Guzheng

The guzheng or gu zheng (Chinese: ; pinyin: gzhng, pronounced [kt ]), also
simply called zheng (, gu means "ancient"), is a Chinese plucked zither. It has 18 or
more strings and movable bridges, and the modern guzheng usually has 21 strings and
bridges. The picks (called "DaiMao") used by performers to play guzheng are often made out
of the shells of Hawksbill.
The guzheng is the ancestor of several Asian zither instruments, such as the
Japanese koto, the Koreangayageum, and the Vietnamese n tranh. Musicological studies
in the late 20th century indicate that the bambo tube zithers of Southeast Asia could be the
ancient prototype of the guzheng, koto, gayageum, and the n tranh. The guzheng should
not be confused with the guqin (another ancient Chinese zither with no moveable bridges).

Erhu

The erhu (Chinese: ; pinyin: rh; [xu]) is a two-stringed bowed musical

instrument, more specifically a spike fiddle, which may also be called a "southern fiddle", and
sometimes known in the Western world as the "Chinese violin" or a "Chinese two-stringed
fiddle". It is used as a solo instrument as well as in small ensembles and large orchestras. It
is the most popular of the huqin family of traditional bowed string instruments used by
various ethnic groups of China. A very versatile instrument, the erhu is used in both
traditional and contemporary music arrangements, such as in pop, rock, jazz, etc.

Yangqin
The trapezoidal yangqin (simplified Chinese: ; traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: yngqn)
is a Chinesehammered dulcimer, originally from Persia (modern-day Iran). It used to be
written with the characters (lit. "foreign zither"), but over time the first character changed
to (also pronounced "yng"), which means "acclaimed". It is also spelled yang
quin or yang ch'in. Hammered dulcimers of various types are now very popular not only in
China, but also Eastern Europe, the Middle East, India, Iran, and Pakistan. The instruments
are also sometimes known by the names "santur" and "cymbalom".
The yangqin was traditionally fitted with bronze strings (though older Chinese stringed
instruments used silk strings, resulting in their, and the yangqin's, categorisation as a silk, or
"si" instrument), which gave the instrument a soft timbre. This form of instrument is still
occasionally heard today in the "hudie qin" (, lit. "butterfly zither") played in the
traditional silk and bamboo genre from the Shanghai region known as Jiangnan sizhu (
), as well as in some Cantonese music groups. The Thai and Cambodian khim are

nearly identical in their construction, having been introduced to those nations by southern
Chinese musicians. Since the 1950s, however, steel alloy strings (in conjunction with copperwound steel strings for the bass notes) have been used, in order to give the instrument a
brighter, and louder tone. The modern yangqin can have as many as five courses of bridges
and may be arranged chromatically. Traditional instruments, with three or more courses of
bridges, are also still widely in use. The instrument's strings are struck with two lightweight
bamboo beaters (also known as hammers) with rubber tips. A professional musician often
carries several sets of beaters, each of which draws a slightly different tone from the
instrument, much like the drum sticks of Western percussionists. The yangqin is used both
as a solo instrument and in ensembles.