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Mawangdui Tomb 3, Qixian-qin (Seven-stringed zither-like instrument)

The surface of the qin had shrunk and cracked, and has been repaired. The tail of the qin is partly missing. This rectangular shaped qin is formed of two parts: the body of the qin and a bottom board. The body of the qin also consists of a sound chamber and tail board. The surfaces of the qin are painted with black lacquer. Scratches or marks on the head of the qin were left from playing. This instrument does not have any inlays [on its surface board to indicate pitch positions]. The bottom of the qin is flat. The sound chamber section is wider than the tail section. The tail board is quite narrow and raises upwards. At the head of the instrument is a bridge (yueshan), which has 7 string holes on its right. There is a T-shaped groove at the bottom of the qin. On the T-shaped groove, the section equivalent to the peg pool [of a guqin]) has 7 horn tuning pegs with 2 holes on them. The tail board has goose feet attached underneath. There is a bottom board attached to the sound chamber of the qin. The shape and structure of the bottom board fit the bottom of the sound chamber. The bottom board also has a T-shaped groove to fit the one at the bottom of the sound chamber. Qin has a plain design.

  • Measurements:Total length: 81.5cm, total height: 13.3cm, width: 12.0-12.6cm, length of the sound chamber: 51.1cm, width of the sound chamber: 11.3-12.7cm, length of the T-shaped groove: 44.7cm, the section equivalent to the peg pool [of a guqin] is 10.8cm wide and 3.7cm long, length of the rest of the groove: 41.0cm, width of the rest of the groove: 3.8cm