Zhao Taisheng, the principal sanxian player in the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra (HKCO), has a mission    1    (keep)the traditional instrument, sanxian, alive and    2     (devote) his career to perfecting his skill on the instrument and preserving this ancient art since he graduated from college.

Musician Zhao Taisheng calls his favored instrument—the sanxian, or three-stringed lute—a voice for his emotions, a vehicle for charm and honor,     3    a ticket to an eventful life. He regards the sanxian    4    an important part of Chinese folk music tradition. He explains that, in the early decades of the 2Oth century, the number of students of the sanxian       5    ( be)similar to that of those studying other traditional Chinese string instruments such as the pipa or guzheng. However, the instrument began to lose    6    (popular) with the adoption of Western orchestra styles, which preferred softer harmonies.

In fact, the sanxian has    7    attractive appearance: lt is usually around 120 centimeters long, and has three strings stretched over a fingerboard,    8    allows for extensive glissando, or the glide from one pitch to another. Like most folk traditions, it is difficult to trace the origins of the sanxian. By some     9    (account), it may date back to the Qin Dynasty (221-207 BC). Images of similar instruments can be found in a Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279) sculpture, and the characters     10    (literal)mean“three strings”, first appeared in a Ming Dynasty(1368-1644)text.