qin

Etymology

From the Hanyu Pinyin romanization of the Mandarin 琴 (qín).

noun

1. (music) Any of several traditional Chinese musical instruments, most commonly the seven-stringed instrument more specifically called the guqin.
   ... there was no longer anyone worth playing his qin for, so he broke his instrument and never played again. The guqin was also a means of expressing love. 1989, Zhongguo fu li hui, Chung-kuo fu li hui, China Reconstructs
   He makes his qin students take calligraphy with him, and calligraphy and painting students play the qin. 2006, Dana Standridge, Lessons in Essence: A Novel
   Knowing that we play the qin, they told us that there was a qin in the teahouse, but only for decoration – no one there actually knew how to play it. 2016 December 30, “Oral history book explores true meaning of tradition by recounting the revival of qin”, in Shanghai Daily