如一as one sound

Pinyin: rú yī

Terms and marks

Also written: 如一声, 散挑如一

A stopped string and an open string are sounded together and heard as one.

How it is played

Qinxue Rumen explains it as: the left hand stops one string, another is open, and a single ti of the right hand brings out both; the two pitches are the same and sound as one, used where the two strings agree. A stopped and an open note an octave apart sounded together is also called ru yi sheng today; some apply the name to two or three notes played so fast they are nearly simultaneous (see below).

In the classical handbooks

如一也。兩絃同得一聲也。一按一散，剔出兩絃，同得一聲，取兩絃聲相叶相生處用之。

Gist: Ru yi: two strings yield one sound. One stopped and one open, ti brings out both strings for a single sound, used where the two strings' sounds agree and generate each other.

Qinxue Rumen (Introduction to Qin Studies) · 卷上·右弹字母 · Qing dynasty, 1864 · View the original page · View source

Where sources disagree

Two strings sounded together, or in rapid succession

One stopped and one open, brought out together by ti, giving the same note. Source: Qinxue Rumen (Introduction to Qin Studies), vol. 1, right-hand symbols(opens in a new window) · View the original page
The two (sometimes several) notes before the mark are played together; a stopped and an open note an octave apart are brought out by ti as one sound. Two or several notes plucked in rapid succession are also called ru yi sheng. Source: Yihe Qin Society, “Jianzipu: a short guide to technique symbols”(opens in a new window)
Two strings sounding together; the gesture is called “phoenix and luan singing together”. Source: Guoqinwang, “54 guqin techniques in one chart”(opens in a new window)

Easily confused with

应合yìng hé· answering open stringYing he stops and plucks first, slides to a new position, then matches with an open string, one after the other; ru yi sounds the two strings together.
同声tóng shēng· two strings sounded as oneTong sheng is a left-hand pull-off sounding together with a right-hand open string; ru yi is one right-hand ti bringing out a stopped and an open string together.
撮cuō· two-string chordCuo uses two fingers to pluck two strings at once; Qinxue Rumen's ru yi is one stopped and one open string brought out by a single ti.