Volume 3, Chapter 3, Names Associated with the Ch’in Face
At
the head of the ch’in, there is a forehead (e 額). After the forehead, comes the dew receptor (ch’eng-lu 承露).
On it, there are seven holes, called string eyelets (hsuan-yen 絃眼). The yarn fasteners (jung-k'ou 絨扣) adjoin the dew
receptor and
rise up on the bridge (yueh-shan 岳山),
also known as the lin-yueh (臨岳). In from the bridge, 8 or 9 tenths of an inch,
is the start of the nape (ch'i-hsiang 起項). In the middle of the nape, we have the neck (ching
頸).
Expanding from the neck, we come to the shoulders (chien
肩).
Gradually narrowing, we come to the waist (yao
腰), and then the center of the waist (yao chong 腰中). Then we finish up with the end of the waist (yao mo 腰末). At this point, we slightly expand for the
beginning of the tail (ch'i wei 起尾). At the sides of the end of the tail, we have
the angular corners (leng chue 稜角),
also called cap corners (Kuan-chueh 冠角). Because Master Ts'ai
made a ch'in from the cooked remnant of some t'ung wood, we also call this part
the "scorched tail" (chiao wei 焦尾). In the center of the surface, at the extreme
end of the tail, slightly raised, we have the nut (lit. "dragon's
gums", lung-yin 龍齦). On the left side of the surface, we have
thirteen round objects, called hui (徽
or 暉). In
order, the first hui is near the bridge, and they run successively to the
thirteenth near the tail. On the bridge,
we place seven strings. In order, the
first string is placed starting next to the hui, and then placed successively
to the seventh string, which is near the player.