Yangqin (Hammered Dulcimer)
The yangqin, a Chinese hammered dulcimer, in five languages — yangqin, Hackbrett, tympanon
Related
Five languages
| Language | Name |
|---|---|
| Chinese | 扬琴 |
| English | yangqin (Chinese hammered dulcimer) |
| Italian | — (no settled term; yangqin is borrowed) |
| German | Yangqin (chinesisches Hackbrett) |
| French | yangqin (tympanon chinois) |
The yangqin is a Chinese hammered dulcimer: a trapezoidal soundbox strung with many steel strings, struck with two flexible beaters, with notes traditionally laid out in pentatonic or heptatonic patterns. English writes yangqin (Chinese hammered dulcimer); German Yangqin (chinesisches Hackbrett); French tympanon chinois. Italian has no settled term and generally borrows yangqin (a common practice).
Watch out: the yangqin is struck, not plucked — it shares a broad body with the guzheng, but the guzheng is plucked with movable bridges, while the yangqin is hit with beaters over fixed bridges; it belongs to the same hammered-dulcimer family as the cimbalom, though layout and tone differ.
Read deeper → Yangqin (hammered dulcimer)
Sources
- 各语种乐器名与形制，参《中国音乐词典》（人民音乐出版社）及 The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, "Yangqin"；本文为原创表述
Used for fact-checking only; all prose is original.