Friday, January 23, 2009

Playing Er-Hu at the Tea House

1/19/09

Friend V took me to a Chinese tea house for lunch. I was so pleasantly surprised with the unique look of the place. Who would've thought that there's such a cute place in such a non-descript alley? The tea house is of a Ming Dynasty Chinese feel in its interior decoration. The window frames, tables, and chairs were very traditional looking; I felt as if I've stepped into a different era.
The food was delicious and well presented. The tea was also aromatic and smooth to the taste. But what caugnt my eyes were the two Er-Hu's (pronounced "uh-rrr-hu") hanging on the wall.
Transliterally, "Er" means "two", and "Hu" means "barbarian"--yah, barbarian. The name clearly indicates that the instrument has two strings, and is from outside of China originally, most likely central or western Asia. However, seeing that this instrument has been around in China for over a thousand years, let's just say it's pretty much considered a Chinese instrument.
The owner of the place saw me looking at the Er-Hu's, so he took one off the wall and had me try it out. Well, I just knew at some point those violin lessons I took would come in handy!!
Er-Hu is a wonderful sounding string instrument. I wouldn't mind coming back here to give it another try. The owner said he would give me a few free lessons...

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Tiny Sue!
So tiny.
Can you add audio to your blog so we all can hear you play the Er-Hu.
- Anna

Anonymous said...

What happened the Rose Pendant necklace?

Anonymous said...

WOW, good eyes! I have new bling blings that have replaced the rose pendant. I will have to alternate them for love and money.

ah zhou 亞周 said...

You look great! Slimmer and prettier!

suewun said...

HA! Thank you Ah Zhou for noticing!! You are a true friend!!