Guzheng
/ˈɡuː.dʒəŋ/noun
A Chinese plucked zither with movable bridges and typically 21 strings.
Did you know?Traditional Chinese stories connect the zheng with the ancient Qin state, while archaeological evidence suggests related zithers existed even earlier, making its exact origin mysterious.
Etymological Timeline
Warring States period
Chinese
箏
“Zheng, a plucked string instrument documented in early Chinese traditions”
Ancient China
Chinese
古箏
“Guzheng, literally “ancient zheng,” a name used to distinguish the instrument from other zithers”
Middle Chinese
Middle Chinese
箏 / tsˠæŋ /
“The historical pronunciation of 箏, the name of the zheng instrument”
20th Century
Mandarin
gǔzhēng
“The modern Mandarin pronunciation, written in Hanyu Pinyin as gǔzhēng”
Modern English
English
guzheng
“An English loanword for the Chinese plucked zither”