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Thegehu (Chinese:革胡;pinyin:géhú) is a Chinese instrument developed in the 20th century by the Chinese musician Yang Yusen (杨雨森, 1926–1980). It is a fusion of the Chinesehuqin family and thecello, essentially anerhu cello orChinese cello. Like standard cellos, its four strings are also tuned (from low to high) C-G-D-A; it also uses standard cello strings. Unlike most othermusical instruments in thehuqin family, the bridge does not contact the snakeskin drum head, which faces to the side. Instead the bridge is connected to a mechanism inside the body that touches the drum head. The bridge transmits the string vibrations to that mechanism, causing it to vibrate.[1]
There also exists a contrabassgehu that functions as a Chinesedouble bass, known as thediyingehu,digehu, orbeigehu (倍革胡).[2][3]
By the late 20th century thegehu had become a rare instrument, even within China, as the tendency for the snakeskin to lose its tightness increases with humidity. Today, it is used mostly inHong Kong andTaiwan,[4] although even there, the cello is beginning to become a popular replacement for it. There are also other Chinese instruments that are able to take on the role of bowed bass range instrument, such as thelaruan (which uses the structure and acoustics of theruan), thelapa (also known aspaqin, using the structure of thepipa), and the bassmatouqin.
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