Zheng (zither)

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Alternative Title

Zheng. ; guzheng

Instrument

Zithers/Strings/Musical Instrument

Instrument Family

Strings

Place Made

Asia ; China

Description

Technical description: Soundbox with wooden front a back boards. The wooden boards are often made of hardwood. Adjustable individual bridges made of wood (12 original wooden bridges, 4 modern replacements) sit on the sound board over which 16 strings are stretched, attached with pins at one end and wound around tuning pegs at the other end. String lengths vary from 580 - 860 mm. This instrument features metal strings, although traditionally silk strings were used. The bridges are used for fine tuning and divide the strings into two sections. On the player’s right is the open-string tuning mode and the plucking area and to the left is the area where the player creates ornamentation and pitch modifications. The zheng is a type of zither, or simple chordophone, which consists solely of a string bearer with its strings or a string bearer with a detachable resonator. Performance technique: The 16-string instrument is tuned to three complete octaves, usually in either the key of G or D, with the lowest string tuned to D and each succeeding string tuned to an anhemitonic pentatonic scale. Originally, the zheng was placed on the performer’s knees with the end pointing away to the left; it is now played on a table or set of stands. The performer then plucks the strings with the fingernails of the right hand to produce melodies with single notes, octaves, or harmonies. The left hand applies pressure to the strings to create vibrato, portamento, and changes to pitch. Historical sources and dispersal: The zheng is thought to have originated in north-central China (now the Henan and Shaaanxi provinces) over 2500 years ago. However, in the 1970s, archaeologists found several 12- and 13-string zithers, most likely types of zheng based on their construction and mounting of the strings, dating to the sixth or seventh century BCE in the Guangxi and Jiangxi provinces in southern China. Zheng performance was first documented in the Shiji (“Records of the Historian”) in 237 BCE. Fu Zuan’s poetic essay Zhengfu xu (c.265 CE) described the zheng with 12 strings and had been increased to 16 strings by the 19th century. 21-string zhengs is now the most common. During the Han dynasty (206 BCE-220 CE) the zheng was part of a string and wind ensemble that accompanied traditional singing and dancing in north-central China. During the Sui, Tang, and Song dynasties (581-1279), it was used in court musical ensembles to supply both banquet music and accompaniment for traditional song and dance. Repair history: 4 new bridges made to match original bridges by Dr Jonathan Santa Maria Bouquet in 2016.

Notes

P.R. Cooke, 1995.

Measurements

970.

Collection

MIMEd ; Reid Collection

Accession Number

0447

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