Tiqin


The tiqin is a name applied to several two-stringed Chinese bowed string musical instruments in the huqin family of instruments.

Types

There are several types of tiqin:
The tiqin used in Cantonese music, also known as the zhutiqin is a member of the "hard bow" ensemble in Cantonese opera. Its neck is made of hardwood, often suanzhi or zitan. The zhutiqin's sound chamber is made of a very large section of bamboo. Instead of snakeskin, the face is made of a piece of tong wood or palm wood. 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 name also occasionally referred to what is now called the sihu.
Additionally, the term tiqin is used in Chinese as a generic term referring to Western bowed string instruments of the violin family: