凤首琴【英】

Phoenix-Headed Qin

定义

唐代乐器，因琴头呈凤首状而得其名。音箱修长，瓢形，凤琴头向里弯曲，有扶手系弦。有一根弦和四根弦两种，造型独特而美观，是敦煌壁画上特有的一种乐器，十分珍稀。可能是由凤首笙模和凤首琵琶演变而来。凤首琴产生于唐代，五代、宋、西夏多有出现，延续使用。最早出现在第161窟(晚唐)，为一根弦的，由一身飞天乐伎演奏，姿态动人。

A plucked musical instrument from the Tang Dynasty, so named because its head resembles that of the mythical phoenix. It is shaped like a gourd ladle, with a long, thin resonator (body), a neck curved inward, and a tailpiece attaching the strings. The instrument may be classified into two types: those with one string, and those with four strings. As an instrument found only among the frescoes in Dunhuang, it is unique, beautiful and very rare, possibly evolving from the phoenix-headed sheng (mouth-blown free reed instrument with vertical pipes) and the phoenix-headed pipa. Starting in the Tang Dynasty and continuing into the Five Dynasties, the Song Dynasty and Western Xia, the phoenix-headed qin can be seen in many murals, the earliest of which is an instrument with one string, played by a charming flying apsara in Mogao Cave 161 (built during the Late Tang).