浒pause, then up

Pinyin: hǔ

Left hand, sliding

Also written: 滸, 午

After the pluck, pause briefly, then move quickly up one position: “a stop, then a swift join”.

How it is played

After the right hand plucks, the finger holds the home position for a moment until the note settles, then moves crisply up one position. The point is pause first, speed second: without the pause it is just an ordinary shang. Scores often abbreviate 浒 to 午 and write it together with 上.

How it sounds

The main note sounds fully for a moment, then jumps neatly to the position above, with a small catch between the two.

In the classical handbooks

取其停後捷連之意，然非候音少息不可言滸。

Gist: It takes its meaning from a pause followed by a swift join; unless one waits for the note to rest a little, it cannot be called hu.

Qinxue Rumen (Introduction to Qin Studies) · 卷上·左指按法字母 · Qing dynasty, 1864 · View the original page · View source

Where sources disagree

Whether the point of hu is the pause, or the size of the step

After the pluck, wait for the note to rest a little, then move up one position; without the slight pause it cannot be called hu. Source: Qinxue Rumen (Introduction to Qin Studies), vol. 1, left-hand pressing symbols(opens in a new window) · View the original page
One view: pause briefly after the note, then move up. Another: the upward move is a semitone or more and does not stop on the way. Source: Yihe Qin Society, “Jianzipu: a short guide to technique symbols” (the common modern reading)(opens in a new window)
Hu moves up only one hui-fraction, as against the “hard up” that moves two. Source: 《琴学尊闻》（据Guoqinwang, Guqin Da Cidian (Great Dictionary of the Guqin)所录原文）(opens in a new window)

Easily confused with

上shàng· slide upShang may move as soon as the note sounds; hu pauses first.
硬上yìng shàng· hard upYing shang goes straight up without stopping; hu pauses, then goes up.