Pipa (a four-stringed Chinese musical instrument)Musical Notation

Chen Yun had life-long passion for Pingtan (a musical/oral performance art form popular in the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River). In the summer of 1959, at his own expense, Chen began to learn to play Pipa from Zhou Yunrui and Zhu Jiesheng, who were teachers of Shanghai Pingtan Troupe. Zhou not only tutored Chen in fingering but also compiled musical notation for Chen to practice. Chen wrote laterally reversed numbered musical notation on the Pipa and practiced in front of a mirror for precise finger positions. These are the Pipa and musical notation used by Chen.