No information recorded.

Technical Description

Circular box, diameter 375mm, depth 40mm; face and reverse of unpolished `tung' wood, the rim and neck of polished wood; curved top of neck surmounted by carved bat; hexagonal pegs; 4 silk strings; 4 frets of bamboo on neck, 6 of bamboo on soundboard; played with the fingers or a plectrum. Playing technique: It is thought that the yueqin (or yueh-ch'in pronounced "yu-shin'), a traditional Chinese string instrument, evolved from the ruan, a much larger, long-necked, plucked lute whose history goes back the Qin and Han dynasties (221 BCE to 220 CE). The yueqin is fretted and has four strings, traditionally made of silk and, typically, tuned in fifths in courses of two (each pair of strings tuned to a single pitch). These are plucked, either with the fingernails or a small pick or plectrum, using up- and down-strokes and tremolo techniques that sustain and give colour to the sound. A common technique in performance is “snapping” the pick on the string (similar to that employed on the Japanese shamisen, a three-stringed traditional Japanese musical instrument). Name: The instrument’s round hollow body, reminiscent of the full moon, gives the instrument its name, in the English-speaking world, of ‘moon lute’. In fact, its Chinese name itself derives from the characters for ‘moon’ (yue) and ‘stringed instrument’ (qin). Display history: This instrument was exhibited at the London, South Kensington, exhibitions of 1872 and 1885 – series of such annual exhibitions was inspired by the 1851 ‘Great Exhibition’. The former was the second such exhibition and, in focusing on ‘Fine arts and scientific inventions and discoveries’ had a particular emphasis on jewellery, including ‘peasant jewellery’, paper, musical instruments and cotton. The latter ‘International Inventions’ Exhibition took place at the Royal Albert Hall and was, primarily, a display of “military weapons, musical instruments and printing machinery.” Specific libterature references: Probably to be identified with on of item 484d 'Two Yue-Kin' in Engel 1872; probably to be identified with one of the 'Two yue-kin (China) moon guitars' in Hipkins 1885, p.117. Illustration references: Vol. 1 p.23; Hipkins and Gibb 1888, plate XLVII, described as a 'Chinese yueh-ch'in'. Previous ownership: Most likely one of the two 'Chinese kin' purchased by Professor John Donaldson for the Music Classroom, University of Edinburgh, from D. Nisbet, 25 March 1858 at a sale for 5/- and for 6/-.

Provenance

Possibly one of the two `Chinese kin' purchased by Professor John Donaldson for the Music Classroom, University of Edinburgh, from D. Nisbet, 25 March 1858 at a sale for 5/- and for 6/-.