musicians still use the 16-string, especially along the southeastern coastal provinces of China and in Taiwan. The guzheng is tuned to a pentatonic scale, the 16-string zheng is tuned to give three complete octaves, while the 21-string zheng has four complete octaves. Playing s