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P’i p’a

Alternate name(s)

Pipa
Short-neck lute

Date1850-1875 ca.

Place MadeChina, Asia

Serial No.none

Signednone
DescriptionShort-necked lute. Four strings. Four convex frets at upper end of fingerboard. Wooden body with ivory and mother-of-pearl ornamentation. Name literally translates "to play forward" and "to play backward." The earliest documented method for playing the p’i p’a, found in Liu Xi’s Shih Ming (Explanation of Names), dates from the Late Han Dynasty (206-220 AD). The p’i p’a name, originally referring to a variety of long- and short-necked, plucked lutes common to cultures along the Silk Road, developed into its classic form around 350 AD. Chinese folk tradition often presents the p’i p’a as an improvised instrument, created at a time of need to express the emotion of its country’s people. This is reflected in traditional p’i p’a music, which conveys epic stories through the musician’s playing technique. Experienced listeners recognize phrases conjuring images of trickling waterfalls, explosive battles, and the sound of the wind. Played vertically with finger picks or the fingernails.
ProvenancePurchased from H. M. Lissauer, Melbourne, Australia, 1978.
Published References“Chinese Instruments Shown in Sioux Falls,” The National Music Museum Newsletter 34, No. 1 (February 2007), p. 7.

Credit LineGrace L. Beede Fund, 1978

Object number02401

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