Instruments
The lute Ruan

The "Ruan" is a lute with a full moon shaped body. There are four different sizes: Soprano ("Gaoyin") Alto ("Xiao") Tenor ("Zhong") Bass ("Da") The lute on the picture left is a ZhongRuan, which is the most coimmon size. Sometimes, even a very large Doublebass version is used ("Diyin"). Performers use a plectrum or the artificial finger nails which we can aslo find on other lutes and zithers.  The sound is quite solid and loud, but solo literature is still quite rare. In ensembles, the "Ruan" provides bass lines or sometimes harmonics. The most famous place for it is the Peking opera style.

                   
 
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