jinghu
The jinghu (京胡; pinyin: jīnghú) is a Chinese bowed string instrument in the huqin family, used primarily in Beijing opera. It is the smallest and highest pitched instrument in the huqin family. The jinghu has a tone similar to a violin but raspier.
Also recorded as jing hu
jinghu
Creator:Shinsai, "Katsu" Tajima · This file was donated to Wikimedia Commons as part of a project by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. See the Image and Data Resources Open Access Policy · CC0
- Name
- Jinghu
- Field
- chordophone
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wikidata · Q873588
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Jinghu • Classification — Bowed string instrument • Related — * Erhu • Huqin
Construction
Construction
Like most of its relatives, the jinghu has 2 strings that are customarily tuned to the interval of a 5th which the hair of the non-detachable bow passes in between. The strings were formerly made of silk, but in modern times are increasingly made of steel or nylon. Unlike other huqin instruments (erhu, gaohu, zhonghu, etc.) it is made of bamboo. Its cylindrical soundbox is covered with snakeskin (python) on the front (playing) end, which forms a taut drum on which the bridge (bamboo) rests, sandwiched between the drum and the strings, which are connected to a peg at the bottom of the soundbox.
Use
Use
In Beijing opera, the jinghu mostly follows the singer's voice but adds ornamentation. Jinghu performers in Beijing opera rarely shift into higher positions, and instead choose to compress the melody into a single octave. The jinghu was also featured prominently in the single "Shinjitsu no Uta" by the Japanese band Do as Infinity.
Trying out instruments at a Nanjing store, 1991
Eric Golub from Foster City, California · Jing hu in Nanjing BLUR
fiddle belonging to Gao Yuefeng, bought in Shanghai, 1986
Eric Golub from Foster City, California · jing hu and sheet music
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Licensing
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Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Jinghu (instrument), revision 1298356204 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
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