CHINESE SILK-LORE. 



53 



with us, and the discovery of which goes back to ancient times. 

 I mean the music of silk. My countrymen, even before they had 

 invented the art of working silk and making cloths of it, had dis- 

 covered the secret of making it musical, and of drawing from it 

 the sweetest and most tender sounds. From the time of the Em- 

 peror Fo-Hi (3000 b. c.) they made an instrument consisting of 



til M ti "f fr 



Fig. 3. Pabkication op the Thread. 



The steps in front lead to the clear water 



In which, carried by a maiden, the skein 



Is rinsed ; on the right a turning wheel 



Winds it, for ready hands to change it oft, 



With care that it do not get knotted and tangled. 



a board of soft, light, and dry wood, on which they stretched 

 cords of silk twisted between the fingers. The board gradually 

 assumed a definite shape and curvature, with measured dimen- 

 sions. The cords were more artfully spun and composed of a 

 determined number of fibers, and the number of them was fixed 

 according to the character of the instrument desired. These 

 cords, properly adjusted as to size and tension, were made to give 



