Guzheng

The guzheng is a stringed musical instrument. It has a very long history in China. It also has a very interesting story about its name.

Thousands of years ago, there was a very famous musician in China. He was known for his masterful skills in playing the "se." The "se" had 25 strings stretched over an arched wooden soundboard. Beneath each string was a triangular support. The support could be moved left and right for tuning. When performing, the musician would sit behind his "se" and use his fingers to pluck the strings. Sometimes, he used both hands to pluck the strings. But most times, he plucked the strings with his right hand and pressed the strings with his left hand to produce the right pitch.

The musician was very old. He wanted to leave his instrument to one of his two sons. But both sons wanted it. The two sons argued. Nobody was willing to give in. To have peace at home, the old man came up with a solution. He cut his "se" into two pieces -- one had 12 strings and the other 13 -- so each son could get half of the instrument.