khushtar
The khushtar (Chinese: 胡西它尔; Uyghur: خۇشتار, Хуштар, also hushtar or hustar) is a bowed lute from the Uyghur Region, Western China. It has four strings in four courses and is tuned G, D, A, E. Sometimes the Khushtar also has sympathetic strings. It is most common among the Uyghur peoples in the Xinjiang province of Western China, especially Urumqi.
khushtar
John Hill · CC BY-SA 3.0
- Name
- Khushtar
- Field
- musical instrument
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Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q6403208 · wikipedia · Khushtar
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Khushtar • Background — string • Classification — Bowed String instrument • Hornbostel Sachs Desc — Composite chordophone • Related — Violin, Kemenche, Ghijek
Construction
Construction
The Khushtar has a body made of staves like a lute or oud. These staves are usually made of mulberry or apricot wood. The soundboard is usually made of pine. The instrument will often have a carving of a bird on the top of the head scroll. The pegs are often made of walnut wood.
Playing technique
The instrument is played upright on the knee, with the curved attachment on the end of the body resting on the knee itself.
![Northwest Chinese Instruments Musical Instrument Museum - Phoenix, AZ Northwest Chinese Instruments - MIM PHX (2014-02-09 13.51.13 by ksblack99) [upper right] Surlay? (double-reed pipe) Uyghul people, K..., 2009 M......,........, maker](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/29/Northwest_Chinese_Instruments_-_MIM_PHX_%282014-02-09_13.51.13_by_ksblack99%29.jpg/800px-Northwest_Chinese_Instruments_-_MIM_PHX_%282014-02-09_13.51.13_by_ksblack99%29.jpg)
Northwest Chinese Instruments Musical Instrument Museum - Phoenix, AZ Northwest Chinese Instruments - MIM PHX (2014-02-09 13.51.13 by ksblack99) [upper right] Surlay? (double-reed pipe) Uyghul people, K..., 2009 M......,........, maker
ksblack99 · Northwest Chinese Instruments
Khushtar (Xinjiang Intangible Cultural Heritage Museum)
HaziiDozen
Text attribution
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Text attribution
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 Khushtar, revision 1142107558 (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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reference work
Secondary witness
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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