A qin body with its top and bottom boards glued together

This photo shows a qin body with its top and bottom boards glued together. It was made by Poon Tak-lun who began apprenticeship in 1993.

Date	2013
Maker's Note	Learning to play the qin is already a difficult task, let alone mastering it. Commensurately, the art of qin making is probably one of the most difficult crafts in existence today. Master Choi Chang-sau began transmitting his qin making skills to students twenty years ago, and we were all very excited. It has been a pity that I have been always extremely busy at work and have yet to complete a single qin, with the most important lacquering stage waiting to be finished. As I learnt to make the qin, I have also acquired knowledge about material selection, qin shapes, and other aspects of the process. Many seemingly simple operations, such as drilling the string holes and threading the tuning tassels are in fact quite difficult. This qin is relatively small, and the resonance cavity belly is not large enough, meaning it will probably only produce sounds of a low volume. I am very anxious to complete this qin as quickly as possible, so that I can play with my teacher and my friends.
People	Poon Tak-lun
Material Type	Image
Collection	The Legend of Silk and Wood: A Hong Kong Qin Story
Source	Courtesy of Poon Tak-lun
Repository	Poon Tal-lun
Note to Copyright	Permission for use in Hong Kong Memory is given by Poon Tak-lun
Accession No.	lcs-hkqs-0114

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