Description:
The Jing-hu is the smallest member of the hukin family of silk bowed
instruments All the members of the hukin family are held vertically
from the knee, classified as a "bowed silk instrument" in the Chinese Classification of musical instruments. In Beijing opera the ching hu is the primary instrument
that is comparable to another human voice. Although the exact origin of
the ching-hu is not known it is believed the ching-hu may have
originated from the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC).
Anatomy of the Ching-hu: The shaft of the ching hu is vertical and it is inserted into the the body. A small ovoid hole is carved through the peace on both sides of the shaft to improve the acoustic resonance of the ching-hu. In the case of my specimen the body is made of a larger diameter circular piece of bamboo that is cut just below the nodes.On the front of the body the snake skin would be applied. In modern times many flexible synthetic fabrics are often used in place of the snake-skin. Two tuning pegs are also located at the top of the instrument. Some string binding both functional and ornamental is also applied. A bridge rests on the surface of the taut skin in which two notches are nicked into each string goes over the bridge.