The erhu (Chinese: ¶þºú; Pinyin: ¨¨rh¨²), sometimes known in the West as the 'Chinese violin' or Chinese two string fiddle, is a two-stringed bowed musical instrument, used as a solo instrument as well as in small ensembles and large orchestras. It belongs to the huqin family of bowed string Chinese instruments, together with the zhonghu (Ö�ºú), gaohu (¸ßºú), banhu (°åºú), jinghu (¾©ºú), sihu (Ëĺú), and numerous others. It is said that there are over 40 different variations of the generic huqin instrument.
Contents [hide]
1 History
2 Construction
2.1 Use of python skin
3 Erhu music
4 Playing technique
5 Notable performers
6 References
7 Audio Sample
8 External links
8.1 Video
9 See also
[edit]
History
The erhu can be traced back to instruments introduced into China more than a thousand years ago. It is believed to have evolved from the xiqin (ÞÉÇÙ), which was described as a foreign, two-stringed lute in an encyclopedic work on music by music theorist Chen Yang called Yue Shu (book of music), written during the Northern Song Dynasty. The xiqin is believed to have originated from the Xi people of Central Asia, and have come to China in the 10th century.
Erhu with liu jiao qin tong (6 sided body)The first character of the name of the instrument, "¶þ" (¨¨r, meaning "two"), is said to come from the fact that it has two strings; however, it is also said to have come from the fact that it is the second highest "huqin" in pitch to the gaohu "¸ßºú" in a traditional chinese orchestra. The second character, "ºú" (h¨²), indicates that it is part of the huqin family. The name huqin literally means "barbarian instrument," showing that the instrument may have originated from regions to the north or west of China.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erhu
