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Zhongruan

Zhongruan

Classification	Chinese musical instrument
Type	Plucked string instrument
Category	Ruan
Related instruments	Pipa

The zhongruan (or zhong ruan,中阮, literally means "medium ruan"), is a Chinese plucked string instrument. In English, it is sometimes called a “moon guitar”, because it has a round sound box. The zhongruan has a straight neck with 24 frets on the fingerboard and 4 strings. It is usually played with a plectrum (guitar pick). It can also be played with fingers (index finger and thumb with acrylic nails), which is similar to the way of playing the pipa (琵琶). The zhongruan is a tenor-ranged instrument in the family of ruan (阮). In ancient China, the ruan was called Qin pipa (Qin [Dynasty] pipa, 秦琵琶). Now the ruan has expanded to different sizes and the zhongruan is the "medium" one.

Usage of the Zhongruan

The tuning of zhongruan is G-D-G-D. Since the zhongruan has a rounded， calm and rich tone, it is usually played as a lead instrument in small ensembles and used to accompany other instruments in Chinese orchestra. It can also be played solo.

Watch and listen: Zhongruan solo - "The Turned Over Curtain", 倒垂簾

The History of Ruan

In ancient China before the Tang Dynasty (唐朝), the ruan was called Qin pipa ([Qin Dynasty, 221 BC - 206 BC] pipa, 秦琵琶). What distinguished Qin pipa from the pipa (琵琶, another plucked string instrument) was that the Qin pipa had a long, straight neck with a round sound box while the pipa was pear-shaped. The name of "pipa" is synonymous to "tantiao" (彈挑), the right hand techniques of playing a plucked string instrument. "Pi" (琵), which means "tan" (彈), is the downward movement of plucking the string. "Pa" (琶), which means "tiao" (挑), is the upward movement of plucking the string. As this right hand technique was used for playing the ruan, the ruan was also called "pipa".

The present name of the Qin pipa, which is "ruan", was not given until the Tang Dynasty (8th century). Between the Empress Wu Zetian (武則天) period (about 684-704 AD), a copper instrument that looked like the Qin pipa was discovered in an ancient tomb in Sichuan (四川). It had 13 frets and a round sound box. It was believed that it was the instrument which the Eastern Jin (東晉) musician Ruan Xian (阮咸) loved to play. Ruan Xian was a scholar in the Three Kingdoms Eastern Jin (三國東晉) Dynasty period (3rd century). He and other six scholars disliked the corruption government, so they gathered in a bamboo grove in Shanyang (山陽, now in Henan [河南] province). They drank, wrote poems, played music and enjoyed the simply life. The group was known as the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove (竹林七賢). Since Ruan Xian was an expert and famous in playing an instrument that looked like the Qin pipa, the instrument was named after him when the copper Qin pipa was found in a tomb during the Tang Dynasty. The ruan was used to be called ruanxian (阮咸), but today it is shortened to ruan (阮).

Also during the Tang Dynasty, a ruanxian was brought to Japan from China. Now this ruanxian is still stored in Shosoin of the Nara National Museum in Japan. The ruanxian was made of red sandalwood and decorated with mother of pearl inlay. The ancient ruanxian shows that the look of today's ruan has not changed much since the 8th century. However, the Tang ruanxian was much more beautifully made when compared to today's ruan.

Nowadays, although the ruan was never as popular as the pipa, the ruan has been divided into several smaller and better-known instruments within the recent few centuries, such as yueqin (“moon” lute, 月琴) and qinqin (Qin [Dynasty] lute, 秦琴) . The short-necked yueqin, with no sound holes, is now used primarily in Beijing opera accompaniment. The long-necked qinqin is a member of both Cantonese (廣東) and Chaozhou (潮州) ensembles .

Interesting Facts about the Ruan and Pipa

This is a part of the Dunhuang fresco. Two pipa players are shown at the left hand corner.

A small pipa was found in murals of tombs in Liaoning (遼寧) province in northeastern China. The date of these tombs is about late Eastern Han (東漢) or Wei (魏) period (220-265 AD). However, the pear-shaped pipa was not brought to China from Dunhuang (敦煌, now in northwestern China) until the Northern Wei period (386-524 AD) when ancient China traded with the western countries through the Silk Road (絲綢之路). Evidence was shown on the Dunhuang Caves frescoes that the frescoes contain a large number of pipa, and they date to 4th to 5th century.

During the Han period (206-220 AD), Lady Wang Zhaojun (王昭君, known as one of the Four Beauties [四大美人] in ancient China) departed mainland to the west and married the Grand Khan of the Huns. The marriage was meant to maintain peace between the two ancient countries. On her way to the west, she carried a pipa on the horse. Looking back today, her pipa must have been a ruan-type instrument with a round sound box, since the pear-shaped pipa was not brought to China until the Northern Wei Dynasty - about 116 years after the Han Dynasty. However, in almost all the portraits and dramas, Lady Zhaojun's pipa is displayed inaccurately. The pipa is usually shown with a pear-shaped sound box (as in today's pipa), rather than a round sound box.

The Construction of Zhongruan

For a good quality zhongruan, it is usually made of rosewood (紅木). For the best sound quality and visual appearance, it is made of red sandalwood (紫檀木), because red sandalwood is best known for its beautiful wood grain, unique purplish color, hardness and rareness. Therefore, a red sandalwood made zhongruan is heavier and more expensive.

• The lute head (琴頭) is for decoration. Three common decorative patterns are ruyi (如意, good fortune), peony and dragon. They are usually made of plastic or ivory.

• Under the lute head is a pegbox (弦軸箱) with tuning pegs (琴栓) that hold the strings. The pegs are usually made of wood or buffalo horn. Nowadays, most the zhongruans have tuning machine heads (弦鈕) instead of a peg box, since they make it easier to tune, and the pegs are made of wood.

• The strings (弦) were made of silk in the old times. The number of strands of silk determined the thickness of the string. Nowadays, metal wound polymer strings are used.

• A nut (山口) is placed between the pegbox and the neck to secure the strings. It is usually made of plastic, buffalo bone or ivory.

• The neck (琴頸) connects the lute head and the body. It has a fingerboard (指板) and 24 frets (品). The frets are usually made of plastic, buffalo bone, wood and metal (copper). For a good quality zhongruan, the frets are made of a combination of plastic and copper, or wood and copper, with the metal part inlaid at the top of each fret. In combining two materials, the frets last without damaging from long-time practice.

• The circular sound box (共鳴箱) body is made of a combination of front board, back board and side board. There are two sound holes (音孔) on the front board to transmit sound. Some common shapes for the sound holds are circle, moon, S, and bird.

• At the lower part of the body, a bridge (琴碼) is placed to support the strings and transmit vibration.

• At the bottom of the body is a tailpiece (縛弦) to anchor the strings.

For reference, see: The Construction of Ruan (in Chinese),中國民樂網

Some Famous Zhongruan Music Pieces

• 《滿江紅》 The River All Red (zhongruan concerto)

• 《雲南回憶》Reminiscences of Yunnan (zhongruan concerto)

• 《睡蓮》 Water Lily (zhongruan solo)

• 《絲路駝鈴》 Camel Bells of the Silk Road (zhongruan solo)

• 《孤芳自賞》Narcissistic (zhongruan solo)

• 《火把節之夜》 The Night of the Torch Festival (zhongruan solo)

• 《倒垂簾》The Turned Over Curtain (zhongruan solo)

• 《天地之間》 Between the Sky and the Land (zhongruan duet)

Some Famous Zhongruan Composers and Players

Players:

• 徐陽 Xu Yang

• 吳強 Wu Qiang

• 魏育如 Weiner Yuru

• 阮仕春 Ruan Shichun

Composers:

• 林吉良 Lin Jiliang

• 劉星Liu Xing

• 寧勇Ning Yong

• 吳俊生 Wu Junsheng

See Also

• Ruan

• Chinese orchestra

• Chinese musical instrument

Category:Chinese musical instruments