箜篌

Chinese

	phonetic
trad. (箜篌)	箜	篌
simp. ^#(箜篌)	箜	篌
alternative forms	空侯

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 Old Uyghur 𐽷𐽳𐽺𐽷𐽲𐽰𐽳 (kwnkqʾw /⁠küŋġau⁠/), Persian (čang) and Turkish çeng. (Can this⁽⁺⁾ etymology be sourced?)

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): kōnghóu

(Zhuyin): ㄎㄨㄥㄏㄡˊ
Cantonese (Jyutping): hung¹ hau⁴

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: kōnghóu
  - Zhuyin: ㄎㄨㄥㄏㄡˊ
  - 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/
Bernhard Karlgren	/kʰuŋ/	/ɣə̯u/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	kōng	hóu
Expected Cantonese Reflex	hung¹	hau⁴

Noun

箜篌

(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.

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 Hyōgai	ご Hyōgai
irregular	kan'yōon

Kanji in this term
箜	篌
く Hyōgai	ご Hyōgai
goon	kan'yōon

Etymology

From Old Japanese. First attested in a text from 780.^[1]

Also found with the lengthened reading kūgo. This appears to be less commonly used.^[1]^[2]^[3]

Pronunciation

Standard:

(Tokyo) くご [kúꜜgò] (Atamadaka – [1])^[3]
IPA^(key): [kɯ̟ɡo̞]

Lenthened:

(Tokyo) くうご [kúꜜùgò] (Atamadaka – [1])^[3]
IPA^(key): [kɯ̟ːɡo̞]

Noun

箜(く)篌(ご) or 箜(くう)篌(ご) • (kugo or kūgo)

(music) a konghou, a kind of ancient Chinese harp
Synonym: 百済琴 (Kudara-goto)

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (1995), 大辞泉 [Daijisen] (in Japanese), First edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, →ISBN
↑ ^3.0 ^3.1 ^3.2 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

Korean

Hanja in this term
箜	篌

Noun

箜篌 • (gonghu) (hangeul 공후)

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

[KDJ-1] 1.0 ^1.1 Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN

[DJS-2] Matsumura, Akira, editor (1995), 大辞泉 [Daijisen] (in Japanese), First edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, →ISBN

[DJR-3] 3.0 ^3.1 ^3.2 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[1]

[2]

[3]