Development of an Erhu Traditional Musical Instrument Education Chatbot Based on Cultural-Historical Activity Theory

Traditional erhu education relies heavily on teacher-led instruction and scattered online materials, which can leave beginners without a clear route through the instrument's history, structure, playing techniques, repertoire, performers, and cultural meaning. This study addresses that access problem by developing and evaluating a menu-guided educational chatbot that answers recurring beginner questions and presents erhu knowledge in a structured, interactive form. Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) was used to define the learner, learning object, mediating tool, rules, community, and division of labor, while a semantic network organized relationships among the content concepts. The system was implemented in Typebot with modules for origins and structure, study guidance, repertoire and performers, multimedia content, and quizzes; its architecture, topic network, interface, and decision flow are documented through system diagrams. After using the chatbot, 44 participants completed a modified 16-item Chatbot Usability Questionnaire. The mean CUQ score was 93.4 out of 100 (SD = 6.9), the median was 96.1, and scores ranged from 73.4 to 100. Positive items averaged 4.7-4.8 out of 5, whereas negatively worded items averaged 1.2-1.3, indicating high perceived usability, clarity, and educational value. These findings support the chatbot as an accessible introductory resource, but they do not by themselves demonstrate knowledge gain or sustained interest because no pre-test/post-test or control comparison was conducted. The design offers a transferable framework for other learner groups and cultural instruments, subject to demographic validation, accessibility adaptation, and richer open-ended or voice interaction.

Erhu, Chinese traditional musical instrument, educational chatbot, Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT), semantic network, chatbot usability

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