Volume 3, Chapter 22,
Laying a Ch’in on
a Table with Sandbags
In laying a ch’in
horizontally on a table, the head goes at the right and the tail goes at the
left. The fu-chang (鳧掌)[1] and tuning pegs should fall through to the bottom side of the table. The
yen-tzu (雁足)[2]
should be straight on the top of the table.
This configuration is the case with specially made ch’in tables. In order to make tuning easier, if you put a
ch’in on a long narrow side table, then leave three or four finger widths on
the right hand side. Don’t put the ch’in in the center of the table. Put it near the edge of
the table (near the player) in order to make fingering easier.
As for sandbags, make one pair.[3] One need not limit the material to cloth or
silk, and can use soft leather. (A bag)
should be five inches long and two inches wide and the same all around. The inside should have an appropriate amount
of fine sand well sewn up in the bag with no leaks. One bag should be placed under the ch’in’s
neck. The other goes under the
yen-tzu. The ch’in should be level and
flat and not move. If you do not use
sand bags, then when you play forcefully you may push or move the ch’in on the
table. If you take a minute amount of
water and moisten the bags, then they will stick firmly to the table surface
and be less likely to move.
