食指index finger (left hand)
Pinyin: shí zhǐ
Left hand, pressingAlso written: 食, 亻
The left index finger stops the string. Rarely used alone; usually it shares two adjacent strings with the thumb.
How it is played
Straighten the middle and end joints and press with the left side of the fingertip pad. Most often it stops two adjacent strings together with the thumb: the bent thumb takes the string nearer string seven, the index finger the one nearer string one, both at the same or a nearby hui. The middle and ring fingers extend naturally at different heights and must not curl into the strings.
How it sounds
Pressed with the pad, the tone is softer. Stopping two adjacent strings alongside the thumb lets the two notes follow each other without a shift.
In the classical handbooks
食指也。左傳子公之食指動，即手中之第二指也。譜又作亻。Gist: The index finger. The Zuo Zhuan tells of Zigong's index finger twitching; it is the second finger of the hand. The score also writes it 亻.
大指屈其中末二節，用半甲肉處按內絃；食指直其中末二節，用箕斗左側按外絃。此多用於毗連兩絃小間。Gist: The thumb bends its middle and end joints and stops the inner string with the half-nail point; the index finger straightens its middle and end joints and stops the outer string with the left side of the pad. This is used mostly for a small interval on two neighboring strings.
References
- 《琴学入门》国家图书馆藏刻本第 2 册（Wikimedia Commons 扫描）(opens in a new window)Primary source
- 颐和琴社《减字谱·指法符号简释》(opens in a new window)Qin community