Zhang, Hong Yan

Pipa denotes both the Chinese pear‑shaped, four‑string, plucked lute and the repertory and performance practice centered on it. Held vertically and played with artificial fingernails, the pipa produces brilliant attacks, cascading tremolos, and extremely agile figurations. Its idiom features vivid programmatic narratives (civil/lyrical “wen” pieces and martial/virtuosic “wu” pieces), modal pentatonic pitch organization, and a rich vocabulary of right‑hand strokes (pi, pa, tiao, mo, gou, lun) and left‑hand ornaments (slides, bends, vibrato, harmonics). Repertoires developed in courts and urban ensembles, and later in regional schools, before being expanded in the 20th century by conservatory composers and global soloists.