China
Chinese

Wood, python skin, metal strings, bone
Mid 20th century
Height: 44 in, Width: 14.5 in
Chordophones – Lutes

The gehu is a fusion of the cello and the Chinese huqin family of string instruments (bowed spiked fiddles).  It was developed in the 20th century (1950’s) by the Chinese musician Yang Yusen (1926–1980). In Chinese characters, ‘ge’ means revolutionary, and ‘hu’ is derived from the Chinese term for string instruments.  Its four strings are tuned exactly like the cello, (from low to high) C-G-D-A. This gehu has a banjo-like soundhead made of python skin.  However, unlike other musical instruments in the huqin family, the bridge does not contact the python skin, but is placed to the side. Towards the end of the 20^th century, the gehu lost popularity due to the tension fluctuation of the skinhead affected by humidity and is now commonly replaced by the cello.  Nevertheless, it is sometimes used in Hong Kong and Taiwan orchestras/ensembles. There is also a contrabass gehu that functions as a Chinese double bass, known as the diyingehu.