Guqin

The guqin, a seven-stringed zither, is China's oldest stringed instrument, with a history of some 3000 years. In Imperial China, a well educated scholar was expected to be skilled in four arts: Qin (the guqin), Qi (the game of Go), Shu (calligraphy) and Hua (painting). Historically, the guqin has been viewed as a symbol of Chinese high culture, but today only a few thousand people can play it, and it is rarely seen in China.

 The guqin is a unique instrument which needs to be hand made by specialist craftsmen using special wood, lacquer and a high degree of skill. Most guqins sold in general music stores, even in China, are virtually unplayable and are suitable only for hanging on the wall for decoration. Professional qin players never buy such instruments or recommend them to their students. Not only are they unable to produce an acceptable sound, they can even cause injury to a student's hand.

Xiao (vertical flute)

Xiao is a traditional Chinese wind instrument made of bamboo. Its earliest appearance can be traced back to the Qiang nationality (one of the Chinese minorities of China's Mid-West) in the 1st century. It became popular nationwide around 600 A.D. Scholars, young men and women were very fond of the xiao. Usually played as a solo instrument, it is sometimes also played with other instruments, though not many people are actually able to perform with it. An ordinary xiao has six tone-holes. The tone of the xiao is extremely beautiful, suitable for expressing a peaceful or melancholy mood. The xiao is often featured in music of the "civil repertory", typically used to accompany the quiet guqin.
　

Erhu (Two Stringed Violin)

 This is one of the most widely used bowed instruments in China. It represents a type of huqin constructed of various hardwoods with the soundbox covered by snake skin. The top of the neck is frequently carved, often in the form of a dragon head. In Beijing opera it matches, but an octave lower, the high-pitched jinghu. The erhu has undergone a number of modifications during its 500 year history, so that its tone is both mellow and bright, making it popular for both solo and orchestral performances.

Konghou  (Chinese Harp)

  The Konghou is an ancient Chinese, plucked string instgrument. It is not of Chinese origin, but was introdued into China from the West into the Han Danasty about 2,000 years ago. According to historical records, it was divided into the horizontal Konghou and the vertical Konghou because of difference in shapes. The Konghou became popular during the Han, Sui and Tang Dynasties when the playing technique reached a high level. During the past hundred years, however, this ancient musical instrument became virtually extinct. A group of music scholars and instrument craftsmen researched various historical documents, and in 1980, a new type of Konghou was born

Guzheng

The guzheng, Chinese forerunner of the Japanese koto and Korean kayagum, originated over 2300 years ago and is one of the oldest plucked instruments in China. Because of its melodic qualities, the Guzheng was extremely popular for both court and folk music. The sound box is made of paulownia wood; the strings, varying in number from thirteen to twenty-five, used to be made of silk, but are nowadays metal or nylon. They are tuned to a pentatonic scale with a range of more than four octaves.