How to Write 箜 (kōng) — Meaning “ancient harp (used in konghou)”

Imagine a bamboo (竹) frame shaped like a harp, and inside it there is an empty space (空) where the strings vibrate. The sound of the instrument is a pure "kong" tone, which matches the lower part of the character.

Write the top radical 竹 first as two separate halves (left side: 撇 横 点 撇 横 点, right side: 撇 横 点 撇 横 点), then write the bottom 空 (穴 then 工). A common mistake is to make the top bamboo too wide or to forget the dot inside the 穴 component.

箜 has 空 (kong) below the bamboo radical, while 筀 has 圭 (gui) below and means a type of bamboo or ancient flute, and 筅 has 先 (xian) below and means a bamboo brush. Visually, 箜's bottom part looks like a cave (穴) over a workbench (工), whereas the others use different components.

箜 is almost exclusively used in the compound 箜篌 (kōng hóu), the name of an ancient Chinese harp that resembles a Western harp but was played with the hands. It appears in historical texts, poetry like the poem "箜篌引," and in modern discussions of traditional Chinese music, though the instrument itself is rarely seen outside museums.

Common words containing 箜 include: 箜篌 (kōng hóu) — konghou (an ancient Chinese harp); 弹箜篌 (dàn kōng hóu) — To play the konghou (ancient harp); 箜篌引 (kōng hóu yǐn) — Song of the Konghou (ancient poem/melody).