19th – 20th Century A.D.
The qinqin (秦琴) is a traditional Chinese instrument in the lute family. Qinqin are composed of a wooden body that is either round, hexagonal, or octagonal a thin neck with a long fretboard; and either two, three, or four strings. More elaborate qinqin may have a drum head made of sheepskin or snakeskin. Qinqin are popular instruments for folk music in southern China, especially in the regions of Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macau.
The qinqin is played by using a plectrum to pluck the strings with the right hand while the left hand presses on the strings along the neck to produce different pitches. The frets on a qinqin are so high that the player’s fingers never touch the fretboard. As a result, the player has greater control over timbre and intonation, but chordal playing is more difficult, so chords are seldom used in traditional scores.
