Similar Instruments - Other Asian Zithers

Nara Period, 12, 13, 17-30 strings, from ~710-784 CE

Update 2020: Koto Tunings!

This first image is a Japanese Koto from the 1800s (箏, こと, or alternatively 琴) photographed by the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts. The instrument traces its lineage back to China's Tang Dynasty when 13-string zheng were first brought to Japan. Their design has remained largely unchanged across time.

Big differences between the koto and a zheng are: Overall dimensions, string material and tying, and the tuning system. Kotos tend to be longer and thinner, though variants can certainly change this. Their strings used to be silk, with long loops of excess string left on the instrument to allow for retying when the strings break. Modern koto use a synthetic string made of either nylon or polyester; there is some confusion on its material composition in English sources. The modern tuning system is commonly held in the end cap like a zheng but is not always enclosed. See the second picture for an example.

Variants have been introduced with different string counts and lengths such as the 17-string koto, each with different ties to regions, styles of play, and intended audiences. One magnificent exception to this is the incredible 80-string variant made by Mitsuya Koto for Miyagi Michio, a renowned koto player:

Here are videos of both a 25-string koto and a koto ensemble playing 13-string instruments. Look carefully in the background and you’ll see a few variants behind the performers. And below is a glorious walk through in English and Japanese!

Kazakhstan, 7-21 strings

The жетіген from Kazakhstan, anglicized Jetigen is another the wide family of Asian long zithers. Its music has its own qualities and is similarly beautiful. Here are two examples of the music. Unfortunately I know nothing about this instrument and information in English is incredibly scarce.

Korean Peninsula, Koryŏ dynasty (918–1392), 9+ strings

Oh my lord, the Ajaeng! It’s like the guzheng and the cello had a baby. It’s amazing and I love it.

*ahem*

Said to be a take on the Chinese yazheng (also called yaqin), a long board zither played with a bow, the Ajaeng came about sometime during the Koryŏ dynasty (918–1392) (at least according to the Encyclopedia Britannica).

I really can’t say much more, other than please please please watch this video. It’s magical.

Gaya Confederacy, 12-string, 25-string, from ~500-562 CE

The Korean Gayageum (가야금 or 伽倻琴) was an originally 12 string zither from the peninsula. A history written in 1145 CE says that the first gayageum was made sometime between 500 and 562 CE in the Gaya Confederacy, a region in Korea. The instrument came about when a king saw a Chinese zither and ordered a similar instrument to be made. The gayageum is not a direct descendant of the zheng. Inspired by, adapted from perhaps, but a wholly Korean creation.

Just like the zheng, gayageum have changed over time. Famous variants include the Sanjo, Pungryu, Beopgeum, and Jeongak. String counts have varied from 12-25 strings as we see in this picture. #4 is a 25-string gayageum, while #1 and #3 have 12 strings. Hints that a zither is a gayageum include the T-shape of the bridges and the tied ropes at the end.

Modern times has seen an extra wrinkle - Korean players appropriating the Dunhuang-style guzheng and rechristening it a gayageum. Oh for globalization!

The site this picture comes from, the Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation, and a few other sources agree to the origin in the 6th century CE, but beyond that I can't say much. If you know more, send me an email!

DPRK (North Korea), 32 Strings, 1973

This is a special one. The youngest by far, the Ongnyugum is said to have been created in 1973 at the request of the North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il. While attributing a musical instrument’s creation to a head of state is suspect, it is plausible that the DPRK leadership saw the musical reforms coming out of China and wanted to emulate them.

The Ongnyugum has 32 or 33 strings arranged on a trapezoidal soundboard. The player sits at the narrower end and plucks with their fingers. Both the right and left end points of strings are arranged in roughly matching s-curves. A row of fixed bridges sits to the left of the player’s hands allowing for pitch bends. The soundboard has a soundhole opening at the top, directing the sound upwards, rather than down as on most other long Asian zithers.

According to “Korean Musical Instruments” by the National Classical Music Institute of Korea the ongnyugum is played outside of North Korea in China’s Jilin province and in South Korea; Various online video sites and news outlets have recorded performances in the last few decades.

The most “official” book discussing the Ongnyugum is “옥류금 Ongnyugŭm” published in 1988; There are copies in libraries in Los Angeles, New York, and Boston, United States. I say it’s official because it was published in North Korea.

Mongolia, 10, 12, 13, and 21 strings

The ятга or Yatga from Mongolia would be a fascinating instrument to dive into. Modern musicians have adopted the 21-string, s-bridge guzheng as the template for their music. Sources are scarce but I found one yatga mention here. Paraphrased:

The most commonly contemporary yatga is the twenty-one-stringed "Master Yatga." The length of full-size instrument 1.62m or 63 inches. There is also the 13-string version called "Gariin Yatga".

Historical versions played in the Mongolian palace had 12 strings, one for each of the the twelve levels of the palace hierarchy. Common people preferred a 10-stringed version. The Epic of Jangar, a massive work written by people of the region, involves a young princess and an 800-string yatga with 82 bridges.

For a wonderful photo I don’t have license to, please check out renowned photographer Thomas Kelly’s Photos from the 2016 Nadaam Festival.

Various photographs show some players on thin, 13-string long zithers that look quite similar to the Korean Gayageum like this Mongolian stage show. I unfortunately don’t know more other than to say it could be something like this Mongolian Store’s instrument.

What I can guess is that there is an existing original version, perhaps similar to what’s seen in this travel blog post, but other Asian zithers have been adopted and customized over the years to fit the Mongolian tradition.

Vietnam, 16 or 17 strings, Before 13th Century

Next of the three instruments most often confused with the zheng is the Đàn tranh. There is some debate as to whether its lineage is a branch of the Song Dynasty-inspired Chinese zhengs or if the Đàn tranh led to the Song Dynasty zhengs or those popular in southern China.

It's easiest to distinguish between modern long zithers but difficult to figure out the older ones. Modern đàn tranh have an opalescent styling which helps identify them today. If it's older than 100 years or doesn't feature this styling positive identification is more difficult.

Đàn tranh feature metal strings, bridges that have generally thinner legs, and I've seen a number with DRMSL labeling by the strings, representing the Do Re Mi So La solfège renderings of the notes of pentatonic scales.

For a rare treat, check out this video by musicians Tri Nguyen and Qaïs Saadi which features plenty of footage and notes about this Vietnamese zither.

China, ancient, 25+ strings

This is a Se. It comes to us from the collections of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, MA, USA.

Believed to have been constructed in the 1800s it was purchased in 1916. I count 24 strings which is one less than I expected, but there you have it. It comes in at a whopping 223.8cm or 88in long. It's far bigger than most other instruments on this page. Notice how it slants down at the tail. You'll see that in the Japanese Koto, suggesting this was inspired or connected to the designs of zithers in the Tang dynasty.

Here we have another take on the Se, this time from The Met in New York, NY USA.

It's a bit shorter than the MFA Se, coming in at ~183cm or 72 inches, also dated to the 1800s, and also seems to have 24 strings, or 24 bridges, at least. This particular one was taken from a Taoist (Daoist) temple and is inscribed as being made by one Fanfu Lou and owned by the monk Xinzhu. Work by Cheng in his 1991 thesis suggests this was made in the Qing style of instrument which was notable for its significant downward angle at one end.

More Se! This one has 25 strings and was on display at the Musical Instruments Museum in Brussels, Belgium.

The level of ornamentation on this is really fun. That's not as common on modern instruments because weighty decorations can reduce the quality of the sound of the instrument especially when placed on the soundboard. You need that wood to really vibrate, and any paint, inlays, or carvings will dampen or distort the sound. I'd guess this was constructed more as a work of art and less for its sound but I could be wrong!

A modern take on an older style of Se, as indicated by the knobs on the left of the instrument. This one was photographed in 2012 at the China Music trade show / expo in Shanghai. The text on the card translates to "18-string ancient se".

An this is supposedly a picture of the 50-string Sè created for the Datong musical group in 1930's Shanghai, though I have yet to find significant information on it.

Here's a treat. It comes to us from a MIMO entry from the Musée Du Palais Lascaris.

My French is terrible, but I discern it mentions 26 strings wound around 13 posts, possibly doubling back on themselves. It comes from 1800s China. 

From the University of Leipzig we have, translated and paraphrased from the German record on MIMO:

They say this is a 12-string zither made in Korea between 1900 and 1950. Its wooden body consists of a resonating soundboard, floor and frame. The soundboard is evenly arched. The 12 movable bridges are 6 of brighter and 6 of darker wood. The strings are wound copper and steel. There is a rectangular sound hole in the back. Tuning pegs are hidden under one of the sides.

It's 83.2cm or ~32 inches long, so far shorter than modern incarnations of other long zithers from east Asia. It could be a shortened version of a Korean Gayageum but it is using Chinese-style bridges. 

Similarly a typical Koto, the Japanese long zither, is around 190cm, like this one at a US Museum. But that same museum has a miniaturized version that is just as old and comes in at 53.8cm. Perhaps this is a miniaturized Gayageum then?

Leipzig also has this 10-bridge instrument where each bridge supports 2 strings. That sounds more like a hammered dulcimer BUT a double-strung 9-bridge instrument that uses a bow exists elsewhere that museum staff name a Laqin. So what is this?

Update 202: This could be a Korean Ajaeng!

From 2017: Here's a strange one. This was taken at the Museum für Musikinstrumente der Universität Leipzig, in Leipzig, Germany. It appears to have 9 strings tied in the fashion of a koto. That is, the strings are left long and bundled on the tail, typically in loops. The tail is on the right side. The instrument is standing on its head, though I've rotated it here. The extra length of string is now hanging down the instrument.

Koto strings were left long to deal with silk strings breaking frequently. Since they'd usually break where they were played, by the head, you could pull the string towards the head until the break was even with your tying point, and tie it off again.

Because of that extra length and tie pattern I'll suggest the strings are silk. I don't know why else they would have so much extra. As to date made or country of origin, I haven't the slightest idea. The significant curvature suggests it could have been played with a bow either laying flat or standing vertically on a surface.