The cut below represents a Chinese organ, or cheng.
The pipes are generally twenty-four in number, and are made of bamboo. They are inserted in the gourd of a calabash, which serves as a windchest. Each of these pipes is provided with a reed, or tongue, of gold or copper, which causes the sound as the wind sets it in vibration like the reeds of a cabinet-organ. Each pipe has a hole just below the reed, which when open lets the air escape and prevents the reed sounding, but which when closed with the finger causes the wind to set the reed in vibration and thus produces the tone.
