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Pipa

The Pipa is a four-stringed Lute, one of the oldest Chinese musical instruments which appeared in Chinese written texts of the second century BC, Xi Liu of the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220AD) described in his book, The definition of Terms-On Musical Instruments, that the name of the instrument pipa originally refers to two finger techniques. The two Chinese characters Pi and Pa stands originally for the tow finger techniques, i.e. plucking at the strings forwards and backwards, respectively. In the Qin Dynasty (222-207BC), there had been a kind of pluck-instrument, known as Xiantao, with straight neck and a round sound-body played horizontally. In the preface to his verse Ode to Pipa, Xuan Fu of the Jin dynasty (265-420AD) wrote:"…the pipa appeared in the late Qin period，when the people suffered from being forced to build the Great Wall, the played the instrument to express their resentment". By Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD), the instrument developed into a form of four strings and twelve frets, plucked with fingernails and known as pipa or qin-pipa.(中文)

During the Northern and Southern dynasty (420-589AD), a similar instrument with a crooked neck and four or five strings was introduced through the Silk Road from little Asia, known as the Hu Pipa (Hu stands for "foreign" in Chinese), which was played horizontally with a wooden plectrum.
By the Tang Dynasty (6180907), the pipa was one of the most popular instruments, and has maintained its appeal in solo as well as chamber genres ever since. (中文)

Since the mid Tang Dynasty, and particularly since the Song Dynasty (960-1279), the instrument has been gradually developed into the present form of a lute played with fingernails while the techniques with the plectrum were totally abandoned. The modern instrument is half-pear-shaped, with a short, bent neck, and has 30 frets which extend down the neck and onto the soundboard, giving a wide range and a complete chromatic scale. The usual tuning is A-E-D-A (La-Mi-Re-La). Pipa's technique is characterized by spectacular finger dexterity and virtuosi programmatic effects. Rolls, slaps, pizzicato, harmonics, noises are often combined into extensive ton-poems vividly describing famous battles or other exciting scenes，such as the Ambush which describes the decisive battle field fought in the second century BC between Chu (Xiang Yu) and han (Liu Bang). The instrument is also capable of more lyric effects, as the tune Sai Shang qu. This tune is said to represent the sorrowful song of a Han dynasty (206BC-220AD) noblewoman, who was compelled for political reasons to marry a barbarian prince.
Many of the compositions that make up the traditional repertoire, which were handed down from generation to generation through individual artists and scholars, date back hundreds of years, while others are part of a body of compositions that are dynamic and growing. In the recent decades, composers have explored the possibilities for pipa and orchestra. Nowadays, there are also celebrated pieces for pipa concerti with orchestras. (中文)