This form of instrument is still occasionally heard today in the "hudie qin" (蝴蝶琴, lit. "butterfly zither") played in the traditional silk and bamboo genre from the Shanghai region known as Jiangnan sizhu (江南絲竹), as well as in some Cantonese music groups.
yangqin |
The ensemble performs on "silk and bamboo" (sizhu) instruments—a classical instrumental grouping dating from the Qing Dynasty (1636-1911) that includes various dizi (bamboo flutes), sheng (mouth organ), pipa (lute), zhongruan (alto lute), guzheng (zither), huqin (fiddles), and yangqin (hammered dulcimer).