Gu Zheng is a popular Plucking Instrument. Its early version consisted of five strings. Later it increased to nine strings, and at the end of Zhan Guo, it was developed into 12 strings. After 800 years, the 12 strings Zheng became a thirteen string Zheng in the Shui Dynasty. In the Tang Dynasty, famous Poets such as Li Bai, Bai Ju Yi had used it as theme of their poems. In the Yuan and Ming Dynasty, fourteen strings and fifteen strings Zheng were developed. However, the most popular one was still the thirteen strings Zheng. In the Qing Dynasty, the sixteen strings Zheng was developed and instead of using silk strings, steel strings were used.

The Gu Zheng is played with the right hand finger nails and left hand finger tips. The strings are tuned to six notes of an octave, excluding the fourth and the seventh notes. When the strings are struck consecutively, it produces a sound like flowing water and angel. The springs on the other side of the bridge if struck consecutively sounds like devil. The tension of the strings can be varied during performance by using the left hand finger tips to press on the strings on the other side of the bridge.