Konghou

Infobox Instrument
name= Konghou
names=

---

classification=
*string instrument
range=
related=
* Çeng
* Konghou
* Harp
* Lyre
* Chang (instrument) The "konghou" (zh-cp|c=|p=kōnghóu) is an ancient Chinese harp. The "konghou", also known as "kanhou",Fact|date=November 2007 went extinct sometime in the Ming Dynasty, but was revived in the 20th century. The modern instrument does not resemble the ancient one.

The main feature that distinguishes the modern "konghou" from the Western concert harp is that the modern "konghou"'s strings are folded over to make two rows, which enables players to use advanced playing techniques such as vibrato and bending tones. The two rows of strings also make it suitable for playing fast rhythms and overtones.

History

*Wo-konghou or horizontal "konghou" first mentioned in written texts in the Spring and Autumn period (770-476 BC).
*Su-konghou or vertical "konghou" first appeared in the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220AD).
*The phoenix-headed "konghou" was introduced from India in the Eastern Jin Dynasty (317-420 AD).

The "konghou" was used to play "yayue" (court music) in the Kingdom of Chu. During the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD) the "konghou" was used in "qingshangyue" (a music genre). Beginning in the Sui Dynasty (581-618), the "konghou" was also used in "yanyue" (banquet music). "Konghou" playing was most prevalent in the Sui and Tang dynasties. It was generally played in rites and ceremonies and gradually prevailed among the ordinary people.

The "konghou" in other places

The instrument was adopted in the ancient times in Korea, where it was called "gonghu" (hangul: 공후; hanja: ), but it is no longer used there. There were three subtypes according to shape:
*Sogonghu (hangul: 소공후; hanja: ; literally "small harp") ^{[http://www.topianet.co.kr/topia/6/6u/images/6u010002m.jpgphoto]}
*Sugonghu (hangul: 수공후; hanja: ; literally "vertical harp") ^{[http://www.topianet.co.kr/topia/6/6u/images/6u010002l.jpgphoto]}
*Wagonghu (hangul: 와공후; hanja: ; literally "lying down harp") ^{[http://www.topianet.co.kr/topia/6/6u/images/6u010002kk.jpgphoto]}

Similarly, the "kudaragoto" (also called "kugo", ) of Japan was in use in some Togaku (Tang music) performances during the Nara period, but seems to have died out by the 10th century. It has recently been revived in Japan, and the Japanese composer Mamoru Fujieda has composed for it. [http://www.japan-music.com/ivs/artist/tempyogafu/]

Notable "konghou" players

*Cui Junzhi [http://manray.csuhayward.edu/chinanet/broadcasting/cuijunzhi.html]

External links

* [http://chinese.chnedu.com/web/aboutchina/culture/classicalmusic/news02-6.htm Konghou] from About China site
* [http://musicology.cn/Article/ytdt/conference/200506/299.html "Reflection upon Chinese Recently Unearthed Konghous in Xin Jiang Autonomous Region"] by Xie Jin
* [http://www.china.org.cn/chinese/minyue/435701.htm Ancient Chinese painting of a "konghou"] (see top left)
* [http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/mus/instruments/tang_aharp.jpg"Konghou"] photo

Video

* [http://resources.emb.gov.hk/musiceb/english/Instrument/chinese/konghou/video/video_2.htm Konghou video] from The Musical Instruments E-book

Listening

* [http://music.yahoo.com.cn/search.html?pid=ysearch&p=%F3%ED%F3%F3&button=%CB%D1%B8%E8%C7%FA&button=%CB%D1%B8%E8%B4%CA&mimetype=all&source=ysearch_music_result_topsearch Konghou audio] (click headphones to listen to individual tracks)