Lacquered 10-string Qin

This Qin is the earliest that ever found in China. It consists of a trunk and a removable baseplate, creating a sound chest that magnifies the vibration of the strings. It is painted with merely black lacquer. On one side of the Qin there are 10 string holes yet all the strings had decayed before it was discovered. On the other side there is a leg at the bottom to tie the string to.

As an early Qin, it already has the basic features that can be seen in Qin from later times, such as “Yueshan”(the wooden piece the holds up the strings), “Jiaowei”(the slightly slimmer end of the trunk) and “Yanzu”(the wooden piece at the bottom that holds up the Qin).