注slide down into the note
Pinyin: zhùOther readings
Vibrato and glidesThe left finger slides down from above the position (the higher-pitched side) onto it, so the note falls in from above.
How it is played
Place the left finger slightly above the target (toward the bridge); after the right hand plucks, slide down at a slant with firm pressure and stop on the position. Keep the slide short and clean; a yin or nao may follow.
How it sounds
The note falls from slightly above onto the main pitch, with a drooping, sighing quality to the attack.
In the classical handbooks
由位上少許斜勢按下至位，乘此彈得聲曰注。Gist: From a little above the position, press down at a slant to the position and pluck on the way: this is zhu.
徽有陰陽，絃有順逆，非綽注則音不和也。又有用綽注稍過於徽而音始和者，此正陰陽之謂也。Gist: The hui have yin and yang and the strings have forward and reverse; without chuo and zhu the notes are not in tune. Sometimes chuo and zhu must slightly overshoot the hui before the note is in tune; this is exactly what yin and yang means.
綽按注按，其聲藏頭，無起有止Gist: Chuo-pressing and zhu-pressing hide the head of the sound: no beginning, only an end.
Where sources disagree
How far away the slide starts, and whether it must stop exactly on the hui
- Only from a little below (chuo) or above (zhu) the position, sliding at a slant onto it. Source: Qinxue Rumen (Introduction to Qin Studies)(opens in a new window) · View the original page
- The starting distance depends on tempo: for a slow note start further from the hui, for a quick one start closer. Source: Chen Zhuo’s fingering (Tang dynasty; in Qinshu Daquan (Great Compendium of Qin Writings), vol. 8）(opens in a new window)
- Sometimes chuo and zhu must overshoot the hui slightly for the note to be in tune; this is a matter of the yin and yang of the hui positions. Source: Wuzhizhai Qinpu(opens in a new window) · View the original page
Easily confused with
- 绰chuò· slide up into the noteChuo slides up from below; zhu slides down from above.