The
yu was a wooden percussion instrument carved in the shape of a
tigerThe tiger is a member of the Felidae family; the largest of the four "big cats" in the genus Panthera. Native to much of eastern and southern Asia, the tiger is an apex predator and an obligate carnivore...
with a serrated back comprising 27 "teeth," used since ancient times in China for
ConfucianConfucianism is a Chinese ethical and philosophical system developed from the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius . It is a complex system of moral, social, political, philosophical, and quasi-religious thought that has had tremendous influence on the culture and history of East Asia...
court ritual music. It was played by striking its head three times with a bamboo
whiskA whisk is a cooking utensil used in food preparation to blend ingredients smooth, or to incorporate air into a mixture, in a process known as whisking or whipping. Most whisks consist of a long, narrow handle with a series of wire loops joined at the end. The wires are usually metal, but some are...
made from approximately 15 stalks of bamboo, and then scraping it across the serrated back once to mark the end of a piece of music.
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The
yu was a wooden percussion instrument carved in the shape of a
tigerThe tiger is a member of the Felidae family; the largest of the four "big cats" in the genus Panthera. Native to much of eastern and southern Asia, the tiger is an apex predator and an obligate carnivore...
with a serrated back comprising 27 "teeth," used since ancient times in China for
ConfucianConfucianism is a Chinese ethical and philosophical system developed from the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius . It is a complex system of moral, social, political, philosophical, and quasi-religious thought that has had tremendous influence on the culture and history of East Asia...
court ritual music. It was played by striking its head three times with a bamboo
whiskA whisk is a cooking utensil used in food preparation to blend ingredients smooth, or to incorporate air into a mixture, in a process known as whisking or whipping. Most whisks consist of a long, narrow handle with a series of wire loops joined at the end. The wires are usually metal, but some are...
made from approximately 15 stalks of bamboo, and then scraping it across the serrated back once to mark the end of a piece of music.
The
yu is mentioned, along with another percussion instrument called
zhuThe zhu was a percussion instrument used in the Confucian court ritual music of ancient China. It consisted of a wooden box that tapered from the top to the bottom, and was played by grasping a vertical wooden stick and striking it on the bottom face...
(柷|), in pre-
Qin DynastyThe Qin Dynasty was the ruling Chinese dynasty between 221 and 206 BC. The Qin state was named because the people of is homeland were called the qin. The Qin's strength had been consolidated by Lord Shang Yang during the Warring States Period, in the 4th century BC...
annals, and appears in the
Classic of HistoryThe Classic of History is a compilation of documentary records related to events in ancient history of China. It is also commonly known as the Shàngshū , or simply Shū...
.
The
yu was adopted by the Korean court in ancient times, where it was known as
eo (hangul: 어; hanja: 敔), and is still used in Confucian ritual music.