Sanxian

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Sanxian
The Chinese sanxian
Traditional Chinese	三弦
Simplified Chinese	三弦
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin sānxián Wade–Giles san1-hsien2 Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization sāamyìhn Jyutping saam1 jin4

The sanxian (Chinese: 三弦, 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 122 cm (48 in) in length, while southern versions of the instrument are usually about 95 cm (37 in) in length.