The leiqin (雷琴 or 擂琴, literally "thunderous instrument"; also called leihu) is a Chinese bowed string musical instrument.

Construction[edit]

It has a metal soundbox covered with snakeskin and a long fretless fingerboard. The two strings pass over a small bridge that is placed on the snakeskin, near the top edge.

Playing technique[edit]

The leiqin is played while the player is seated in a chair, with the instrument's body resting in his or her lap and held in a vertical or near-vertical position. Unlike the erhu and other instruments in the huqin family, the strings are touched against the fingerboard in the same technique as the sanxian.

History[edit]

The leiqin was adapted from an earlier traditional instrument called zhuihu in the 1920s.

See also[edit]

• Zhuihu
• Huqin
• Music of China
• Traditional Chinese musical instruments
• String instruments

External links[edit]

• Leihu page
• Leiqin photo

Audio[edit]

• Leiqin MP3s^{[permanent dead link]} (click on headphones to listen to individual tracks)

Video[edit]

• Leiqin video