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Chinese three stringed lute

The sanxian (, literally "three strings") is a three stringed traditional Chinese lute. It has a long fretless fingerboard, and the body is traditionally made from snake skin stretched over a rounded rectangular resonator. It is made in several sizes for different purposes and in the early 20th century a four stringed version, the jiaxian sanxian (加弦三弦), was developed. The northern sanxian is generally larger, at about in length, while southern versions of the instrument are usually about in length.

It has been suggested that sanxian, a form of spike lute, may have its origin in the Middle East, and older forms of spike lute were also found in ancient Egypt. which the Qinqin and Ruan also come from. Some thought that the instrument may have been re introduced into China together with other instruments such as huqin by the Mongols during the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368), however, an image of a sanxian like instrument was found in a stone sculpture dating from the Southern Song period (1217–79). The first record of the name "sanxian" may be found in a Ming dynasty text. Iterations of the sanxian are found among China's ethnic minorities as well, such as the Manchu, the Mongols, the Bai, the Yi, the Lahu, the Miao, the Dai, and the Jingpo. A closely related musical instrument is the Japanese shamisen, which originated from the Chinese sanxian. Even more closely related is the Okinawan sanshin, which is also covered in snakeskin. Additionally, the sanshin and sanxian share a structurally similar body part consisting of a round edged square of wood. In the Japanese shamisen, the body (sao) is made of four pieces of wood instead of one. The Mongolian shanz and the Vietnamese đàn tam are also similar to the sanxian. In addition to its use in traditional and classical Chinese music, some popular and rock musicians have used the sanxian, most notably the singer He Yong (何勇) and his father He Yusheng (何玉声). Sometimes, sanxian can bowed with violin bow.

Xianzi (弦子) diminutive, either a dialect word and just the same as a normal sanxian, or a southern version with a shorter neck. But in Tibet the Chinese word "xianzi" refers to a 2 string version of the Chinese sanxian. Erxianzi (二弦子) sanxian with two strings.