sanxian

The (, literally "three strings") is a three-stringed traditional Chinese lute. It has a long fretless fingerboard, and the body is traditionally made from snake skin stretched over a rounded rectangular resonator. It is made in several sizes for different purposes and in the early 20th century a four-stringed version, the , was developed. The northern is generally larger, at about in length, while southern versions of the instrument are usually about in length.

==History== thumb|right|Possible sanxian (left) and pipa, from a 762-827 A.D. painting in the Mogao caves near [[Dunhuang―Grotto 46 Left interior wall, second panel. Also called cave 112.]] It has been suggested that sanxian, a form of spike lute, may have its origin in the Middle East, and older forms of spike lute were also found in ancient Egypt. Similar instruments may have been present in China as early as the Qin dynasty as qin pipa (pipa was used as a generic term in ancient China for many other forms of plucked chordophones) or xiantao (), which the Qinqin and Ruan also come from. Some thought that the instrument may have been re-introduced into China together with other instruments such as huqin by the Mongols during the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368), however, an image of a sanxian-like instrument was found in a stone sculpture dating from the Southern Song period (1217–79). The first record of the name "sanxian" may be found in a Ming dynasty text.