Now some yangqin can span five and a half octaves. But in the early 1970s, the modulating yangqin with four sets of frets was invented, increasing its music range to four and half octaves. The ancient yangqin only had a range of two and a half octaves. Different choices of striking material mark a key difference between Chinese yangqin and Western hammered dulcimers.ĭuring the 400 years since the yangqin was brought to China, few modifications had been made to the modulation mechanism of the musical instrument, until in the 1960s, more than 10 years after the People's Republic of China was founded in 1949. There is much truth to this statement as in Chinese culture, bamboo is the personification of a number of admirable traits, for example an unyielding spirit. He also believes that the reason why Chinese people in the past chose bamboo hammers rather than wood hammers was that bamboo represented the spirit of Chinese literati. Bamboo hammers bounce back easier once they strike the board," says Xu. The original yangqin was played with wooden hammers.Chinese people opt for bamboo hammers because bamboo exhibits better natural elasticity. Yangqin has undergone several major changes, throughout its development history (in China). By late Qing Dynasty (1616-1911), the yangqin had become an essential part of nearly all Chinese folk operas for various ethnic groups across the country. When it came to the late Ming Dynasty, the rise of Chinese folk opera art along with the increasing popularity of Chinese novels bolstered a rapid integration of the yangqin with local folk instruments, giving birth to a new form of orchestra and adding a new charm to Chinese folk art. It arrived in Guangdong Province (in South China), and then spread to other regions, including Guangxi, Sichuan and Hunan. The yangqin is not only popular in China, but also widely played by people in East and Southeast Asian countries, including Vietnam, South Korea and Japan.Īccording to historical records, during the reign of Emperor Wanli (1573-1620) in Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the yangqin first came into China via the Maritime Silk Road. With reforms to adapt to Chinese culture, the yangqin has gradually evolved into an independent Chinese instrument, markedly distinct from those hammered dulcimers outside China. For instance, the yangqin is much larger than the santur in India, but much smaller than the hammered dulcimer in Romania. Though they all trace their early roots back to the region of Iran, the shape, structure, and playing methods of each member of the hammered dulcimer family significantly differ from country to country. Xu adds, "The yangqin is the only musical instrument that has similar versions of it being played in more than 60 countries." Today, the yangqin and its foreign "counterparts" are called by different names in various countries, but it is generally known by its English name hammered dulcimer. "Consequently, the yangqin is also known as the 'Chinese piano'." ![]() "It is widely recognized that the piano is a variant instrument of China's yangqin, one major difference being that the hammers and strings of the piano are placed inside the instrument body instead of outside like the yangqin," says Xu Xuedong, a professor with Minzu University of China (in Beijing), who is a yangqin virtuoso and composer. No wonder many Chinese (including musicians and makers of musical instruments) call yangqin the "king of strings and tunes." In 2008, Sichuan (in Southwest China)'s art of playing the Yangqin was added to the list of the country's items of intangible cultural heritage. With its broad musical range, created from its 144 strings, yangqin can be used to play nearly all types of music. ![]() Many people would agree the piano is the "king of musical instruments." However, they might not have noticed yangqin, the traditional, Chinese folk-musical instrument, whose crystal-clear sounds might remind you of a gurgling stream of water flowing past a small village.
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