Pipa

The pipa, (pronounced “pee-paa”,) is a four-stringed Chinese instrument (a chordophone), most similar to a lute that has been played for over two thousand years in China, and is considered to be one of the most popular instruments in China, even in modern times. It is considered to be a bowl lute, according to the “Sachs-Hornbostel” sub-category system, and is possibly the most prominent sound in Chinese music, films, and culture. The Symbols that represent the word “pipa, ” “Tian” and “Tao” are meant to denote two playing techniques, with pi meaning “to play forward,” and pa meaning “to play backward.” The word also can be interpreted as a Chinese onomatopoeia or sorts, in that each syllable sounds like a sound the instrument makes itself.
The instrument had a long, straight neck, a circular body, and is now considered to be the predecessor to the pipa, among many other instruments. In his verse, Ode to Pipa, Xuan Fu of the Jin Dynasty (265-420 AD) described the xiantao as a source of relief and an expression of hate and resentment for those who were forced to build the Great Wall. The primary purpose for the instrument was not to be listened to, but rather to use the performance aspect as an escape or a distraction for any longing or distress a person may be under. The modern pipa was reformed over thousands of years, and there are dozens of instruments that joined together in structure, sound, and culture. Some of these instruments include the qin-pipa, a pre-Tang dynasty lute with a round body, the barbat, a two-stringed large body lute with a dramatically curved neck, and the aforementioned xiantao, which was similar in many fashions to the
The body of the instrument is shallow, pear-shaped, and almost exclusively made of various kinds of smooth, valuable wood such as bamboo. The construction of the pipa is similar in many ways to the Western guitar, and is therefore not especially time-consuming. The back of the body is usually left plain, as it is unseen by the audience, but there are some specially-designed instruments, intended to be gifted at weddings or similar large events, that have intricate designs and murals carved into the back. (Example in bottom left photo.)
The art of playing the pipa is fairly difficult to master, and therefore there are not as many professional pipa performers as one might expect, considering the instrument’s popularity in China. Perhaps the most popular pipa performer is Liu Fang, a world-renowned child prodigy who won the prestigious ‘Future Generation Millennium Prize’ in 2001. Even more recent is virtuoso Wu Man, who participated in Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Project in 2017 as a principal