Ummmm - the instrument in question for the four arts (琴棋書畫 qin qi shu hua) was not lute but guqin (gu ch'in). The term "lute" was applied to the instrument by R.H. van Gulik in the early twentieth century to give a cultural context to the instrument; in his estimation it was held in the same regard as the european lute. This has lead to great confusion as to what the instrument really is as it is rather rare these days.
"It is quite true that the shape of the psaltery (a cither) resembles that of the Chinese ch'in, while our Western lute rather resembles the Chinese pear-shaped mandolin, the p'i-p'a. In my opinion, however, the shape of an Oriental musical instrument should not constitute the first consideration when selecting an English equivalent; the spirit of the music produced by an instrument and the place it occupies in the culture of its native country are as important factors as its shape and structure. This point holds true especially in the case of the Chinese ch'in, which occupies so unique a position in antique and modern Chinese life. In selecting 'lute' as translation of ch'in, my object was to convey to the general reader something of the cultural significance of this instrument and its music. Since the word 'lute' is associated by Westerners with poetry and refined enjoyment, it adequately suggests the atmosphere that surrounds the ch'in, while 'psaltery', on the other hand, suggests an instrument doomed to obsolescence since many centuries." (Lore, p. ix, f.3) As a student of this venerable instrument I can tell you that it is definately not a lute. In fact the literati of China held the p'i-p'a in rather low regard considering it to be vulgar. However this didn't stop them from enjoying the music or the instrument! Steve Amazeen ----- Original Message ----- From: "Stuart LeBlanc" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Sunday, April 10, 2005 1:19 PM Subject: RE: Blind players and memory > > Sorry, not misinformed. Nor trivia, unless you think non-western cultures > are > inherently trivial. > > Connect the dots: lute - al'ud - sarod - p'ip'a - biwa > > In ancient China and Japan, the equivalent of the western liberal arts was > the > "Four Accomplishments," which included painting, calligraphy, go and... > lute. > SNIP To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
