Running along the side of the qin away from the player are 13 studs (hui). These hui mark certain harmonic nodes, and are used to tell the player where to place the left hand fingers. The section Qin Analysis, particularly Qin Tunings, has a lot of information about the positioning of these studs.² By tradition the most common material for these is mother of pearl or gold leaf, but on cheap instruments they are often painted on.

There has been much debate about the origin of the studs.³ This debate has focused on two aspects.

1. During the Han dynasty did the word hui mean "stud"? There is evidence that at that time it meant "tassel", or the thread for making them.
2. Were there earlier words for stud? An article by Prof. Rao Zongyi seems to suggest that the primary candidate here is (弓勺) di (target).⁴

After his prefatory remarks about the debate, Rao Zongyi discusses an excerpt from Mei Cheng's Seven Methods. QSDQ, Folio 18, #61", has this article, but it writes "弓勺" as "約". Prof. Rao discusses this discrepancy. He also discusses other issues related to the debate.

In fact, little is known about where the idea of using studs originated. The earliest mention of the word hui may be in the 淮南子 Huainanzi, a book of 21 essays written at the court of Liu An in the second century BCE. Qinshu Daquan, Folio 16, #29, has nine selections from six chapters. One of the selections is from the following quote about hui:⁵

This passage is sometimes used as evidence that Zhou dynasty qins had studs. Unfortunately the passage is rather vague, and dictionaries define hui as "cord" (for the tassels) as well as "stud". Thus 復徽 fu hui could also mean that he does not need eyesight to re-do the tassels.

The brief mention of hui in the Qin Fu by Xi Kang (223 - 262) is also rather vague. Three translations are given here.⁶

The third translation is my own, based on the assumption that hui means stud. However, if hui is interpreted as "tassel cord", then the passage would say, "The strings are long, so (you twist the) hui (until the instrument is tuned) for a clear sound."

The qins in illustrations depicting the Seven Sages, beginning at least as early as the 4th century, clearly show qin studs.⁷ So by this time the question is not whether the qin had studs, but what they were called.

To determine this one must try to determine such issues as the earliest mention of the number of studs,⁸ and the earliest mention the material of the hui.⁹

 
Footnotes (Shorthand references are explained on a separate page)

1. 琴徽 21570.xxx; 徽 10505.0/6 and /7 have the same information as 琴徽 4/588. There are two definitions:

1. 琴上系絃之繩 The cord on a qin. Earliest reference:
   Han Shu biography of Yang Xiong; annotation by Yan Shigu (581 - 645).
   今夫絃者，高張急徽。
   When dealing with strings, to heighten the sound you tighten the hui.

2. 指琴絃音位標識 Qin position markers (the modern definition). Earliest reference:
   Mei Yaochen
   《送良玉上人還昆山》詩﹕水煙晦琴徽，山月上巖屋。
   Seeing off Liangyu on his return to Kunshan: Mists over the water obsure the qin studes.... (Return)

2. Of particular note is the fact that the method of indicating position has not been uniform. A section under Qin Tunings has some further comments on this. To summarize: today a decimal system is used: if the correct note should in theory be played 4/10ths of the way between the 6th and 7th hui, the position is indicated as 6.4. However, this method does not seem to have been used prior to the early in the 17th century. Before this a system was used with instructions such as "above the 7th position" and "between the 6th and 7th positions." At least one handbook (see <1609) indicated all intermediary positions by adding the character "half". (Return)

3. Rao Zongyi in his article discussed below mentions the ongoing discussions. (Return)

4. 饒宗頤，說(弓勺)兼論琴徽，中國音樂學 Rao Zongyi, Speaking of di while discussing qin hui, Chinese Music Studies, May, 1989. "弓勺" is a rare character. 9943.0 says it is di, meaning 射 "target". "的" di can also mean target. (Return)

5. The Chinese is from Chapter 19 脩務, p.1058, of the 海嘯 Haixiao edition. (Return)

6. Translated by R.H. Van Gulik, Hsi K'ang and his Poetical Essay on the Lute
by David R. Knechtges, Rhapsody on the Zither, in Wen Xuan, III. (Return)

7. Illustrations from that time depicting the Sages and Rong Qiqi have the hui incorrectly positioned. This could lead to a debate about whether this is evidence that at this time markers were being used, but they were not yet positioned to indicate the harmonic nodes. The fact that in the illustrations the qins are also backwards suggests that a more likely reason for the incorrect positioning of the studs is due to the ignorance of the artist or craftsman. (Return)

8. 1/xxx; 2741.228 十三徽 shisan hui gives only a later reference (巾興書目) to Zhuge Liang's Qin Jing. The qins in the 4th c. tomb engravings may well have 13 studs. I have not yet found an earlier reference for 13 hui. 13 is a significant number elsewhere (e.g. 13 Classics; 13 months). (Return)

9. 41049.1228 金徽 Jin Hui says it is the name of a qin. It has three references.

1. 梁，元帝，秋夜詩 Autumn Evening poem by Emperor Yuandi of Liang, mentions "golden hui" in conjunction with the 軫 zhen, suggesting that "golden" refers to the color of the tassels, not the material of the studs.
2. 元稹，小胡笳引 Yuan Zhen, Preface to Xiao Hujia.
   "雷氏金徽琴，王君寶重輕千金。" The Lei Family jinhui qin is highly valued.
3. 孟浩然，贈道士參寥詩 Poem Presented to Cen Liao the Daoist, by Meng Haoran, says only that the golden color of the hui is bright (絲脆弦將斷，金徽色尚榮).

In addition, QSDQ, Folio 17 #44 is an article entitle Golden Studs Transformed, but I haven't traced its date yet.
(Return)

 
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