The ''jing erhu'' () is a Chinese two-stringed bowed

musical instrument A musical instrument is a device created or adapted to make musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be considered a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. A person who pl ...

in the ''

huqin ''Huqin'' () is a family of bowed string instruments, more specifically, a spike fiddle popularly used in Chinese music. The instruments consist of a round, hexagonal, or octagonal sound box at the bottom with a neck attached that protrudes up ...

'' family of instruments, similar to the ''

erhu The ''erhu'' (; ) is a Chinese two-stringed bowed musical instrument, more specifically a spike fiddle, which may also be called a ''Southern Fiddle'', and is sometimes known in the Western world as the ''Chinese violin'' or a ''Chinese two-s ...

''. It is so named because it is used in ''jing xi'', or

Beijing opera Peking opera, or Beijing opera (), is the most dominant form of Chinese opera, which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance and acrobatics. It arose in Beijing in the mid-Qing dynasty (1644–1912) and became fully developed and recognize ...

. It is lower in pitch than the '' jinghu'', which is the leading melodic instrument in the Beijing opera orchestra, and is considered a supporting instrument to the ''jinghu''. The ''jing erhu'' has a wooden body and neck. It is played vertically, with the body resting on the player's left thigh and the horsehair of the bow passing between the two strings. It previously used

silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the coc ...

strings, but since the 1960s has more commonly used steel strings. The ''jing erhu'' was popularized in the 1920s by Wang Shaoqing ( 王少卿), a musician in the troupe of

Mei Lanfang Mei Lan (22 October 1894 – 8 August 1961), better known by his stage name Mei Lanfang, was a notable Peking opera artist in modern Chinese theater. Mei was known as "Queen of Peking Opera". Mei was exclusively known for his female lead ...

External links

''erhu music''
- Listen to relaxing erhu music

External links

See also