The violin originated in the East, not in Europe

01-12-2025

The violin originated in the East, not in Europe

As for the birth of the violin, according to the current mainstream theory, it was Andrea Amati, an Italian luthier in Europe, who created the modern violin around 1555. But for a long time before that, we in the East invented similar stringed instruments. For this reason, I personally think it would be more accurate to think of the modern violin in Europe as an instrument that evolved over time, rather than as an instrument invented at the time. Although there are records of bowed stringed instruments in medieval Europe, according to historical records, the first stringed instrument should have come from our oriental huqin. Because the huqin was born much earlier than the violin, I think it's very likely that it was developed through trade along the Silk Roads, and then spread to Europe and other parts of the world through trade routes. Once European artisans learned

about the craftsmanship of these instruments and how they sounded, they used traditional European techniques to create their own pieces. Many different types of stringed instruments also evolved in Europe in the 16th century, which led to a lot of debate about various aspects of the history of the violin. It has also been suggested that perhaps Andrea Amati did not create the first modern violin, but made it in the Italian city of Brescia in Europe in the early 16th century. However, one thing we can be sure of now is that by the 16th century there were already a variety of different stringed instruments, and the violin can be said to have developed tremendously during the European Renaissance.