The guzheng is mainly composed of the panel, the bottom plate, the side plate, the head, the tail, the mountain, the yard, the nails, the sound hole and the strings. The pros and cons of the guzheng depend on the quality of the materials and the craftsmanship of each part. The resonance body of the zither consists of a top panel, a bottom panel and two zither edges. There is a sound bridge in the resonance body, which is in the shape of an arch. In addition to the needs of the resonance effect, it also plays a supporting role. The quality and structure of the resonator have a great influence on the sound of the koto.

panel

The panel is made of sycamore wood, which has been placed for many years and has a dry and loose wood. It is better to have a straight wood grain and large eyes. For example, with a live scar section, the pronunciation is more crisp and bright. The panel determines the tone and volume of the kite. Some people have also tried the production of white pine.
bottom plate

Crafted from sycamore wood or from other hard woods.

zither

Also known as the side board, that is, the side of the kite. The zither has two sides, the side close to the body is called the inner side and the other side is called the outer side. The zither edge is generally made of wood, but also made of ash, mahogany or other miscellaneous wood. There are also trial production of right wood.

kite head

Made of wood, purple or other solid wood. The function of the zither head is to fix the strings, which are fixed by the string holes (some zither heads are also fixed with the nails). There is a sound hole on the side of the zither head, and there is a sound window on the sound hole for sound. Because the head of the zither is connected with the resonance body, it expands the range of resonance (there are also zheng, the head of the zither is not connected with the resonance body).

Yueshan

Also called wooden beam or mountain pass. Made of purple rosewood or other wood, there are two Yueshan on the zither. One is at the connection between the panel and the head of the zither, called Qianyueshan; the other at the connection between the panel and the tail of the zither, called Houyueshan. The Yueshan is naturally curved with the front and rear arcs of the panel, basically forming a 90-degree angle with the panel. Houyueshan also has an S shape (shortening the chord length of the yard in the high-pitched area). Yueshan plays the role of carrying strings, and also plays some role in transmitting sound. The ratio between the height of the mountain and the height of the zither is related to the problems of intonation, timbre, and tuning. Therefore, the proper ratio must be used to make the pronunciation of the zheng have a good effect. A piece of bone or copper wire is inlaid on the upper end of Qianyue Mountain to make the pronunciation pleasant.

codon

Also known as column, or goose column. It is the vibration transmission strut of the strings and panels. Generally made of wood, but also made of mahogany, beef bone, plastic, ivory, the effect of wood is better. There is also a small bone piece inlaid on the mast wood, and a groove is carved on the bone piece to stabilize the string. Each yard supports a string, for a total of twenty-one yards. When playing, the vibration of the string is transmitted by the code to the face plate, and then through the resonance body to produce the effect of music. The code can be moved left and right to adjust the pitch. The code is also sometimes moved back and forth slightly to properly adjust the sound quality.

Qin Ding

Also called Xiaozi. It is used to wind the strings, adjust the tension of the strings, and control the pitch of the sound. The pegs of the zheng are also replaced with piano nails, or the pegs are made of hard wood for winding.

sound hole

The zheng has three sound holes (there are also two sound holes), one on the side of the head, and two on the bottom plate (one in the middle of the bottom plate, and one near the tail of the bottom plate). The position, shape and size of the sound hole are related to the tone and volume.

string

There are 21 strings in the commonly used zheng, the first string close to the player is the highest note of the zheng, and the minor third raised by the pressing on the 21st string is the lowest note of the zheng. On the strings, according to different needs, copper wire strings, metal winding strings or nylon winding strings and other kinds of strings are appropriately configured. Due to different uses, styles and habits, there are also differences in configuration methods. There are mainly steel strings, with metal windings or nylon windings appropriately configured; there are also nylon windings with appropriate configuration of steel strings; there are also nylon windings or silk strings. The steel strings have a bright tone, and the windings have a rich tone.