箜篌

Chinese

		phonetic
trad. (箜篌)		箜	篌
simp. #(箜篌)		箜	篌

Etymology

In the Records of the Grand Historian 《史記·封禪書》, a fretted zither plucked with a slender stick was attested as the form 空侯 (OC *kʰoːŋ ɡoː) during the reign of the Emperor Wu of Han [111 BCE]. It is uncertain whether the name of the later instruments (angular harp and arched harp) bearing the (orthographically normalised) name 箜篌 (kōnghóu) had inherited from the Han-era one. The name might have originated as transcription of a foreign term from the west.

Compare Sogdian [script needed] (cngryʾ /⁠čangaryā⁠/), [script needed] (cyngryʾ /⁠čingaryā⁠/), both names of this instrument in the Sogdian language, as well as Persian چنگ (čang) and the Turkic harp of çeng. (Can this⁽⁺⁾ etymology be sourced?)

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): kōnghóu

  (Zhuyin): ㄎㄨㄥ ㄏㄡˊ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): hung¹ hau⁴

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: kōnghóu
    • Zhuyin: ㄎㄨㄥ ㄏㄡˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: konghóu
    • Wade–Giles: kʻung¹-hou²
    • Yale: kūng-hóu
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: konghour
    • Palladius: кунхоу (kunxou)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kʰʊŋ⁵⁵ xoʊ̯³⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: hung¹ hau⁴
    • Yale: hūng hàuh
    • Cantonese Pinyin: hung¹ hau⁴
    • Guangdong Romanization: hung¹ heo⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /hʊŋ⁵⁵ hɐu̯²¹/

---

• Middle Chinese: khuwng huw

Rime
Character	箜	篌
Reading #	1/1	1/1
Initial (聲)	溪 (29)	匣 (33)
Final (韻)	東 (1)	侯 (137)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open	Open
Division (等)	I	I
Fanqie	苦紅切	戸鉤切
Baxter	khuwng	huw
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/kʰuŋ/	/ɦəu/
Pan Wuyun	/kʰuŋ/	/ɦəu/
Shao Rongfen	/kʰuŋ/	/ɣəu/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/kʰəwŋ/	/ɦəw/
Li Rong	/kʰuŋ/	/ɣu/
Wang Li	/kʰuŋ/	/ɣəu/
Bernard Karlgren	/kʰuŋ/	/ɣə̯u/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	kōng	hóu
Expected Cantonese Reflex	hung1	hau4

Noun

箜篌

1. (music, chiefly historical) a term used to refer to one of a number of different plucked string instruments (mostly harps) used in the music of ancient China

Usage notes

• This instrument has been revived in modernized form in the 20th century.

Alternative forms

• 空侯

Synonyms

• 坎侯

Derived terms

• 臥箜篌／卧箜篌 (wòkōnghóu)
• 豎箜篌／竖箜篌
• 鳳首箜篌／凤首箜篌 (fèngshǒu kōnghóu)

 

Japanese

Kanji in this term
箜	篌
く>くう Hyōgaiji	ご Hyōgaiji
irregular	kan’yōon

Kanji in this term
箜	篌
く Hyōgaiji	ご Hyōgaiji
goon	kan’yōon

箜篌 (kugo, kūgo): a man playing a konghou.

Etymology

From Old Japanese. First attested in a text from 780.

Also found with the lengthened reading kūgo. This appears to be less commonly used.

Pronunciation

Standard:

• (Tokyo) く​ご [kúꜜgò] (Atamadaka – [1])
• IPA^(key): [kɯ̟ᵝɡo̞]

Lenthened:

• (Tokyo) く​うご [kúꜜùgò] (Atamadaka – [1])
• IPA^(key): [kɯ̟ᵝːɡo̞]

Noun

箜(く)篌(ご) or 箜篌(くうご) • (kugo or kūgo) 

1. a konghou, a kind of ancient Chinese harp

Synonyms

• 百済(くだら)琴(ごと) (kudaragoto)

Korean

Hanja in this term
箜	篌

Noun

箜篌 • (gonghu) (hangeul 공후)

1. Hanja form^? of 공후 (“any of a number of harps used in ancient East Asia”).