The fourth step of qin making process: fitting

A hollowed and conditioned qin body next has hardwood accessories installed, such as the Mount Yue (yueshan), peg pond (zhenchi) board, peg shields (huzhen), dragon gum (longyin), and goose feet (yanzu). The adhesive is usually a mixture of raw lacquer and flour. One variation makes use of melted animal gum, such as pig skin gelatine. The Mount Yue, i.e. the bridge, is installed horizontally onto the qin head to support the strings while the dragon gum is a piece of wood placed in the middle of the tail to support the strings. Accessories on the tail, such as the ceremonial caps (guanjiao), are made of hardwood. They can protect the tail and are also used as decoration. Red sandalwood, mahogany, rosewood and ebony are considered premium hardwoods. The 13 markers (hui), which are usually made of mother-of-pearl, are inlaid on the surface of the qin. Among them, the seventh marker in the middle is slightly larger than the others. The other markers on each side are successively smaller than the previous one. Each marker is fitted at the harmonic point of the qin string. Each marker’s position has to be calculated according to the length of the qin string and are usually installed after the qin has been primed with lacquer cement. This photo shows the fourth step of qin making process which was demonstrated by Choi Chang-sau.