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古琴

Mandarin · pinyin gǔ qín

guqin or qin, a long zither with seven strings, plucked with the fingers

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Characters in this entry

古: gǔ · old, classic, ancient
琴: qín · Chinese lute or guitar

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

3–2 · gu3 qin2

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

gu2 kam4

Cantonese word readings for 古琴. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

noun

(music) guqin; Chinese seven-stringed zither; qin

name

(alt-of, alternative, name) Alternative name for 古琴臺／古琴台 (Gǔqín Tái).

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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