ChinaAlbums The Erhu: China's Hauntingly Beautiful Two-String Fiddle
The erhu (二胡) is a two-stringed bowed instrument whose haunting, voice-like tone has made it the most emotionally expressive instrument in the Chinese orchestra and one of the most recognizable sounds of Chinese music worldwide.
Origins and Historical Development
The erhu descended from the xiqin, a bowed instrument that entered China from Central Asia during the Tang dynasty (618-907 CE). The name literally means “two-string fiddle” (er = two, hu = a term historically referencing northern/western peoples). For centuries, the erhu was classified as a folk instrument of common people, lacking the aristocratic prestige of the guqin or the court status of the pipa. Itinerant musicians played it on street corners and in teahouses. Its transformation into a serious concert instrument occurred through the revolutionary work of Liu Tianhua (1895-1932), a musician and educator who composed ten solo etudes and pieces that established the erhu as a vehicle for artistic expression worthy of the concert stage.
Anatomy of the Instrument
The erhu consists of a long hardwood neck (typically red sandalwood, ebony, or aged rosewood), inserted into a small hexagonal or octagonal resonating body. The front face of this sound box is covered with python skin, whose tension and quality are crucial to the instrument’s tone. The back is left open. Two steel strings (tuned a fifth apart, usually to D4 and A4) are attached at the base and run through a small loop of string near the tuning pegs. The bow, made from bamboo with horsehair, is threaded permanently between the two strings so that it cannot be removed without dismantling the instrument. This fixed-bow design is unique among the world’s bowed instruments.
The Erhu’s Unique Playing Method
The player holds the erhu vertically on the left thigh. The bow moves horizontally, pushing outward against the inner string and pulling inward against the outer string. Unlike a violin, the erhu has no fingerboard; the left hand does not press strings against any surface but instead applies varying pressure at points along the string’s length, creating the instrument’s characteristic seamless portamento (sliding between pitches). This technique, combined with the python skin membrane’s sympathetic vibration, produces the erhu’s hauntingly vocal quality. The sound can closely mimic human singing, crying, and laughing, making it one of the most emotionally communicative instruments in any musical tradition.
Canonical Repertoire
The erhu’s concert repertoire begins with Liu Tianhua’s ten pieces, composed between 1918 and 1932, which remain the foundation of erhu pedagogy worldwide. However, the single most famous erhu composition is “The Moon Reflected in the Erquan Spring” (Erquan Yingyue), composed by the blind street musician Abing (Hua Yanjun, 1893-1950) of Wuxi. This melancholic melody, recorded by musicologists just months before Abing’s death, is one of the most celebrated instrumental pieces in all of Chinese music. The Japanese conductor Seiji Ozawa reportedly wept upon hearing it and declared that such music should be listened to on one’s knees. Other major works include “Racing Horses” (Sai Ma), an energetic piece evoking Mongolian horse races, and numerous concertos written for erhu with Chinese or Western orchestra.
The Erhu in the Modern World
The erhu has become one of the most globally recognized Chinese instruments, featured in Hollywood film scores (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; Kung Fu Panda), video game soundtracks (Genshin Impact, Total War: Three Kingdoms), world music collaborations, and viral internet performances. Contemporary virtuosi like Min Huifen, Song Fei, and the younger Lu Yiwen have expanded technical possibilities while maintaining the instrument’s emotional core. The erhu’s ability to express human emotion with directness and intimacy ensures its continued relevance in an era of electronic production and digital music.