Xiqin (instrument)
The was a bowed 2-string string [List of traditional List of Chinese musical instruments|Chinese musical instruments|musical instrument]. The instrument was called xiqin in China, referencing the Xi and qin. It is perhaps the original member of the family of Mongolian and Chinese bowed string instruments; thus, the ' and ' and all similar fiddle instruments may be said to be derived from the. The had two silk strings and was held vertically.
Origin and development
The ' is believed to have been developed by the Kumo Xi, a Mongol- or Khitan-related ethnic group living in the Xar Moron River valley in northeast China.The ' first appeared in China during the Tang dynasty, during which time it was used in the palace orchestra and bowed with a bamboo stick. It was further developed in the Song dynasty, when it began to be bowed with a horsehair bow.
In 1105, during the Northern Song dynasty, the instrument was described as a foreign, two-stringed fiddle in an encyclopedic work on music called by the music theorist Chen Yang.