![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/b32aad_74ac93612e974e0e8fc05af2bd0b160f~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_450,h_299,al_c,q_80,enc_auto/b32aad_74ac93612e974e0e8fc05af2bd0b160f~mv2.jpg)
The pipa (琵琶) is a four-stringed Chinese musical instrument, belonging to the plucked category of instruments. Sometimes called the "Chinese lute“, the instrument has a pear-shaped wooden body with a varying number of frets ranging from 12 to 31. The pipa is one of the most popular Chinese instruments and has been played for almost two thousand years in China.
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/b32aad_0b4622a1689749f8be37e83da45eab43~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_361,h_492,al_c,q_80,enc_auto/b32aad_0b4622a1689749f8be37e83da45eab43~mv2.jpg)
The pipa is mentioned frequently in Tang Dynasty poetry, where it is often praised for its expressiveness, refinement, and delicacy of tone, with poems dedicated to well-known players describing their performances。
A famous poem by Bai Juyi, "Pipa xing" (琵琶行), contains a description of a pipa performance during a chance encounter with a female pipa player on the Yangtze River:
大絃嘈嘈如急雨
小絃切切如私語
嘈嘈切切錯雜彈
大珠小珠落玉盤
Thick strings clatter like splattering rain,
Fine strings murmur like whispered words,
Clattering and murmuring, meshing jumbled sounds,
Like pearls, big and small, falling on a platter of jade.
Appreciating the Pipa Music "Xulai"
Comments