Pipa
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The Pipa is a Chinese, pear-shaped lute. The name pipa is derived from pi which means to play forward and pa which means to play backward, so pipa means strummed. From the time of the Wei Dynasty (A.D. 386-534) it became the main entertainment for court banquets. Famous battle pieces were also written for the pipa.
| Family |
| Strings |
| Pitch range |
| Two octaves or more. |
| Material |
| Teak backshell and wutong wood soundboard. |
| Size |
| Variable : the example shown here is 3 ft (0.90 m) long. |
| Origins |
| The pipa probably originated in Central Asia, and arrived in China in around A.D. 386-534. |
| Classification |
| Chordophone: an instrument that produces its sound by the vibration of strings. |
| And also... |
| Famous emperors and empresses are credited with having written pipa hits such as "The Lion Dance of the Five Directions" and "The Battleline-Smashing Music," performed with up to as many as 180 dancers. |
