Yehu
Its sound box is half a coconut — but its place in the ensemble is subtler than the shell
Related
The gaohu page said that Guangdong music swapped a hard-bow group for a soft-bow one and brought in the gaohu. This page is about the green leaf in that same group — the yehu.
What is interesting about it is not "the sound box is a coconut". It is that the same instrument is a lead voice in one ensemble and an accessory in another.
「在『广东音乐五架头』的软弓组合中，椰胡常为配角，起到辅助 · 衬托高胡的作用，二者关系犹如红花与绿叶。」
⭐⭐ Main line 55: red flowers and green leaves — one instrument, two ensembles, two different positions.
First, about the name
The name looks obvious but it comes in three layers:
- its historical name is 「潮提」, and in Chaozhou music it is called 「冇弦」 (Cantonese and Hakka *mou*; Teochew and Hokkien as spoken in Taiwan, China: *pah*, with a nasal);
- it belongs to both the Li and the Han peoples;
- 「椰胡」 is the name it acquired after it travelled out — half from the material, half from Hainan.
⭐ So it carries three names: a material name, a local name, and one recorded in the literature.
A description from three centuries ago
The Qing imperial encyclopedia 《清朝续文献通考》 preserves a very short entry — the most valuable sentence on the page:
「潮提，乌木柄，椰壳为槽，蛤螭壳为柱，与二胡等。发音甚静而平和，亦粤乐器。」
| Original | What it records |
|---|---|
| 「乌木柄」 | ebony neck |
| 「椰壳为槽」 | ⭐ the sound box is a coconut shell — it already was one, 300 years ago |
| 「蛤螭壳为柱」 | ⭐ the bridge is made of a whelk shell — ⚠️ not a "post"; 柱 here means the bridge |
| 「与二胡等」 | classed with the huqin |
| ⭐「发音甚静而平和」 | ⭐⭐ four characters that fix its character: quiet, even |
| 「亦粤乐器」 | a Guangdong instrument |
⭐⭐ Those four characters match everything the modern dictionaries say — "soft and mellow", "deep and gentle". A Qing-era gazetteer and a modern dictionary describing the same thing is rare among Chinese instruments.
⭐⭐ Main line: an ensemble gives an instrument its position
| Chaozhou music (xianshi / luogu) | Guangdong music (wujiatou, soft bow) | |
|---|---|---|
| Position of the yehu | ⭐⭐ high-register lead | ⭐ accessory, supporting the gaohu |
| Alongside | bamboo strings, suona, yueqin — the "four big pieces" | gaohu, yangqin, dongxiao, qinqin |
| The metaphor | — | ⭐「like red flowers and green leaves」 |
| How it got there | present in Chaozhou since the early 18th century | ⭐ brought to Guangzhou in 1924 by Lü Wencheng and other Cantonese players |
⭐⭐ This answers the question the gaohu page left open: soft-bow did not mean all five instruments softened together — ⭐ one of them deliberately dropped an octave to become an accompaniment.
「定弦从传统的 c · g 改为 g · d，与高胡相差八度，音色更低沉浑厚。」
⭐ And note the direction: it used to be a high-register instrument; in the new ensemble it tuned itself down an octave to sit under the gaohu. Not demoted by others — retuned by itself.
A coconut shell, and three materials taken locally
| Part | Made of | Note |
|---|---|---|
| ⭐ Sound box | more than half a coconut shell | front covered with a paulownia board; five small holes in the back form a coin-patterned window |
| ⭐ Bridge | a small shell | the whelk shell of the gazetteer; also bamboo, and in Fuzhou even a rolled paper bridge |
| Neck | redwood / ebony | about 67 cm long, with two pegs set crosswise |
| Strings | ⭐ silk → steel | early silk strings were 「dull, with a narrow range」; steel made them 「more responsive, better blended」 |
| Bow | thin bamboo + horsehair | about 60 cm |
⭐ The shell kept evolving too: makers moved to larger shells for more volume, and some added a base rest for stability — when a natural material is too unstable, you give it a foot.
Tuning, range, and an octave it gave up
- ⭐⭐ Tuning: strung at a fifth — commonly g · d¹ or c¹ · g¹ (some sources also give a · e¹); about two octaves of range.
- ⚠️ One decisive change: 「the tuning moved from the traditional c · g to g · d, an octave below the gaohu, giving a darker, fuller tone.」
⭐⭐ That sentence is the signpost of this page: it welds the yehu to the gaohu — the lower octave is not a defect but a choice made in order to take the supporting part.
A ban worth noticing
In traditional Chaozhou xianshi or Chaozhou zhengqin accompaniment, 「only one stroke may sound one note; slurring is forbidden」.
⭐⭐ Not one pair of slurred notes is allowed — not because the yehu cannot do it (two octaves is no obstacle) but because that is the rule of the genre.
⭐ And this echoes the gazetteer: it is 「甚静而平和」, and the rule makes it sound one note at a time. Quiet is not the result of its timbre — it is what its role and its rules together decide. An accessory instrument should neither compete in volume nor in fluency.
Where it travels
Used in Guangdong music, Chaozhou luogu, Chaoju, for Cantonese opera's folk-style 「nanyin」 (as a mid-register colouring instrument), in Min opera, Minnan shiyin, Fuzhou chatin shiban, Longyan jingban, the Ten-Band music of Yongding and Shanghang, in Hainan bayin, and by the Li people for festivals, singing and dance.
⭐⭐ The Qing gazetteer said 「与二胡等」 — meaning it was never obscure; today it spans three provinces and a dozen genres. A coconut-shell instrument has travelled remarkably far.
Heritage: the yehu-making craft entered Hainan's third batch of provincial intangible cultural heritage in 2009, and the Qionghai city list; the maker Wang Shiguo's family has kept the craft for five generations. Examples are held by the Chinese Academy of Music's instrument museum in Beijing.
| Class | Assignment |
|---|---|
| HS class | Chordophone · bowed (friction with a bow) · with definite pitch |
| Sub-type | mid-register bowed (sound box = more than half a coconut shell · paulownia board over the front opening · five small holes forming a coin-patterned window in the back · bridge of a small shell (or bamboo / rolled paper) · two strings, silk then steel · fretless neck · about 67 cm long · bow about 60 cm) · tuned g–d¹ (a fifth) · about two octaves |
| Family | China · bowed strings (lead voice in Chaozhou music ＋ accessory in Guangdong music; used by both the Li and the Han) |
| Bayin | silk |
Recap in one table
| Q | A |
|---|---|
| Names | 「潮提」 · 「冇弦」(*mou* / *pah*) · 「椰胡」 after it travelled |
| Sound box | ⭐ more than half a coconut shell · paulownia front · five-hole window |
| Bridge | ⭐ a small shell (whelk); also bamboo or rolled paper |
| Tuning · range | g–d¹ (a fifth) · about two octaves |
| ⭐ The key point | ⭐⭐ lead in Chaozhou, accessory in Guangdong music, an octave below the gaohu — 「red flowers and green leaves」 |
| One line on character | ⭐「发音甚静而平和」 — matching three centuries of dictionaries |
| One ban | ⭐ in Chaozhou accompaniment 「one stroke, one note; no slurring」 |
| String change | silk → steel (dull and narrow → more responsive) |
| Today | 2009 Hainan provincial heritage · five generations of one family |
| Bayin | silk |
The previous page showed an instrument that turned itself from plucked to bowed to stay close to one singing voice; this page shows an instrument that dropped an octave to stay in the shadows. Building a new instrument is one achievement; giving up the lead is another.
椰胡属拉弦弦鸣乐器（弓擦 · 两弦 · 无品）。按五度关系定弦，常定弦为 g · d¹ 或 c¹ · g¹（亦有 a · e¹ 说），音域约两个八度。本图按常见的 g–d¹ 取 G3–G5 示意，其中 G3–D4 是与高胡低八度的那一段，也是它在广东音乐五架头里实际承担的音区。记谱即实音。
Listen in the library
All tracks from midicn-lib — inline badge is the license tier (C1 commercial / C2 non-commercial / C3 study only).
Sources
- ⭐⭐ 名字与来历（本批第 55 条主线：红花与绿叶）：又称潮提 · 小胡；潮州音乐中称「冇弦」（粤语 · 客语读「mou」，潮语与闽南语（通行于中国台湾）读「pah」（带鼻音））· 属黎族 · 汉族弓拉弦鸣乐器 · 「在中国至少有800 年历史」依百科资料
- ⭐⭐ 文献原话（这条最有分量）：「潮提，乌木柄，椰壳为槽，蛤螭壳为柱，与二胡等。发音甚静而平和，亦粤乐器。」（《清朝续文献通考》）—— ⭐ 四个字定了它的性格：「甚静而平和」；⚠️ 注意「蛤螭壳为柱」说的是琴马用蛤螭（一种螺）的壳，不是"柱子"
- ⭐⭐ 在乐队里的位置（本页主线）：在「广东音乐五架头」的软弓组合中，「椰胡常为配角，起到辅助 · 衬托高胡的作用，二者关系犹如红花与绿叶」；⭐ 而在潮州音乐里它是高音乐器、主音乐器 —— ⭐ 同一件乐器，在两支乐队里地位完全不同
- ⭐⭐ 一段可考的移动史：18 世纪初已出现于潮州音乐 → 「1924 年由吕文成等旅居上海的粤乐家来广州演出时带来广州」→ 「20 世纪 20 年代末为粤剧吸收采用」→ 30 年代被广东小曲演奏吸收；⚠️ 吕文成与 gaohu 页是同一人（高胡创制者之一）—— 同一个乐手把两件乐器都带进了广州
- ⭐⭐ 形制（各零件都是"就地取材"）：琴筒用多半个椰子壳制作（不是木筒）· 前口蒙桐木薄板作面板 · 背部半圆形椰壳上开五个小音孔组成金钱眼状音窗 · ⭐ 琴马传统用小贝壳（也有竹马，福州地区还有用纸卷做马）· 琴杆用红木或乌木等硬木 · 全长约 67 厘米（琴体 60–70 厘米）· 琴杆上端横置两轴（红木或黄杨木 · 轴柄刻直条瓣纹 · 装置方向与琴筒平行）· 琴杆中部设丝弦千斤 · 两条丝弦 · ⭐ 弓长约 60 厘米（细竹杆 · 两端拴马尾）依百科资料
- ⭐⭐ 定弦与改良（本页最实用的一段）：现「按五度关系定弦，常定弦为 g · d¹、c¹ · g¹（亦有 a · e¹ 说），音域约两个八度」；⚠️ 有一条重要的定弦变动：「定弦从传统的 c · g 改为 g · d，与高胡相差八度，音色更低沉浑厚」；⭐ 「早期椰胡的琴弦大多采用丝弦制作，发音较钝，音域较为狭窄；后多改用钢丝弦，发音稍微敏感，融和性增强」；另有「采用较大的椰壳以增加音量」「部分椰胡为增加演奏稳定性，在琴筒底部加设底托」依百科资料
- ⭐⭐ 演奏姿势与一条"禁令"：「演奏时采用坐姿，将琴筒置于左腿上（或夹在两腿中间），左手持琴按弦，右手执马尾弓夹于两弦间拉奏」；⚠️ 传统潮乐独奏 · 潮州弦诗或潮州筝曲伴奏中，「只可以一弓奏一音，连音是被禁止的」依百科资料
- ⭐ 音色（多组说法并列）：「发音甚静而平和」（文献）·「音色柔和淳厚」「深沉柔弱 · 幽雅和谐 · 柔和浑厚，富有地方色彩」·「音色浑厚，风味浓郁」依百科与辞书资料
- ⭐⭐ 用途（覆盖极广，且跨了三个省）：广东音乐 · 潮州大锣鼓 · 潮剧 · 潮州弦诗 · 粤剧 · 粤曲 · 闽剧 · 闽南十音 · 福州茶亭十番 · 福建龙岩静板音乐 · 永定与上杭等地的十班音乐 · 海南八音；「在粤剧音乐中多用于伴奏富有民间音乐风格的『南音』等唱腔，是中音色彩乐器」；黎族「逢年过节 · 集会喜庆，都要拉起椰胡与其它乐器合奏或为歌唱 · 舞蹈伴奏」依百科资料
- ⭐ 非遗与传承：2009 年椰胡制作技艺入选海南省第三批省级非物质文化遗产名录，亦列入琼海市非物质文化遗产保护名录；传承人王仕国家族已延续五代制作技艺依百科资料
- ⭐ 实体馆藏：北京中国艺术研究院音乐研究所中国乐器博物馆收藏椰胡多支，其中一支长 67 厘米、琴头平顶的椰胡被载入《中国乐器图鉴》大型画册依百科资料
- ⚠️ 涉外与属地按来源原样：流行于海南 · 广东 · 福建等地，「并流传至中国香港 · 中国澳门 · 中国台湾及东南亚 · 欧美等地」依百科资料
- 「椰胡属八音中的丝」依通行资料
Used for fact-checking only; all prose is original.