Hammered dulcimer of the Han Chinese. The name yang in its original form means ‘foreign’; qin is generic for string instruments. More recently, another character for yang meaning ‘elevated’ has come into public acceptance. The yangqin is also traditionally known as hudie qin (‘butterfly qin’, in reference to its double-wing shaped body) and daqin (‘beaten qin’).
The traditional instrument shell is trapezoidal in shape, with rounded ends and fluted sides of hardwood, its resonating chamber covered with a thin soundboard of white pine or other softwood (see illustration). Held against the soundboard by pressure of the strings are two rows of bridges, each row with seven or eight chessman-shaped bridges. The strings on older instruments are of copper (more recently of steel) and organized in two groups (left and right), each traditionally comprising a one-octave range of diatonically tuned pitches, with double (or more) courses of strings for each pitch position. Strings in the right group run from their tuning pegs, over a common nut, across their respective bridges (the right row), between the left row of bridges, across the left nut, and are fastened to pins on the left side of the instrument. Strings in the left group reverse this arrangement, running between the right row of bridges and then over the left row. The left row of bridges is positioned on the soundboard so as to divide its strings in a 2:3 relationship (such as 20 cm on the left side, 30 cm on the right). With this particular division, these strings are capable of sounding two pitches a 5th apart, one on each side of its bridge (e.g. sol–re, la–mi etc., on right and left sides respectively). A particularly distinctive characteristic of traditional tuning (especially in south China) requires that ti and fa be positioned on either side of the same bridge as a perfect 5th, ti roughly 50 cents flat (from equal temperament) and fa 50 cents sharp. Placement of the right row of bridges, however, requires no such precise positioning since only the strings on its left side are utilized (for lower octave pitches). Range on the traditional instrument is little more than two octaves, depending upon its numbers of bridges. In performance, it rests on a stand or table and is struck with two slender bamboo beaters (qinzhu).
The yangqin is an adaptation of the Persian Santūr, which was introduced to coastal areas of Guangdong province in south China late in the Ming dynasty (1368–1644). Mentioned frequently in the literature of the 18th to early 20th centuries, it was readily accepted into the local Cantonese and Chaozhou ensembles, where it remains an important instrument. It is also used to accompany narrative singing in Sichuan province, and in northern vocal genres such as Erren tai. In the 20th century it has been accepted into some sizhu (‘silk-and-bamboo’) ensembles in the Jiangnan area of central-eastern China.
When the new concert-hall music (guoyue) emerged in the mid-20th century, the traditional yangqin was enlarged in size (to about 100 cm in length for moderate-sized instruments) and given a wider range. On most models, a third row of bridges was added (to the far right for an extended lower range), bridge numbers were increased from 7 or 8 to 10 or more, and sliders or rollers were mounted under the strings (on both sides) to facilitate fine tuning and half-step pitch changes. On some very large present-day models, a fourth (and sometimes a fifth) row of bridges is present as well. These ‘reformed’ instruments have ranges of between three and four octaves, many with full chromatic capability.
A.C. Moule: ‘A List of the Musical and Other Sound-Producing Instruments of the Chinese’, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, North China Branch, xxxix (1908), 1–160; repr. separately (Buren, 1989), 118–20
Liu Dongsheng and others, eds.: Zhongguo yueqi tuzhi [Pictorial record of Chinese musical instruments] (Beijing, 1987), 277–9
Liu Dongsheng, ed.: Zhongguo yueqi tujian [Pictorial guide to Chinese instruments] (Ji'nan, 1992), 276–81
Xu Pingxin: ‘Zhongwai yangqin de fazhan yu bijiao’ [Development and comparison of Chinese and foreign yangqin], Yueqi (1992), no.1, pp.7–10, no.2, pp.11–15, no.3, pp.1–5, no.4, pp.8–11
ALAN R. THRASHER