The
bridge, nut, ch’eng-lu, yin-t’o, and peg pool back[2]
should all be made of hard, strong wood.
The color should be refined and quiet, such as sandlewood or
jujube. One can mount ivory or hawksbill
turtle for the nut or yin-t’o. Or a
half-tube made of a goose feather can be put on (for the nut) as a prop for the
strings. Then when the strings are put
on, they are easily pulled tight and there will be no damage to the nut (or
strings). The wood for the nut must be
the same as that of the bridge. The
wood for the peg pool back should be even harder and smoother, so the pegs can
be turned without harm and without slippage.
The
dragon pool and phoenix pond mouths plus the holes for the wild geese feet do
not in any case intrude onto the surface, so one need only use hard wood. The wood for the wild duck feet also should
be hard and smooth so that they cannot be broken. Also pegs made of jade are not auspicious, moreover they are
heavy. If a string breaks, they may
fall on the ground and be broken.
Sandlewood is suitable here.
Some use cattle, or ram, or rhinoceros horn. After a long time these will become shiny, and elegant to
observe; moreover they are hard, smooth, and cannot be damaged. If one should use ivory, beware of it
cracking. Boxwood gets dirty after a
while.
As
for the hui, it is best to use oyster shell.
They should be bright, beautiful, and elegant to behold. Under the light of the glistening moon, the
hui will be brilliant. Some use gold,
but this is not auspicious for the ch’in.
C:[ Use an ounce per set] One may be inviting thieves to dig it out and
harm the face of the ch’in. This has
happened in the past.