A Chinese 4-stringed lute with a pear-shaped body. Its short bent neck has 30 frets which extend onto the soundboard, offering a wide range.

The pipa is held almost vertically, resting on the players lap, and is plucked with the fingernails of the right hand. Much of the music is played on the upper two strings with all five fingers plucking rapidly as the hand moves up and down the strings. The lower strings are plucked abruptly for dramatic effect. The left hand depresses the strings between the frets on the neck and upper portion of the belly.

This instrument appears in texts dating up to the second century B.C. There are a lot of written texts of the Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD) about pipa music played and the stories that inspired the composition for those pipa pieces. Since the Tang Dynasty (618-907), the pipa is one of the most popular Chinese instruments and has maintained its appeal in solo as well as chamber genres.