Prince Lu, one of four well-known Ming dynasty qin makers, created this rare, graceful, and playable seven-string zither as part of a movement to revive ancient Chinese traditions. Qin playing began in the third millennium B.C., but by the Ming dynasty it had acquired a mystique that encompassed cosmology, metaphysics, civics, aesthetics, religion, and literature. From the time of the Tang dynasty, the qin appeared in the hands of the literati in paintings and drawings. Cracks and worn patches in the lacquered surface, like those found on all fine qins, bestow a venerable appearance, document past players' hand movements, and permit gold flecks embedded in the lacquer to shine through. The back of the qin bears the maker's seal, the date, the name "Capital Peace," and a twenty-character poem by Jingyi Zhuren (d. 1670) that reads:

The moonlight is being reflected by the river Yangtze
A light breeze is blowing over clear dewdrops,
Only in a tranquil place
Can one comprehend the feeling of eternity.