Kouxian

Chinese advanced jaw harp or set from some "dan moi"

Some information from Wikipedia:

Kouxian is the Chinese generic term for the jaw harp, and as such is used to refer to all such instruments originating in China. In the Chinese language, however, the term is used to refer to all jaw harps, whether from China or elsewhere.

The kouxian, which likely originated in Asia, is used throughout China, and is particularly popular among non-Han ethnic groups living in China's southwest (including Yunnan, Guangxi, and Guizhou). Each of these ethnic groups has its own name for the instrument in that ethnic group's own language. Such names include ho-hos. Kouxian may be made from bamboo or metal, and are often used as a courting instrument.

One variety of kouxian consists of between one and five brass leaves which are plucked in front of the opened mouth, using the mouth as a resonance chamber. Each leaf produces a different pitched sound when plucked, and notes' pitches are further refined by changing the volume and shape of the oral cavity. Leaves may be plucked one at a time or many at once to produce synthesizer-like melody.

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Pipa

I thought that pipa is just a chinese variant of lute, but now i understand that its sounds really different.

Some information from Wikipedia:

The pipa is a four-stringed Chinese musical instrument, belonging to the plucked category of instruments. Sometimes called the Chinese lute, the instrument has a pear-shaped wooden body with a varying number of frets ranging from 12–26. Another Chinese 4 string plucked lute is the liuqin, which looks like a smaller version of the pipa.

The pipa appeared in the Qin Dynasty (221 - 206 BCE) and was developed during the Han Dynasty. It is one of the most popular Chinese instruments and has been played for nearly two thousand years in China. Several related instruments in East and Southeast Asia are derived from the pipa; these include the Japanese biwa, the Vietnamese đàn tỳ bà, and the Korean bipa. The Korean instrument is the only one of the three that is no longer used. Attempts to revive the instrument have failed, although examples survive in museums.

The name "pípá" is made up of two Chinese syllables, "pí" (琵) and "pá" (琶). These are the two most common ways of playing this instrument. "Pí" is to push the fingers of the right hand from right to left, thus more than one finger can be used at a time striking multiple notes, and "pá" is to pull the thumb of the right hand from left to right, in the opposite direction. The strings were originally played using a large plectrum in the Tang Dynasty, then gradually replaced by the fingernails of the right hand. Since the revolutions in Chinese instrument making during the 20th century, the softer twisted silk strings of earlier times have been exchanged for nylon-wound steel strings, which are far too strong for human fingernails, so false nails are now used, constructed of plastic or tortoise-shell, and affixed to the fingertips with the player's choice of elastic tape.

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