p'i-p'a

See also: pipa, pipá, pipă, pīpā, pípá, pípa, and PIPA

English

Etymology

From Mandarin 琵琶 (pípá), Wade–Giles romanization: pʻi²-pʻa².

Proper noun

p'i-p'a

1. Alternative form of pipa
   • 1885, Alexander J. Ellis, “On the Musical Scales of Various Nations”, in Journal of the Society of Arts‎^[1], volume 33, number 1688, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 519:

     This completes the observations made with the help of the Chinese musicians at the Health Exhibition. But, in addition to these, I measured the lengths of string in several instruments at the South Kensington Museum. They very great uncertainty of the scales deduced from such measurements induces me to pass over the results. I may mention, however, that these measurements show, in a second P'i-p'a, that the four large round frets already named probably gave a Fourth, divided into a Tone and three Semitones of some sort ; that one "Moon Guitar" seemed intended to give 12 equal Semitones, that only trace of Amiot's scale which I have found, and another Moon Guitar seemed to divide the Octave into 8 Threequartertones of 150 cents each.

   • 2001, David Tod Roy, The Plum in the Golden Vase, or, Chin P'ing Mei‎^[2], volume 2, Princeton University Press, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 400:

     Hsi-men Ch'ing was drinking wine with Li P'ing-erh in her bedroom when he suddenly heard the sound of someone playing the p'i-p'a in a nearby dwelling. "Who's playing the p'i-p'a?" he asked.
     "It's the sound of the Fifth Lady, over there, playing her p'i-p'a," replied Ying-ch'un.

   • 2005, Gillian Houghton, China: A Primary Source Cultural Guide‎^[3], Rosen Publishing Group, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 77:

     Above, a young Chinese child plays the p'i-p'a, a stringed instrument similar to a guitar or lute.

   • 2011, Stephen Addiss, Fumiko Yamamoto, Akira Yamamoto, Haiku: An Anthology of Japanese Poems‎^[4], Shambhala, page 34:

     In the city, the moth-browed girl,
     her jade pendants like tiny wind chimes chiming.
     She is playing with a parrot in the flowers;
     she is playing on her p'i-p'a in the moonlight.
     Her songs will echo for three months;
     a little dance will draw ten thousand watchers.
     Nothing lasts as long as this:
     beautiful face of the hibiscus,
     can't bear the frost's caress.

Translations

pipa — see pipa

Further reading

• “P'i-p'a” in TheFreeDictionary.com, Huntingdon Valley, Pa.: Farlex, Inc., 2003–2024.

Anagrams

• IPPA, PAPI