Yang ch'in

Yang ch'in (Chin.: foreign ch'in), dulcimer of China, introduced from Europe or possibly Turkey ca. 1800 and varied as to form, size, and number of strings. Usually, however, it resembles a trapezoid box furnished with a lid; 2 round soundholes are cut in the wooden soundboard. The stringing is 14–20 courses of 2, 3, or 4 strings each; half of these pass over 2 bridges, the other half over one bridge and through holes pierced in the other. Tuning pins are to the right, along the oblique wall…