Chinese instruments

The vertical konghou (pinyin: shù kōng hóu) is an ancient Chinese plucked stringed musical instrument. The vertical-headed Konghou, also known as Hu Konghou, was introduced from the Western Regions around the time of Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty.

Konghou was originally called Kanhou or Konghou, and there are two types: lying and standing. As far back as the beginning of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the Chu State in southern China already had a reclining Konghou similar to Qin and Se. In the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the vertical Konghou was used in music of Xiliang, Qiuci, Shule, Goryeo and India, and spread to Japan in the east. It was used less and less in the Ming Dynasty, and it was lost for three hundred years.