Erhu is a kind of violin (fiddle) with two strings which belongs to the “huqin” family. It is said that its origin would be dated up to the Tang dynasty (618-907).During Song dynasty (960-1279), the instrument was introduced to China and was called "Ji Qin". Soon the second generation of the huqin was among the instruments played at the imperial banquets. During the Dynasties of Yuan (1206-1368), Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911), the erhu underwent a great development at the time of the golden age of the local operas.
The sound body of the erhu is a drum- like little case usually made of ebony or sandalwood and snake skins. It usually has a hexagonal shape with the length of approximately 13cm. The front opening is covered with skin of python and that of the back is left open. The functions of this case of resonance are to amplify the vibrations of the strings. The neck of the erhu is about 81cm long. The player creates different pitches by toughing the strings at various positions along with the neck of the instrument. The strings are usually made of silk or nylon, however, metal strings are commonly used nowadays. The bow is 76 cm long. One cannot take off the bow from the erhu unless one of the two strings is taken off or broken as the horse hair runs between two strings.
The erhu is mainly an instrument for melody in a sense like voice. The erhu sounds similar to human voice and can imitate many natural sounds, for example birds and horses. It is a very expressive instrument, most well known for playing melancholic tune, but also capable of playing merry melodies.
The erhu often plays an important role in the national orchestras. In smaller orchestras, there are usually 2-6 erhus, in larger ones, 10-12. In fact the erhu plays the same role as the violin in the western orchestras.
An excellent erhu ballad. It is melodious and there is a mixture of western and chinese culture of music. Great work isn't it???
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