Tiqin
Encyclopedia
The tiqin is a name applied to several two-stringed Chinese
bowed string musical instruments in the huqin
family of instruments.
. Its neck is made of hardwood
, often suanzhi (酸枝, rosewood
) or zitan (紫檀, red sandalwood
). The zhutiqins sound chamber is made of a very large section of bamboo
(larger than that of the erxian
, another bowed string instrument used in Cantonese music). Instead of snakeskin, the face is made of a piece of tong wood (桐, Firmiana simplex
) or palm
wood (like the face of a yehu
). The back of the sound chamber is made of the natural joint in bamboo, with sound holes cut in it. The tiqin used today in Cantonese opera is tuned to 仜-士/mi-la/E-a (the opposite of the erxian
, which is tuned A-e.)
Additionally, the term tiqin is used in Chinese
as a generic term referring to Western bowed string instruments of the violin family
:
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
bowed string musical instruments in the huqin
Huqin
Huqin is a family of bowed string instruments, more specifically, a spike fiddle popularly used in Chinese music. The instruments consist of a round, hexagonal, or octagonal sound box at the bottom with a neck attached that protrudes upwards...
family of instruments.
Types
There are several types of tiqin:- The tiqin used for kunquKunquKunqu , also known as Kunju , Kun opera or Kunqu Opera, is one of the oldest extant forms of Chinese opera. It evolved from the Kunshan melody, and dominated Chinese theatre from the 16th to the 18th centuries. The style originated in the Wu cultural area...
opera - The tiqin used for Cantonese musicGuangdong music (genre)Guangdong music, also known as Cantonese music is a style of traditional Chinese instrumental music from Guangzhou and surrounding areas in Pearl River Delta of Guangdong Province on the southern coast of China. The name of the music is not an accurate description because Guangdong music is not...
- The tiqin used in FujianMusic of FujianThe Southern provinces of China share many musical features, for instance, the music of the Hakka peoples is found in Jiangxi, Fujian and Guangdong. Hakka music is literary and laid-back in tone and is entirely pentatonic. In Shantou, Hakka and Chaozhou, erxian and zheng ensembles are popular. Many...
and TaiwanMusic of TaiwanTaiwan is densely-populated and culturally diverse, including a majority of Bensheng ren , a powerful faction waishengren who arrived with Chiang Kai-shek in the middle of the 20th century and the minority of aboriginal peoples.With the arrival of the KMT led Republic of China government in 1949,...
Overview
The tiqin used in Cantonese music, also known as the zhutiqin (竹提琴) is a member of the "hard bow" (硬弓) ensemble in Cantonese operaCantonese opera
Cantonese opera is one of the major categories in Chinese opera, originating in southern China's Cantonese culture. It is popular in Guangdong, Guangxi, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore and Malaysia. Like all versions of Chinese opera, it is a traditional Chinese art form, involving music, singing,...
. Its neck is made of hardwood
Hardwood
Hardwood is wood from angiosperm trees . It may also be used for those trees themselves: these are usually broad-leaved; in temperate and boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostly evergreen.Hardwood contrasts with softwood...
, often suanzhi (酸枝, rosewood
Rosewood
Rosewood refers to any of a number of richly hued timbers, often brownish with darker veining, but found in many different hues. All rosewoods are strong and heavy, taking an excellent polish, being suitable for guitars, marimbas, turnery , handles, furniture, luxury flooring, etc.In general,...
) or zitan (紫檀, red sandalwood
Pterocarpus santalinus
Pterocarpus santalinus , ; Red Sanders or Red Sandalwood) is a species of Pterocarpus native to India. It is only found in south India in Kadapa and Chittoor on the Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh border....
). The zhutiqins sound chamber is made of a very large section of bamboo
Bamboo
Bamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family....
(larger than that of the erxian
Erxian
The erxian is a Chinese bowed string instrument in the huqin family of instruments. It has two strings and is used primarily in Cantonese music, most often in "hard string" chamber ensembles...
, another bowed string instrument used in Cantonese music). Instead of snakeskin, the face is made of a piece of tong wood (桐, Firmiana simplex
Firmiana simplex
Firmiana simplex, commonly known as the Chinese parasol tree or wutong is an ornamental plant or tree of the cacao, or chocolate, of the family Sterculiaceae of the order Malvales, native to Asia. It grows to a height of 12 m . It has alternate, deciduous leaves up to 30 cm across and small...
) or palm
Arecaceae
Arecaceae or Palmae , are a family of flowering plants, the only family in the monocot order Arecales. There are roughly 202 currently known genera with around 2600 species, most of which are restricted to tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate climates...
wood (like the face of a yehu
Yehu
The instrument comes in various sizes. In Chaozhou music it is a leading instrument, and is tuned quite high. In Cantonese music it can be quite large and is often tuned to a relatively low pitch, lower than the erhu...
). The back of the sound chamber is made of the natural joint in bamboo, with sound holes cut in it. The tiqin used today in Cantonese opera is tuned to 仜-士/mi-la/E-a (the opposite of the erxian
Erxian
The erxian is a Chinese bowed string instrument in the huqin family of instruments. It has two strings and is used primarily in Cantonese music, most often in "hard string" chamber ensembles...
, which is tuned A-e.)
Additionally, the term tiqin is used in Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
as a generic term referring to Western bowed string instruments of the violin family
Violin family
The violin family of musical instruments was developed in Italy in the sixteenth century. The standard modern violin family consists of the violin, viola, cello, and double bass....
:
- Xiao tiqin = violinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
- Zhong tiqin = violaViolaThe viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
- Da tiqin = celloCelloThe cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
- Diyin tiqin = double bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...