中指middle finger (left hand)
Pinyin: zhōng zhǐ
Left hand, pressingAlso written: 中
The left middle finger stops the string, mostly on the low strings paired with the thumb for an octave; the push-out (tui chu) also belongs to it.
How it is played
Bend the base joint, keep the middle and end joints straight, and press with the pad; to cover two strings, tilt the finger slightly to the left and bring the middle joint in too. Its commonest use is stopping, at the same hui as the thumb, two strings far apart (such as two and seven, or one and six) to form an octave. The push-out on string one is also the middle finger's job. The thumb rests alongside while the index and ring fingers lie flat.
How it sounds
Pressed with the pad, the tone is full. In an octave shared with the thumb, the high and low notes may sound together or in turn, answering each other.
In the classical handbooks
散聲在大絃，按聲在小絃，則用左手大指按之；散聲在小絃，按聲在大絃，則用左手中指按之。Gist: When the open note is on a thick string and the stopped note on a thin one, stop with the left thumb; when the open note is on a thin string and the stopped note on a thick one, stop with the left middle finger.
中指亦曰將指，春秋傳曰：將指者，將領衆指執事者是也。Gist: The middle finger is also called the “commanding finger”; the Chunqiu commentary says the commanding finger is the one that leads the other fingers in their work.
中指屈其根節，伸直其末中二節，於箕斗中按之。若兼按兩絃，則稍側於左而兼用中節。Gist: The middle finger bends its base joint, straightens its end and middle joints, and presses with the center of the pad. To stop two strings at once, tilt slightly to the left and bring the middle joint in.
Where sources disagree
Where the middle finger is used
- Together with the thumb at the same hui, stopping two widely separated strings (seven and two, one and six) to form an octave. Source: Qinxue Rumen (Introduction to Qin Studies), vol. 1, illustrated left-hand postures (thumb and middle finger)(opens in a new window) · View the original page
- Use the middle finger when the stopped note is on a thick, low string and the answering open note on a high string; the reverse calls for the thumb. Source: Zhu Zaiyu, Lülü Jingyi (Essentials of Pitch)(opens in a new window)
- The middle finger is used only in the middle and lower registers of the board, never in the upper register. Source: Yihe Qin Society, “Jianzipu: a short guide to technique symbols” (the common modern reading)(opens in a new window)
Easily confused with
- 大指dà zhǐ· thumb (left hand)The middle finger usually stops the low string nearer string one and the thumb the string nearer string seven; the two often form an octave at the same hui.
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