Kuan

Kuan 1. obs. *notched flute of China, one of the earliest of Far Eastern wind instrs., mentioned ca. 1100 B.C. in a Chin. poem. Devoid of fingerholes, it served as a pitch pipe, being tuned to one of the 12 lü (pitch standards); 12 kuans formed a *p'ai hsiao; 2. short oboe of China, with cylindrical bore, 7 equidistant front fingerholes, and 1 or 2 rear thumbholes, played with a double reed, 7–8 cm. (2 3/4–3 1/8 in.) long, kept in shape by a cane keeper ring. The kuan does not overblow the oct…