The [b]Pipa[/b] is pear-shaped bowl [[lute (instrument)|]] from China, traditionally with four strings. The instrument has a varying number of frets ranging from 12 to 31. Another Chinese four-string plucked lute is the [[liuqin]], which looks like a smaller version of the pipa.

The pear-shaped instrument may have existed in [[Chinese Empire|China]] as early as the [[Han dynasty]], and although historically the term pipa was once used to refer to a variety of plucked string-instruments like the [[ruan]], its usage since the [[Song dynasty]] refers exclusively to the pear-shaped instrument. 

h4. See also:
* [[Biwa lute]] - Japanese derivative
Chinese_Lute 琵琶