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As a pipa instrument, why does Lei Hu have such a "majestic" name? There are many theories regarding the origin of its name. It was named because its sound suddenly resembles thunder. Tang Duan’an’s “Miscellaneous Records of Music”: “Kang Kunlun once heard a young girl playing the pipa, her sound like thunder.” Some scholars also believe that “Lei Hu” is a phonetic variation of the word for “fire” among ancient plucked instruments.
The Great Lei Hu is 92.5 cm in length and 21 cm in body width, with a shape slightly resembling that of the Small Lei Hu. It features the front two strings of a dragon, with no neck. The strings enter the dragon’s mouth, one pearl split into two, with python skin covering the belly and sandalwood carved into the soundbox. Beneath the dragon’s head is engraved in seal script: “Great Lei Hu.”
In the Qin and Han dynasties of China, the ancient pipa was a straight-necked instrument with a round resonator, while the semi-pear-shaped resonator pipa was introduced to China from Persia during the Northern and Southern Dynasties. Murals of music and dance in the Mogao Caves depict both Chinese-style and Western-style pipas.
Most modern pipas have four strings and a well-defined neck, but the second string of Lei Hu has no neck. It features a typical huqin semi-pear-shaped resonator, and the dragon totem revered by the Chinese imperial court is shaped as a hook-headed dragon. Thus, Lei Hu was born at the intersection of Chinese and Western civilizations, and the Double Lei Hu was planned and crafted by the high-ranking minister Han Guo. Musicians also knew that this type of purple sandalwood was most suitable for the huqin.