Huqin (English spelling)

Japanese: 胡琴 - こきん（英語表記）hu-qin

The name of a stringed instrument used in China and in the music of the Qing Dynasty that was introduced from China to Japan. In China, the instrument referred to by this name varies depending on the era and place. (1) In the Tang Dynasty, it meant a stringed instrument used by the Hu people, and referred to the biwa. (2) A bowed stringed instrument of Mongolian origin, thought to have been modified from the plucked stringed instrument "Hu Bu Si" (→ Kubouz) or the bowed stringed instrument "Rabab" during the Yuan Dynasty or earlier, with a spoon-shaped body and two strings. (3) The bowed stringed instrument with a cylindrical body and two strings, the Hae Geum, which was developed around the Yuan Dynasty, came to be called Hae Geum during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and was also called Hu Qin. (4) In a broad sense, it is a general term for bowed stringed instruments used in China. There are various types, such as "Erhu", "Si Hu", "Nan Hu", "Ti Qin", "Wan Qin", "Ban Hu", and "Ya Hu", and the one used in Peking Opera is sometimes called "Jing Hu". Most are made of bamboo or wood and have a cylindrical, octagonal, or bowl-shaped hemispherical body, into which a neck is inserted, snakeskin is stretched over the body, and they have two to four strings and are played with a bow made of a tied horsehair. (5) In the Qing music that was introduced to Japan, the term erhu refers to the four hu, while the large huqin and the bowl-shaped one are called tiqin.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

中国および中国から日本に伝来した清楽 (しんがく) における弦楽器の名称。中国では，時代や場所によってこの名称の示す楽器に異同がある。 (1) 唐代では，胡人の弦楽器の意で，琵琶をさす。 (2) 元代もしくはそれ以前に，撥弦楽器の「火不思 (ほぶす) 」 (→クーブーズ ) ，あるいは擦弦楽器のラバーブを改造したと思われる蒙古起源の擦弦楽器で，匙形胴2弦のもの。 (3) 元代頃に擦弦楽器化した円筒胴2弦の奚琴を，明，清代に (2) を奚琴と称するようになるとともに，逆に胡琴と称した。 (4) 広義には，中国で行われる擦弦楽器の総称。「二胡」「四胡」「南胡」「提琴」「椀琴」「板胡」「椰胡」などの別があり，京劇に用いられるものは，特に「京胡」といったりもする。多くは竹製または木製の円筒形または八角形，あるいは椀形の半円球の胴で，これに棹を差込み，胴面には蛇皮を張り，2～4弦で，馬尾を束ねた弓で奏する。 (5) 日本に伝わった清楽では二胡をさし，四胡は大胡琴，椀形胴のものは提琴といって区別する。

出典　ブリタニカ国際大百科事典小項目事典ブリタニカ国際大百科事典小項目事典について　情報

<<: Kogin (small cloth)

>>: Kokiriko (small cutter/Tsukuko) - Kokiriko