Guzheng
Chinese musical instrument / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The zheng (pinyin: zhēng; Wade–Giles: cheng) or guzheng (Chinese: 古筝; pinyin: gǔzhēng; lit. 'ancient zheng'), is a Chinese plucked zither. The modern guzheng commonly has 21, 25, or 26 strings, is 64 inches (1.6 m; 5 ft 4 in) long, and is tuned in a major pentatonic scale. It has a large, resonant soundboard made from Paulownia wood. Other components are often made from other woods for structural or decorative reasons. Guzheng players often wear a fingerpick made from materials such as plastic, resin, tortoiseshell, or ivory on one or both hands.
Guzheng | |||||||||||||||||||
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Traditional Chinese | 古箏 | ||||||||||||||||||
Simplified Chinese | 古筝 | ||||||||||||||||||
Literal meaning | Ancient Zheng | ||||||||||||||||||
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It can have nylon steel strings, steel strings, silk strings, etc., depending on the genre. The most common guzheng has 21 strings. The high-pitched strings of the guzheng are close to the player, and the low-pitched strings are on the opposite side. The strings' order from the inside to the outside is 1 to 21.
The guzheng is ancestral to several other Asian zithers such as the Japanese koto,[1][2][3] the Korean gayageum and ajaeng,[2][3] Mongolian yatga,[3] the Vietnamese đàn tranh,[2][3] the Sundanese kacapi,[citation needed] and the Kazakhstan jetigen.[citation needed] The guzheng should not be confused with the guqin, a Chinese zither with seven strings played without moveable bridges.[4]
The guzheng has undergone many changes during its long history. The oldest specimen yet discovered held 13 strings and was dated to possibly the Warring States period (475–221 BCE).[5] The guzheng became prominent during the Qin dynasty (221–206 BCE). By the Tang Dynasty (618–907 CE), the guzheng was perhaps the most commonly played instrument in China.[6] The guzheng is played throughout all of China with a variety of different techniques, depending on the region of China and the time period. It has a light timbre, broad range, rich performance skills, and strong expressive power, and it has been deeply loved by many Chinese people throughout history.[7]