Silk, a natural fibre, is as Chinese as paper, gunpowder and the compass and is most often associated with fabric that’s usually made into clothing.
It also has a long history in Chinese musical instruments – so much so that the Mandarin term sizhu, which translates as “silk and bamboo”, refers to string and wind musical instruments.
In ancient times, silk was used for the strings of bowed or plucked instruments such as the guqin, erhu, sanxian and pipa.
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The Sounds of China: A beginner’s guide to Chinese musical instruments
The Sounds of China: A beginner’s guide to Chinese musical instruments
Nowadays, most strings are made with steel or a mix of metal and nylon, but these instruments are still classified as silk under the bayin – the eight categories into which Chinese instruments are grouped based on the material traditionally used to make them.