CH'IN

also spelled Chyn, or La Chin, musical instrument, a Chinese board zither with seven strings, dating from before 1100 Bc . The body is often lacquered and is inlaid with 13 small disks that indicate pitch positions, primarily on the upper melodic string. The silk strings are stretched over a soundboard that is narrow and slightly convex; the concave underside of the soundboard is closed by a flat base, which in most cases has four small feet. The instrument's notation indicates pitches as well as special hand movements. Both plucked and stopped strings and their harmonics are used, and only the bare fingers are used on the strings. This ancient instrument has always been treasured as a symbol of culture by Chinese intellectuals and Confucianists and is often seen in pictures of sages viewing some scenic beauty. It is closely related to the Japanese koto and the Korean kum. A similar but slightly smaller companion instrument is the sh.