Liuqin
Encyclopedia
The liuqin is a four-stringed Chinese
mandolin
with a pear-shaped body. It is small in size, almost a miniature copy of another Chinese plucked musical instrument, the pipa
. The range of its voice is much higher than the pipa
, and it has its own special place in Chinese music, whether in orchestral music or in solo pieces. This has been the result of a modernization in its usage in recent years, leading to a gradual elevation in status of the liuqin from an accompaniment
instrument in folk Chinese opera
, narrative music, i.e. Suzhou
pingtan, in northern Jiangsu
, southern Shandong
and Anhui
, to an instrument well-appreciated for its unique tonal and acoustic qualities. The position of the instrument is lower than the pipa
, being held diagonally like the Chinese ruan
and yueqin
. Like the ruan
and unlike the pipa
its strings are elevated by a bridge and the soundboard has two prominent soundholes. Finally, the instrument is played with a pick with similar technique to both ruan
and yueqin
, whereas the pipa
is played with the fingers. Therefore, the liuqin is most commonly played and doubled by those with ruan
and yueqin
experience.
Historically, the liuqin was commonly made of willow wood
, while the professionals used versions constructed with a higher-quality red sandalwood
or rosewood. In contemporary versions, however, the front board is made of tong wood (桐木) and for the reverse side, of red sandalwood, as comparable to historical types.
Throughout its history, the liuqin came in variations ranging from two (which only had and a half octaves) to five strings. However, the earliest precursor of the modern four-stringed version of the instrument appeared and experienced popularity during the Tang Dynasty
(AD 618 - 907). This version had three strings, and was only used for accompaniment purposes in traditional operas, as mentioned before.
The three-stringed liuqin remained in use for much of dynastic China from the Tang Dynasty until the late 20th century. The tunings used were thus D-G-D and D-A-D. With the modernization of traditional Chinese music in 1970s, the four-stringed liuqin was developed as an improvement to its musical range, and the body of the instrument was enlarged to allow the player to handle the instrument with greater ease. There, however, still remains a five-stringed liuqin, which was developed with a A-D-A-D-A tuning to cater to needs for an alto
liuqin in 1975:)
than that of the pipa, using a plectrum
and frequently using the tremolo
technique. Its strings are either tuned in fifths, G-D-A-E (as a mandolin or violin
), or else in a mixture of fourths and fifths, as for example G-D-G-D, which is a more common tuning employed by mainstream players of the liuqin. This makes playing of the liuqin exactly the same as the ruan
, hence players of either the liuqin or the ruan often double on both instruments.
The modern liuqin has four steel strings. Like the ruan, the number of the liuqins frets was increased from 7 to 24 over the course of the 20th century. These frets are arranged in half-step intervals. Its refreshing and jubilant tonal quality is more delicate than that of the yueqin
.
Note that the frets on all Chinese lutes are high so that the fingers never touch the actual body—distinctively different from western fretted instruments. This allows for a greater control over timbre and intonation than their western counterparts, but makes chordal playing more difficult.
Mei Han
, guzheng
who doubles on liuqin
Warrior Suite
Information on the liuqin (also includes information on other plucked-string instruments and notational description of instrumental tonal range)
On players of the liuqin
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
mandolin
Mandolin
A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
with a pear-shaped body. It is small in size, almost a miniature copy of another Chinese plucked musical instrument, the pipa
Pipa
The pipa is a four-stringed Chinese musical instrument, belonging to the plucked category of instruments . Sometimes called the Chinese lute, the instrument has a pear-shaped wooden body with a varying number of frets ranging from 12–26...
. The range of its voice is much higher than the pipa
Pipa
The pipa is a four-stringed Chinese musical instrument, belonging to the plucked category of instruments . Sometimes called the Chinese lute, the instrument has a pear-shaped wooden body with a varying number of frets ranging from 12–26...
, and it has its own special place in Chinese music, whether in orchestral music or in solo pieces. This has been the result of a modernization in its usage in recent years, leading to a gradual elevation in status of the liuqin from an accompaniment
Accompaniment
In music, accompaniment is the art of playing along with an instrumental or vocal soloist or ensemble, often known as the lead, in a supporting manner...
instrument in folk Chinese opera
Chinese opera
Chinese opera is a popular form of drama and musical theatre in China with roots going back as far as the third century CE...
, narrative music, i.e. Suzhou
Suzhou
Suzhou , previously transliterated as Su-chou, Suchow, and Soochow, is a major city located in the southeast of Jiangsu Province in Eastern China, located adjacent to Shanghai Municipality. The city is situated on the lower reaches of the Yangtze River and on the shores of Taihu Lake and is a part...
pingtan, in northern Jiangsu
Jiangsu
' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located along the east coast of the country. The name comes from jiang, short for the city of Jiangning , and su, for the city of Suzhou. The abbreviation for this province is "苏" , the second character of its name...
, southern Shandong
Shandong
' is a Province located on the eastern coast of the People's Republic of China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history from the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River and served as a pivotal cultural and religious site for Taoism, Chinese...
and Anhui
Anhui
Anhui is a province in the People's Republic of China. Located in eastern China across the basins of the Yangtze River and the Huai River, it borders Jiangsu to the east, Zhejiang to the southeast, Jiangxi to the south, Hubei to the southwest, Henan to the northwest, and Shandong for a tiny...
, to an instrument well-appreciated for its unique tonal and acoustic qualities. The position of the instrument is lower than the pipa
Pipa
The pipa is a four-stringed Chinese musical instrument, belonging to the plucked category of instruments . Sometimes called the Chinese lute, the instrument has a pear-shaped wooden body with a varying number of frets ranging from 12–26...
, being held diagonally like the Chinese ruan
Ruan
The ruan is a Chinese plucked string instrument. It is a lute with a fretted neck, a circular body, and four strings. Its strings were formerly made of silk but since the 20th century they have been made of steel...
and yueqin
Yueqin
This article is about the Chinese Yuequin. The Vietnamese Đàn nguyệt is also often referred to as a 'moon guitar'.The yueqin is a traditional Chinese string instrument...
. Like the ruan
Ruan
The ruan is a Chinese plucked string instrument. It is a lute with a fretted neck, a circular body, and four strings. Its strings were formerly made of silk but since the 20th century they have been made of steel...
and unlike the pipa
Pipa
The pipa is a four-stringed Chinese musical instrument, belonging to the plucked category of instruments . Sometimes called the Chinese lute, the instrument has a pear-shaped wooden body with a varying number of frets ranging from 12–26...
its strings are elevated by a bridge and the soundboard has two prominent soundholes. Finally, the instrument is played with a pick with similar technique to both ruan
Ruan
The ruan is a Chinese plucked string instrument. It is a lute with a fretted neck, a circular body, and four strings. Its strings were formerly made of silk but since the 20th century they have been made of steel...
and yueqin
Yueqin
This article is about the Chinese Yuequin. The Vietnamese Đàn nguyệt is also often referred to as a 'moon guitar'.The yueqin is a traditional Chinese string instrument...
, whereas the pipa
Pipa
The pipa is a four-stringed Chinese musical instrument, belonging to the plucked category of instruments . Sometimes called the Chinese lute, the instrument has a pear-shaped wooden body with a varying number of frets ranging from 12–26...
is played with the fingers. Therefore, the liuqin is most commonly played and doubled by those with ruan
Ruan
The ruan is a Chinese plucked string instrument. It is a lute with a fretted neck, a circular body, and four strings. Its strings were formerly made of silk but since the 20th century they have been made of steel...
and yueqin
Yueqin
This article is about the Chinese Yuequin. The Vietnamese Đàn nguyệt is also often referred to as a 'moon guitar'.The yueqin is a traditional Chinese string instrument...
experience.
Historically, the liuqin was commonly made of willow wood
Wood
Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundreds of thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression...
, while the professionals used versions constructed with a higher-quality red sandalwood
Sandalwood
Sandalwood is the name of a class of fragrant woods from trees in the genus Santalum. The woods are heavy, yellow, and fine-grained, and unlike many other aromatic woods they retain their fragrance for decades. As well as using the harvested and cut wood in-situ, essential oils are also extracted...
or rosewood. In contemporary versions, however, the front board is made of tong wood (桐木) and for the reverse side, of red sandalwood, as comparable to historical types.
History
The liuqin has gone by various names, firstly the liuyeqin (柳葉琴), meaning willow-leaf-shaped instrument. This was the original term for the liuqin, which is visibly an abbreviation of the term liuyeqin. The other reference to the liuqin is the tu pipa (土琵琶), literally meaning unrefined pipa, because of the aforementioned dimunitive size and resemblance of the liuqin to the pipa.Throughout its history, the liuqin came in variations ranging from two (which only had and a half octaves) to five strings. However, the earliest precursor of the modern four-stringed version of the instrument appeared and experienced popularity during the Tang Dynasty
Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
(AD 618 - 907). This version had three strings, and was only used for accompaniment purposes in traditional operas, as mentioned before.
The three-stringed liuqin remained in use for much of dynastic China from the Tang Dynasty until the late 20th century. The tunings used were thus D-G-D and D-A-D. With the modernization of traditional Chinese music in 1970s, the four-stringed liuqin was developed as an improvement to its musical range, and the body of the instrument was enlarged to allow the player to handle the instrument with greater ease. There, however, still remains a five-stringed liuqin, which was developed with a A-D-A-D-A tuning to cater to needs for an alto
Alto
Alto is a musical term, derived from the Latin word altus, meaning "high" in Italian, that has several possible interpretations.When designating instruments, "alto" frequently refers to a member of an instrumental family that has the second highest range, below that of the treble or soprano. Hence,...
liuqin in 1975:)
Playing technique, tones and range
Its technique is closer to that of the mandolinMandolin
A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
than that of the pipa, using a plectrum
Plectrum
A plectrum is a small flat tool used to pluck or strum a stringed instrument. For hand-held instruments such as guitars and mandolins, the plectrum is often called a pick, and is a separate tool held in the player's hand...
and frequently using the tremolo
Tremolo
Tremolo, or tremolando, is a musical term that describes various trembling effects, falling roughly into two types. The first is a rapid reiteration...
technique. Its strings are either tuned in fifths, G-D-A-E (as a mandolin or violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
), or else in a mixture of fourths and fifths, as for example G-D-G-D, which is a more common tuning employed by mainstream players of the liuqin. This makes playing of the liuqin exactly the same as the ruan
Ruan
The ruan is a Chinese plucked string instrument. It is a lute with a fretted neck, a circular body, and four strings. Its strings were formerly made of silk but since the 20th century they have been made of steel...
, hence players of either the liuqin or the ruan often double on both instruments.
The modern liuqin has four steel strings. Like the ruan, the number of the liuqins frets was increased from 7 to 24 over the course of the 20th century. These frets are arranged in half-step intervals. Its refreshing and jubilant tonal quality is more delicate than that of the yueqin
Yueqin
This article is about the Chinese Yuequin. The Vietnamese Đàn nguyệt is also often referred to as a 'moon guitar'.The yueqin is a traditional Chinese string instrument...
.
Note that the frets on all Chinese lutes are high so that the fingers never touch the actual body—distinctively different from western fretted instruments. This allows for a greater control over timbre and intonation than their western counterparts, but makes chordal playing more difficult.
Notable players of the
liuqin- Wang Hongyi (王红艺), daughter of Wang Huiran
- Wang Huiran (王惠然), esteemed "Father of the
Mei Han
Mei Han is a Chinese guzheng performer and scholar.She was born into a military family in Beijing, the youngest of four children. Her father came from Shanxi, and her mother, who is half Miao, came from Hunan. Her maternal grandfather was a scholar, calligrapher, and educator named Long Zhancen...
,
Guzheng
The guzheng or "gu zheng", also called zheng is a Chinese plucked zither. It has 18-23 or more strings and movable bridges....
who doubles on liuqin
Works composed/co-composed/adapted by Wang Huiran (王惠然)
- Canal of Happiness
- Melody on a Moonlit River
- Sing a Mountain Song of Love
- Spring Comes to River Yi (春到沂河)
- The Lark (
More information
On the instrument Liuqin photographs (first row)On players of the liuqin
- Concert information on Wang Huiran
- Press release on Wang Hongyi
- Information on Wang Huiran and Wang Hongyi
Audio
- Liuqin Mp3s (click headphones to listen to individual tracks)
- Liuqin Mp3s on Yahoo! GeoCities
Related Chinese plucked-string instruments
- PipaPipaThe pipa is a four-stringed Chinese musical instrument, belonging to the plucked category of instruments . Sometimes called the Chinese lute, the instrument has a pear-shaped wooden body with a varying number of frets ranging from 12–26...
- RuanRuanThe ruan is a Chinese plucked string instrument. It is a lute with a fretted neck, a circular body, and four strings. Its strings were formerly made of silk but since the 20th century they have been made of steel...