The ruan, called Qin pipa or yueqin in ancient times, was a kind of pipa with a long neck. The well-known solo pieces are Song of the Homebound Fishermen, In Celebration of a Bumper Harvest and Battle against Typhoon. It is played with diverse finesse and outstanding character. The zheng has a unique and rich expressiveness, capable of interpreting music of various moods, from the classically elegant to flying passions. There is also a 25-string version that has a mechanism to enable the instrument to re-tune the strings instantly. The recently developed type is fitted with 21 strings. After the Tang (618-907) and Song (960-1279) dynasties, it evolved into a 13-string version. Before the Han (206 BC – AD220) and the Jin (265 – 420) dynasties, it was fitted with 12 strings. The timbre of zheng varies from the pristine and elegant to the crisp and sprightly according to the different kind of strings (silk or metal) used. Traditionally, it was used in ensembles and for accompanying folk narrative singing. Hence it was also referred to as Qin zheng. The zheng, a traditional instrument that existed already in the Warring States Period (403-221 B.C.), was extremely popular in the State of Qin (around the Shaanxi region). One of the representative pieces for solo is Spring Comes to River Yi.
It is a plucked-string instrument for playing high-pitched melodies, has exuberant expressions and is hailed as the “gem” of Chinese orchestras. Its tone quality is solid in the low register, tender in the middle register and sonorous in the high register with strong penetrating power. Its range is as wide as four octaves, comparable to that of a violin. It was reformed into a soprano plucked instrument with four strings and twenty-nine frets in the 1950’s as a need of the Chinese ensemble. Originally the liuqin was an alto instrument fitted with two strings and seven frets. The liuqin is the principal accompanying instrument for the Liuqin Opera common in southern Shandong and northern Jiangsu, the Sizhou Opera of Anhui, and Shaoxing luantan of Zhejiang. It is also commonly called “tu pipa” and “jingang tui” and is a popular instrument in Shandong, Anhui and Jiangsu. The shape of the liuqin looks like a “liu (willow) leaf”, hence its name. Plucked-string Instruments 弹拨乐器 Liuqin 柳琴
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