Also known as: 琵琶
A pear-shaped bowl Lute (Instrument) from China, traditionally with four strings. The instrument has a varying number of frets ranging from 12 to 31, and usually has 4 strings. Another Chinese four-string plucked lute is the liuqin, which looks like a smaller version of the pipa.
The pear-shaped instrument may have existed in China as early as the Han Dynasty, and although historically the term pipa was once used to refer to a variety of plucked string-instruments like the Ruan, its usage since the Song Dynasty refers exclusively to the pear-shaped instrument.
Examples
See also
- Biwa Lute - Japanese derivative