Chimes are traditional Chinese ancient percussion instruments, mostly made of bronze, arranged by oblate round bells of different sizes in the order of pitch, and hung on a huge bell frame, by the ancient maids with a T-shaped wooden hammer and a long rod respectively to strike the bronze bells, emitting different musical sounds. Because the tone of each bell is different, it can be played beautifully by striking it according to the musical notation. Chimes first appeared in the Shang Dynasty, arose in the Western Zhou Dynasty, flourished in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period to the Qin and Han dynasties, and were still useful in the Ming and Qing courts. Ancient bells were often used in court music, and they were played every time they were in battle, banquets, and sacrifices. Chimes were also used by ancient rulers as a symbol of rank and power. According to the literature and unearthed cultural relics, it was found that the bells of the Western Zhou Dynasty were generally composed of three large and small pieces. From the end of the Spring and Autumn period to the Warring States period, the number of chimes gradually increased, with a group of 9 and a group of 13, and so on. In 1957, the first set of chimes and 13 pieces of Dongfanghong music were unearthed at the site of Chengyang City, Xinyang, Henan Province, China, and sang into space with China's first artificial satellite.

The bell unearthed from the tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng is an important percussion instrument in ancient China and is a kind of bell. Chimes arose in the Western Zhou Dynasty and flourished in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period until the Qin and Han dynasties. Chimes consist of several bells of different sizes hung sequentially on a wooden stand in one or more groups, each striking at a different pitch. The shape of the chimes varies depending on the age, but the body of the bell is beautifully painted.

principle

Bells

Chime Album

The sound principle of chimes is that the bell body of the chime is small, the tone is high, and the volume is small, and the bell body is large, the tone is low, and the volume is also large, so the size and shape of the chime have an important impact on the chime.

Chimes [Collection of Nanjing Museum]

According to the literature and unearthed cultural relics, it was found that China had a bell in the Western Zhou Dynasty, and the bell at that time was generally composed of 3 large and small bells. From the end of the Spring and Autumn period to the Warring States period, the number of chimes gradually increased, with a group of 9 and a group of 13, and so on. In 1957, the first set of 13 chimes unearthed at the site of Chengyang City in Xinyang, Henan Province, China, musicians immediately used this to play the ode to contemporary leaders "Dongfang Hong". In 1978, a bell unearthed from the tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng during the Warring States Period (c. 433 B.C.) in the southern suburbs of Suizhou, Hubei Province, is the most striking set of chimes ever discovered, and the bell is large enough to occupy the entire stage of a modern concert hall. The bell of the tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng is composed of 19 button bells, 45 Yong bells, and 65 pieces of a master ** sent by King Chuhui. These clocks are divided into 3 layers and 8 groups are hung on the bell frame, the 3 groups that hang directly on the upper layer are called button bells, and the 5 groups that are obliquely suspended in the middle and lower layers are called Ningbo bells, the smallest of which is 20.4 centimeters high, the mass is 2.4 kilograms, and can play a role in setting the tone in the performance, the largest one is a bass Ningbo bell as high as 153.4 centimeters, the mass is 203.6 kilograms, and the total mass of the full set of chimes is more than 2500 kilograms. The bell frame is a bronze and wood structure, and its chimes are in the shape of a right-angled curved ruler (such as ┏), with a total length of more than 10 meters, three upper and lower layers, and a height of 273 centimeters, supported by six bronze samurai with swords and several columns. The whole set of chimes and beams is magnificent and spectacular. The band consists of several people, using six T-shaped wooden hammers to strike the high and mid alto, and two long sticks to hit the bass. According to the research of acoustic experts, each bell in the chimes can produce two different musical tones, as long as the position of the bell is accurately struck, it can produce a certain frequency of musical sound, and the whole set of chimes can play all the black and white keys on a modern piano. The fixed pitch rate of this set of chimes is 256.4 Hz, which is almost exactly the same as the central "C" frequency on today's pianos.

material

The material of Zeng Hou Yi bell is copper, tin, aluminum alloy, a full set of bells are decorated with patterns such as people, beasts, dragons, etc., the casting is exquisite, the pattern is delicate and clear, and engraved with wrong gold inscriptions, in order to indicate the pronunciation tone of each bell, it is a physical object in 433 BC. It can be seen that more than 2,400 years ago. China's musical culture and casting technology have developed to a fairly high level, which is almost 2,000 years earlier than the emergence of keyboard instruments in Europe.

origin

In the Shang Dynasty 3,500 years ago, there were chimes in China, but most of the bells at that time were in sets of three. Later, with the development of the times, the number of chimes per set also increased. In ancient times, the chimes were mostly used for court performances, and they were rarely circulated among the people, and they were played every time they were engaged in battles, court meetings or sacrifices.

Historical Development/Chimes Editing

Chimes first appeared in the Shang Dynasty, when they were mostly in groups of three or five and could play melodies. The Shang Dynasty bell has a unique shape, oval shape, and the surface of the bell has a simple animal face decoration.

Bells

Chime Album

In the mid-to-late Western Zhou Dynasty, chimes had developed from three or five chimes to groups of eight, capable of producing two scales separated by a minor third or a major third. At that time, chimes were often used in court banquets and were known as the "music of bells and drums".

In the middle and late Spring and Autumn period, it was increased to a group of nine or a group of thirteen.

After the Qin and Han dynasties, the chimes used in the court music of the past dynasties were mostly round, and the shape had changed greatly, and each bell could only emit one musical note. After more than 500 years of a golden age, it went from prosperity to decline.

In the Sui and Tang dynasties, in addition to being used in "Yale", chimes were also used in the "Nine Music" of the Sui Dynasty and the "Ten Music" of the Tang Dynasty in the "Qingle" and "Xiliang Music", which were rarely circulated among the people. Poets of the Tang Dynasty once described the sound of chimes as loud, sonorous and melodious, and melodious.

From the Song Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, the bell casting technology is little known, and the bell music is gradually eliminated, and the bell cast in the Qing Dynasty court is not only different from the traditional bell, but also the rhythm is far from it.

Shape Features/Chime Editing

Pre-Qin chimes

Pre-Qin Chime Album

Chimes are mostly cast in bronze, but there are also a small number of pottery or stone. It consists of bells of different sizes arranged in the order of pitch, suspended from a huge bell stand, and struck with a T-shaped wooden hammer and a long rod to produce different musical sounds. Because the tone of each bell is different, it can be struck according to the music notation to play a beautiful music.

The bell body is oval or circular, very much like two tiles together, the upper diameter is small, the lower diameter is large, the longitudinal diameter is small, the transverse diameter is large, the edge of the bell mouth is not cut off, the two corners extend downward, into a sharp angle, the top has a handle for the Ningbo bell, and the one with a button is the button clock. The upper part of the bell is called the cymbal, and the lower part is called the drum. The drum part of the bell is cast with exquisite ornamentation, and the ornamentation of the cymbal part is called the bell belt or seal, and the cymbal part of each bell is cast with 36 protruding bulges, called stalactites or pieces.

Chimes belong to the family of diacritical percussion instruments, which are pronounced like bells, crisp and pleasant, and have a long-lasting sustain. It has an oriental color and is suitable for playing music on the oriental pentatonic scale.

Delegates/Chimes Editor

Bells

Chime Album

Zeng Houyi's "bell", an early cultural relic of the Warring States Period, was successfully excavated in Suixian, Hubei Province (now Suizhou City) in 1978. The bell frame of this set of bells is tall, vertically intersected by two facades of different lengths, in the shape of a curved ruler, 7 painted wooden beams reinforced with a dragon pattern copper sleeve at both ends, supported by 6 saber samurai-shaped copper pillars and 8 cylinders, constituting the upper, middle and lower three layers. There are 246 bell frames and hooks (including components that can be disassembled and assembled). The short frame (left) is 335 cm long and 273 high, and the long frame (center and right) is 748 cm long and 265 cm high. It was mainly popular in the Shang and Zhou dynasties and the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.

Zeng Hou Yi series **65 pieces, divided into eight groups: the upper 3 groups are button bells, 19 pieces, the middle 3 groups are the south bells, 33 pieces, divided into short, non-piece, long three types, the lower layer is two groups of large long Fu bells, 12 pieces, and another piece of beat. The largest piece is 152.3 cm high and weighs 203.6 kg, while the smallest piece is 20.2 cm high and weighs 2.4 kg. The total weight of the bell is 2,567 kg, and the bronze part of the bell frame (including hooks) makes a total of 4,421.48 kg. There are three ways to hang the bell: the lower bell is hung with a ring, the hook is a crawler collar and a double-rod collar, and the middle bell is hooked and hooked, and the hook is a frame hook and a welding hook; There are 3,755 inscriptions on the bells, frames, and hooks, which contain numbers, notes, transcriptions, and music theory. Most of the inscriptions are wrong gold. The inscription on all the bells is "Zeng Hou Yi is held" 5 characters, indicating that the maker and user of the bell is Zeng Hou B.

The inscription of the bell records that Xiong Zhang, the king of Chu, cast Zong Yi for the Marquis of Zeng. The phonetic inscription clearly indicates the position of the bell or the part of the striking and the name of the sound it is pronounced, which constitutes the system of twelve semitones. The theory of music and rhythm describes the correspondence between the names of the laws of Zeng and the states of Chu, Jin, Qi, Shen, and Zhou. Zhong Ming saw 28 law names and 66 rank names, most of which were new materials unknown before. The inscription on this set of chimes is an important treatise on the theory of music rhythm in ancient China. The full set of chimes has a wide range, a full range of sounds, and a beautiful timbre. Each bell has two musical tones in a third interval, which can be fired separately without interfering with each other, or can be fired at the same time to form a pleasant harmony, which confirms the law of two tones per bell in ancient Chinese chimes. The full set of chimes has a deep and rich bass, a mellow and unpretentious midrange, and a crisp and crisp high. Its vocal range ranges from C2 to D7, with twelve semitones in the central range, which can be rotated and transposed, and plays a variety of pieces on the seven-tone scale. The copper components of bells and bell frames are alloys of copper, tin, and lead, and the ratio of alloys varies depending on the application. It is made of volatile casting, sub-casting, soldering, brazing, casting and inlaying, wrong gold, and grinding, and the craftsmanship is exquisite.

The assembly and layout of the chimes are very reasonable in terms of mechanics, aesthetics and practical operation. The decoration of the whole set of bells, humans, beasts, dragons, flowers and geometric patterns, adopts a variety of techniques such as round carving, relief carving, yin carving, color painting, etc., with red, black, yellow and bronze natural colors against each other, it looks solemn and solemn, exquisite and magnificent. There are 6 T-shaped painted wooden poles and 2 painted bell-striking wooden sticks that come out with the bell. According to this and the experimental judgment, the use of this set of bells requires a total of 5 people: 3 people hold a small mold with both hands and play the middle and upper bells, and 2 people each hold a wooden stick to hit the bell and play the lower bells. (The wooden frame and some of the hooks are reproductions, the rest are originals). In 1978, it was unearthed in Suixian County, Hubei Province (now Suizhou City) Drum Pier Zeng Marquis B Tomb.

Symbolic/Chime editing

In ancient China, chimes were a musical instrument reserved for the upper classes, a symbol of rank and power. The bell is also marked with more than 2,800 inscriptions related to music rhythm, recording many musical terms, showing the advanced level of ancient Chinese music culture. The chime music is crisp and bright, melodious and beautiful, and can play the same melody as singing, and is also known as the song bell.

Evaluation/Chime editing

Although the chime is a relatively old percussion instrument, its sound quality, pitch, timbre and other aspects are by no means inferior to: row drums, drums, big gongs, small gongs, big cymbals, small cymbals, bowls and other national percussion instruments, nor inferior to: timpani, marimba, aluminum plate piano, snare drum, snare drum and other Western percussion instruments, not inferior to jazz percussion instruments such as drum kits. Its position has become deeply ingrained in the world percussion scene.

Excavation / Chimes editing

Bells

Chime Album

In 1957, a set of wooden weaving **13 in the Warring States Chu tomb was found in the Xinyang area of Henan.

A rectangular pottery bell was found in the site of Zhuanglongshan culture (about 28 BC and 23 centuries BC) in Chang'an County, Shaanxi Province, and is now (2012) in the Li History Museum in Beijing.

In 1978, the drum pier on the outskirts of Suixian County, Hubei Province unearthed 65 pieces of the tomb of Marquis Zeng in the early Warring States period, which was known as the king of ancient bells. Each bell body is engraved with an inscription in the wrong gold seal style, and the front is engraved with "Zeng Hou Yi Cha Shi" (Zeng Hou Yi Zuo).

On August 25, 1985, Yangjia Village, Xi'an, unearthed a bell in the Western Zhou Dynasty. This large chime, with a total weight of 340 kg. It is a rare cultural relic in the archaeological discoveries of the Western Zhou Dynasty.

From the end of the 20th century to the beginning of the 21st century, a set of five chimes was found in the tomb of Yan Xin, a large royal tomb of the Yin Dynasty, which can form a four-tone sequence.

In 2000, 149 musical instruments were unearthed in the No. 14 musical instrument pit of the Western Han Tomb of Luozhuang, Zhangqiu City, Jinan, Shandong, surpassing the tomb of Marquis Zeng. Among them, there are 19 chimes and 107 chimes, and there are more than 10 kinds of bells, such as chimes, cymbals, bells, string bells, se, building drums, small flat drums, hanging drums and sheng (not determined). It has a high musical archaeological value.

In February 2000, two sets of large bells were excavated from the Warring States Chu Tomb in Jingzhou, Hubei Province, each consisting of 14 pieces, made of bronze and 0.72 meters high.

In 1790, the Qianlong Emperor of the Qing Dynasty used gold to cast a set of 16 pieces of the same size and different wall thicknesses, which cost 13,647 taels of gold and 2 coins, called "Golden Bell". In 1925, it entered the people, and was later collected by Chen Yihou and Hu Zhongwen, and is now (2012) displayed in the Treasure Hall of the Palace Museum in Beijing.

In February 2012, the archaeological excavation of the ancient tomb of the Warring States period at a construction site in Suqian City, Jiangsu Province was completed, and among its rich cultural relics, a complete set of nine bronze bells is particularly precious. When the nine bronze chimes with milk nail pattern were unearthed, they were arranged in order of size from south to north, and their height ranged from 26 cm to 15 cm. The discovery of bronze bells is not only the first time in Suqian, but also extremely rare in the whole of Jiangsu.

In June 2012, 11 chimes were found at a construction site in Zhijiang City, Yichang, Hubei Province. These chimes have text and elaborate patterns on them. After being identified by relevant cultural relics experts, the inscription on one of the bells is 16 words: "Chu Ji Bao Bell, 氒 (Ji) dedication." Gonggong Qimai (10,000) years to be blessed". On August 16, after a number of experts from Peking University, Hunan Provincial Museum and Hubei Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, the era of the unearthed cultural relics should belong to the middle and late Western Zhou Dynasty, and the content of the inscriptions on the bronzes is an important material for studying the history of the early Chu State, filling the gap in the study of early Chu culture.

In addition, in southwest China, from the end of the 20th century to the beginning of the 21st century, chimes with ethnic minority styles and local colors from the Warring States period to the Han Dynasty have been unearthed many times, such as:

The bells of the Warring States period and the horn buttons of the Han Dynasty unearthed in Xilin, Guangxi, resemble bells, the section is walnut-shaped, and the top is in the shape of a horn.

The chimes unearthed from the ancient tombs of Shizhai Mountain in Jinning, Yunnan Province and Futulong Village in Muding, are wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, flat mouth, and the clock face is engraved with snake ornamentation.

The bells of the Warring States period unearthed from the tomb of the nobles of Xiaotian Xiba in Fuling, Sichuan, are decorated with the characteristics of ancient Ba culture.

Guangxi Guixian Luopowan No. 1 Han Tomb out of the barrel bell with a half-ring button and so on.

Invent Time/Chime Editing

Bells

Chime Album

The Yejiashan cemetery pushes forward the history of chimes by 500 years and rewrites the history of world music.

The bell of Zeng Hou Yi was once known as the "eighth wonder of the world", and in the archaeological excavation of the Yejiashan cemetery in Suizhou, archaeologists found a bell more than 500 years earlier than Zeng Hou Yi, which may change the understanding of the origin of the bell. Archaeologists found 1 bell and 4 chimes on the second floor of the numbered tomb wall, and 5 pieces were a set. Professor Li Boqian, chief scientist of the National Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasty Breaking Project and director of the Center for Ancient Civilization Research of Peking University, believes that this is the earliest bell known in China, and the bell found this time belongs to the early Western Zhou Dynasty, and it is expected that there are 5 to 6 bells, which are more numerous and larger than the bells found in the same period, which is a high level at that time, and is a major discovery of the archaeology of the Western Zhou Dynasty.

The chime was found again in Suizhou, Hubei, 500 years earlier than the bell of Zeng Hou Yi.

Zeng Hou Yi bell was once known as the "eighth wonder of the world", in the 3rd archaeological excavation of the Yejiashan cemetery in Suizhou, Hubei Province, found more than 500 years earlier than Zeng Hou B, or will change the understanding of the origin of the bell.