Qin cases

At right is a modern case with two qins inside. Each qin is wrapped in a silk bag of traditional appearance, but padded more than ones I had previously seen. When I purchase a qin it usually comes with a very thin bag of plain silk. The bags I use were tailor made in Hong Kong. They have two layers of silk, plain (perhaps sand-washed) silk inside, brocade (usually) outside. In between there is some thin padding either from silk or very thin foam rubber.

The case into which I put the qin in its bag is also padded. Mine were made by Betty Vornbrock, a fiddler with the Reed Island Rounders whose company in Virginia, Autumn Wind, does custom sewing, including gig bags for guitar. Her freehand "quilting" technique allows her to add a great variety of designs, including one such as my Toadall Sound logo. Her contact is (checked June 2010):

Autumn Wind
715 Peacock Dr.
Hillsville, VA 24343
Email Betty

The qin case I use most commonly is the Vornbrock single case, illustrated below left.

As for the aluminum and light wood case shown below the soft padded case at left, it was made in Hong Kong. It is quite sturdy, but it has little padding inside, so when I use it for travel I put the qin in one of the traditional silk bags and fill the rest of the case with clothing. It is 51" x 9.75" x 5.75", making it slightly too large according to airline regulations. Perhaps it would be even more secure if it were large enough to hold the black padded case.

The case below right came with a Wang Peng qin; it is made of form-fit styrofoam with a black canvas-type cover and purple lining.

Carrying a qin on an airplane

There are a number of ways a qin can be damaged during air travel: cracking the body, coming apart at the seams, strings breaking and more.² The best way to avoid these problems is to carry the qin on board. Unfortunately, this often is not possible. Here are some suggestions to improve chances.

I have not yet tried to carry the Vornbrock double case onto an airplane, but I often been successful with her single case. For this the most important thing seems to be to avoid mentioning or showing the qin when checking in. On some international flights you might have trouble getting the case into the international area without a special permit from the airline, since the case officially is too big; in this case ask at the ticket counter if you can gate check it. I have never had trouble at security itself.

After years of using only the Vornbrock single cases when flying I recently traveled with my Wang Peng qin in its original case (above right); sometimes I was able to carry it on board.

If I am changing planes I try especially hard to carry it on board. However, if know I will have to check the case, especially for flights where it is necessary to change planes, either the styrofoam or the aluminum/wood case (with inside padding) seem the most secure options. Unfortunately, most of my other qins are larger than the Wang Peng qin and will not fit in its case.³

However, it is necessary also to consider one other potential problem with checking cases on long distance flights. Originally I was often using the above aluminum and light wood case. Although oversize, I was always able to check it in without having to pay extra. However, I eventually had some qin start to come apart where the top board meets the bottom. I believe that this was caused by the sudden temperature change in the hold. Because the top board is supposed to be light wood and the bottom board heavy wood, the sudden temperature changes might cause them to expand or contract at different rates.

Footnotes (Shorthand references are explained on a separate page)

1. Qin cases (see also Qin bags/covers)
琴箱 qin xiang; 琴匣 qin xia: 21570.xxx. The hard qin cases could also be called qin boxes (琴盒 qin he). The soft ones could also be called qin covers (琴套 Qin tao).
(Return)

2. Damage to qin in transport
In one case when I was traveling I asked for special handling: as far as I can tell my qin was carefully placed in the hold then all the other luggage was carefully placed on top. The case was crushed and the qin cracked. I have not had anything like this happen since traveling with a styrofoam case, but anyone can imagine scenarios where such damage can occur, particularly if one is traveling with a change of planes.

Unfortunately, some of my qin are too large for the existing styrophone cases. For these I have used the aluminum and wood case pictured above. Or I have taken a chance with the Vornbrock cases: I have had to check qin in them on several occasions; they survived, but I have not had to do this yet where I am changing planes.

The most common problem I have had has been the qin coming apart at the seams on long distance flights. This happens because the qin top, which should be light wood, and the bottom, which should be hard wood, expand or contract differently when subjected to temperature change. Putting a disposable handwarmer inside the case may help with this.

The temperature change could also cause a string to break, so it is a good idea to loosen them a bit - perhaps about a whole tone.
(Return)

3. Styrofoam cases
I once visited a shop in Shanghai that apparently made these, but I do not recall the details. More recently I have seen the cases for sale at Guqin Central. These look like the Wang Peng styrofoam cases and if so would be a good option - if the qin fits securely inside. I don't know how to test that without actually having the case.
(Return)

Return to the Guqin ToC.