Pipa

High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The pipa is a four-stringed Chinese instrument, belonging to the plucked category of instruments. Sometimes called the Chinese lute, the instrument has a pear-shaped wooden body with a varying number of frets ranging from 12-26. Although, like its smaller sibling, the Chinese liuqin, it may look like a lute, in fact neither pipa nor liuqin has an actual neck, as the soundboard body spans the entire strings to the head of the instrument, making them handheld zithers.The pipa appeared in the Qin Dynasty (221 - 206 BCE) and was developed during the Han Dynasty. It is one of the most popular Chinese instruments and has been played for nearly two thousand years in China.