Well, you are only about a millennium behind the times. But never fear. Opportunities to hear this ancient Chinese two-stringed instrument known for it’s plaintive humanlike tone are on the upswing. A ...

The Smithsonian Folklife Festival is an experience of the senses, an invitation to see, taste, and smell. But for me, more than anything else, the Festival is an auditory experience, with its ...

The modern erhu developed from a musical instrument called xiqin, which was played by many ethnic minorities during the Tang Dynasty (618-907). During the Song Dynasty (960-1279), musicians began to ...

What do you do with a hyperactive 7-year-old boy? Signing him up for lessons on an ancient Chinese musical instrument probably isn't the first thing to come to mind. Benjamin Lee, 16, of Byron, will ...

Performing recently in a Shanghai park, a musician gingerly glides his bow across the strings of his erhu before tightening them to bring the instrument back into tune. Soon he is immersed in the ...

An Erhu is pictured in Lanzhou, northwest China's Gansu Province, May 13, 2019. Erhu, sometimes known as the Chinese violin or Chinese two-stringed fiddle, is a Chinese traditional two-stringed bowed ...

The erhu and violin don't have much in common, except that both are stringed instruments and are played using a bow. However, for Chinese erhu player Guo Gan, the similarities between the two ...

The first time when I heard the [Fritz] Kreisler 'Liebesleid,' I just [felt], 'Wow, that song is just right for the erhu.' The sadness, the sensitivity, the warmth, the romance: It fits my instrument.

Bordering nations often share a common food or musical heritage that develops as a process of mutual influences. Mongolia, with its rich and distinctive musical traditions, is bordered by Russia in ...

Photo taken on May 13, 2019 shows the tuning pegs and neck of an Erhu in Lanzhou, northwest China's Gansu Province. Erhu, sometimes known as the Chinese violin or Chinese two-stringed fiddle, is a ...