Traditionally the instrument was called simply qin, but by the 20th century the term had come to be used on many other musical instruments as well (for example, the "yangqin" hammered dulcimer, the "huqin" family of bowed string instruments, and the Western piano), so the prefix "gu-" (meaning "ancient") was added for clarification. It can also be called qixianqin ("seven-stringed instrument"). The guqin is not to be confused with the "guzheng", another Chinese long zither also without frets, but with moveable bridges under each string. Because Robert Hans van Gulik's famous book about the qin is called "The Lore of the Chinese Lute", the qin is sometimes inaccurately called a lute. Other incorrect classifications (mainly from music CDs) include "harp" or "table-harp". Other Western nicknames for the guqin include "Chinese guitar" and "Chinaman's harp".
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