The _tchou_, likewise an instrument of percussion, was made of the wood of a tree called _kieou-mou_, the stem of which resembles that of the pine and whose foliage is much like that of the cypress. It was constructed of boards about three-quarters of an inch in thickness. In the middle of one of the sides was an aperture into which the hand was passed for the purpose of holding the handle of a wooden hammer, the end of which entered into a hole situated in the bottom of the _tchou_. The handle was kept in its place by means of a wooden pin, on which it moved right and left when the instrument was struck with a hammer. The Chinese ascribe to the _tchou_ a very high antiquity, as they almost invariably do with any of their inventions when the date of its origin is unknown to them. The _po-fou_ was a drum, about one foot four inches in length, and seven inches in diameter. It had a parchment at each end, which was prepared in a peculiar way by being boiled in water. The _po-fou_ used to be partly filled with a preparation made from the husk of rice, in order to mellow the sound. The Chinese name for the drum is _kou_. [Illustration] The _kin-kou_ (engraved), a large drum fixed on a pedestal which raises it above six feet from the ground, is embellished with symbolical designs. A similar drum on which natural phenomena are depicted is called _lei-kou_; and another of the kind, with figures of certain birds and beasts which are regarded as symbols of long life, is called _ling-kou_, and also _lou-kou_. The flutes, _ty_, _yo_, and _tché_ were generally made of bamboo. The _koan-tsee_ was a Pandean pipe containing twelve tubes of bamboo. The _siao_, likewise a Pandean pipe, contained sixteen tubes. The _pai-siao_ differed from the _siao_ inasmuch as the tubes were inserted into an oddly-shaped case highly ornamented with grotesque designs and silken appendages. [Illustration] The Chinese are known to have constructed at an early period a curious wind-instrument, called _hiuen_. It was made of baked clay and had five finger-holes, three of which were placed on one side and two on the opposite side, as in the cut. Its tones were in conformity with the pentatonic scale. The reader unacquainted with the pentatonic scale may ascertain its character by playing on the pianoforte the scale of C major with the omission of _f_ and _b_ (the _fourth_ and _seventh_); or by striking the black keys in regular succession from _f_-sharp to the next _f_-sharp above or below. Another curious wind-instrument of high antiquity, the _cheng_, (engraved, p. 46) is still in use. Formerly it had either 13, 19, or 24 tubes, placed in a calabash; and a long curved tube served as a mouth-piece. In olden time it was called _yu_. The ancient stringed instruments, the _kin_ and _chê_, were of the dulcimer kind: they are still in use, and specimens of them are in the South Kensington museum.