What is the erhu?

The erhu is a traditional Chinese stringed instrument.

With two strings, it began to appear in the Tang Dynasty and has a history of more than 1,000 years, originating from an ethnic minority in the ancient northern region of China. The erhu includes the body, the string system, and the bow.

The erhu is mostly made of wood, with one end of the barrel covered with snakeskin, and according to the shape of the barrel, it can be divided into hexagonal erhu, octagonal erhu, rounded erhu, rounded erhu after the front eight, flat barrel erhu, and double bottom bracket erhu, etc. The erhu is made of wood, with one end of the barrel covered with snakeskin.

After the founding of New China, the development of national and folk music was rapid, and in order to vigorously explore the artistic treasures of folk artists, the erhu music of Hua Yanjun, Liu Beimao and other folk artists was made into a record after the finishing process, so that the art of erhu playing developed rapidly as a result of the rain.

The 1950s and 1960s saw the emergence of a group of erhu educators and performers represented by Zhang Rui, Zhang Shao, and Wang B. Under their influence, new erhu performers such as Min Huifen and Wang Guotong were trained.

For example, the erhu composer Liu Wenjin's "The Great Wall Random Song" brings the erhu's performance into overdrive and deliberately innovates, giving the erhu new vitality and color.