Winding Notes?

Wu Ke looked at Chu Chen strangely after hearing what he said.

"Why? Is there a flower growing on my face?" Chu Chen touched his own face, asking in surprise.

Wu Ke giggled. "If a flower could grow on your face, that would be a wonder of the ages. I just find it strange. Why are you so certain this qin was made before the Tang dynasty? Did you discover some clue?"

Chu Chen smiled. "What clue do you want to know about? Wouldn't you know just by looking at the inscription on the back?"

"Right! How could I forget about the inscription?"

Wu Ke suddenly realized it, then quickly turned the qin over.

The construction of a guqin was extremely particular. The upper part of the "qin head" was called the forehead. The lower end of the forehead was fitted with hard wood for supporting the strings. This was called Yue Shan, also known as Lin Yue, and was the highest part of the qin.

There were two sound openings on the bottom of the qin, one large and one small. The larger one in the middle was called Dragon Pool, while the smaller one at the tail was called Phoenix Marsh. This was known as "mountain above, marsh below." With both a dragon and a phoenix, it symbolized all the phenomena of heaven and earth.

Beside Yue Shan, on the side near the forehead, a strip of hard wood called "Dew Receiver" was fitted into the qin. It had seven "string holes" for threading and fastening the strings. Beneath it were seven Qin Zhen for tuning the strings. The sides of the qin head also had "phoenix eyes" and Hu Zhen.

From the waist downward, it was called the "qin tail." The qin tail was fitted with a