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Tan Sitong’s bequest - Seven-stringed zither

The top surface of the qin is made of paulownia wood and the bottom surface is made of ovate catalpa wood. The cap corner (guanjue) and bridge (yueshan) are both made of padauk wood. This qin does not have a dew-receptor (chenglu). Its goose feet are made of padauk wood. The tuning pegs are made of ivory. The nut or “dragon’s gum” is made of elephant bones. The inlays are made of mother-of-pearl. The two sound holes (the “dragon pool” and “phoenix pond”) at the back of the qin both have bamboo rims. The top surface of the qin has “cow-hair” cracks and the bottom surface has a few small “snake-skin” cracks. The qin is painted with black lacquer on the surface, but has a mixture of gold lacquer and cinnabar sprinkled on it (this technique is rarely used on a qin).

  • Culture:
  • Period:
  • Materials:Paulownia wood, ovate catalpa wood
  • Specific materials/techniques:
  • Decorative elements:
  • Inscriptions:The qin has no inscriptions or seals (the original inscriptions above and below the large sound hole have worn away).
  • Hornbostel-Sachs category:314.122 True board zithers with resonator box (box zither)
  • Repository:Hunan Museum
  • Measurements:Total length: 111cm, string length: 103.5cm, width of the forehead: 17.7cm, width of the shoulders: 18.5cm, width of the tail: 13.5cm, the large sound hole is 20cm long and 2cm wide, the small sound hole is 10.4cm long and 1.9cm wide.