{{More citations needed|date=November 2024}}{{for multi|the Sogdian-Turkish title|Yabghu|the Israelite king|Jehu}} {{Infobox Instrument |name= Yehu |names= |image=Yehu.png |classification= *Bowed string instrument |range= |related= * Huqin }}
The '''''yehu''''' ({{zh|c=椰胡|p=yēhú}}) is a bowed string instrument in the ''huqin'' family of Chinese musical instruments.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Jingfang |first=Yuan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=btavEAAAQBAJ&dq=yehu+huqin&pg=PA413 |title=Comprehensive Introduction to Chinese Traditional Music |date=2023-03-08 |publisher=Hollitzer Wissenschaftsverlag |isbn=978-3-99094-097-6 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Provine |first1=Robert C. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-J1ADwAAQBAJ&dq=yehu+huqin&pg=PT221 |title=The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music: East Asia: China, Japan, and Korea |last2=Tokumaru |first2=Yosihiko |last3=Witzleben |first3=J. Lawrence |date=2017-11-22 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-351-54429-0 |language=en}}</ref> ''Ye'' means coconut and ''hu'' is short for ''huqin''.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Martin |first1=Andrew R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JOTNEAAAQBAJ&dq=yehu+huqin&pg=PA364 |title=Music around the World: A Global Encyclopedia [3 volumes] |last2=Ph.D |first2=Matthew Mihalka |date=2020-09-08 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA |isbn=978-1-61069-499-5 |language=en}}</ref> It is used particularly in the southern coastal provinces of China and in Taiwan. The instrument's soundbox is made from a coconut shell, which is cut on the playing end and covered with a piece of coconut wood instead of the snakeskin commonly used on other ''huqin'' instruments such as the ''erhu'' or ''gaohu''. As with most ''huqin'' the bow hair passes in between the two strings. Many players prefer to use silk strings rather than the more modern steel strings generally used for the ''erhu'', giving the instrument a distinctly hollow, throaty timbre. The instrument comes in various sizes. In Chaozhou music (where it is called ''pahi'', 冇弦) it is a leading instrument, and is tuned quite high. In Cantonese music it can be quite large and is often tuned to a relatively low pitch, lower than the ''erhu'' (usually one octave below the ''gaohu''). It is used as an accompaniment instrument in the local musics and operas of various areas, including Guangdong, Fujian, and Taiwan. It is an important instrument in the music of the Chaozhou and Hakka peoples. In Taiwan, a variety of ''yehu'' used in Taiwan opera is called ''kezaixian''.
Related instruments include the Vietnamese ''đàn gáo'', the Thai ''saw ou'', and the Cambodian ''tro u''. The ''banhu'', used primarily in northern China, also has a coconut resonator and wooden face but is tuned quite high and has a much brighter timbre. thumb|80px|right|Yehu, type used in Cantonese music
==See also== *Huqin *Banhu *Đàn gáo *Chinese music *Traditional Chinese musical instruments *String instruments
== References == {{reflist}}
==External links== *[http://www.e56.com.cn/minzu/Musical/Musical_Content.asp?Musical_Content_ID=349&Musical_Class_Content_ID=17 Yehu page] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070302105309/http://www.e56.com.cn/minzu/Musical/Musical_Content.asp?Musical_Content_ID=349&Musical_Class_Content_ID=17 |date=2007-03-02 }} (Chinese)
{{Traditional Chinese musical instruments}} {{huqin}} {{Authority control}}
Category:Huqin family instruments Category:Cantonese music