Typological Analysis of the Chinese Qin in the Late Bronze Age

Abstract

The qin, a type of horizontal zither, has become China’s foremost musical instrument since the age of Confucius (551-479 BCE). From an archaeological perspective, however, very little was known about the morphology of the Bronze Age qin until the discovery of the tomb of Marquis Yi dated 433 BCE in Suizhou. Four other instruments of the same kind have also been excavated in the last four decades. This paper aims to carry out a typological analysis of the Chinese Bronze Age qin based on this corpus of available specimens. All five share the characteristic that from one end to the other they can be described as consisting of five “registers” or sections, each with a particular characteristic and purposed. Inside this lineage of similarity, they can be further categorized into two types: Type I comprises those from Suizhou and Jiuliandun, and Type II is represented by the qin from Guodian, Wulipai, and Mawangdui. In summary, Type I instruments are around 70cm in length, whilst Type II are 80cm, though still significantly shorter than the Medieval and modern qin which is typically 120cm. The ten-stringed Type I evolved into the seven-stringed Type II, and the Medieval version still employs only seven strings. Similarly, the slanting bridge of Type I became the parallel bridge of Type II, and the Medieval instrument retains this characteristic. The division into five registers is most marked in the most ancient Type I, and softens in Type II specimens, whilst it disappears completely in the Medieval qin which thus has a much more coherent overall shape. Thus, it seems reasonable to regard Type II as a transitional stage in an evolutionary process leading to the Medieval instrument, and this notion matches their approximate dates of manufacture.