Ancient Chinese Bronze Musical Instruments
Bronze musical instruments are one of the important carriers of the ritual and music system in ancient China. They can be seen no matter in sacrifices, banquets, ceremonies, or in the army. They not only reflect the political system of the Shang and Zhou dynasties, but also represent the splendid music culture at that time.
náo
Hello everyone, my name is Nao, and I am a percussion instrument. In the Shang Dynasty, I was used by people to command military formations in the army. In addition, people will also use me when they sacrifice and feast.
Our cymbals are divided into two families: large cymbals and small cymbals, and I am a member of the large cymbals. Hunan is the main place where large copper cymbals are found. More than 40 pieces of copper cymbals have been unearthed, of which about 10 pieces weigh more than 100 kilograms. A cymbal with a huge volume like ours is very rare elsewhere.
bell
Hello, I believe everyone is familiar with me. My name is Zhong. Our Zhong family originated in the Western Zhou Dynasty and developed in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. When people hit our bodies with T-shaped wooden hammers and long sticks, we can produce different tones, because each of our bells has a different tone, and we can play a wonderful music together by beating according to the sound spectrum.
Like the famous Ding family, we are the symbol of the royal power of the ruling class and the symbol of "Zhongming Dingshi". During the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, hanging chime bells was popular, and there were strict rules of etiquette and music: Tiangong Xuan (bells hung on four sides), Zhuhouxuan Xuan (bells hung on three sides), Qing Dafu Juan Xuan (bells hung on two sides), Shite Xuan (bells hung on one side).
bó
I am a musical instrument active in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. My name is Bo. Do you think I look a lot like Zhong? In fact, there are some differences between us. The mouth of the Zhong family is curved, while the mouth of our family is flat, please don’t confuse us~
chúnyu
You may be unfamiliar with me. I am a musical instrument used in the military and sacrifices. My name is Chunyu. It appeared in people's field of vision during the Spring and Autumn Period, developed and expanded in the Han Dynasty, and was mainly active in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. We usually have a little tiger on top of our heads, which is an important symbol of our family.
bronze drum
My name is Tonggu, which is a legendary national historical relic. I have been around since the 7th century BC and have been passed down to this day. Our family has a very wide influence, and we can be seen in the southwestern border of my country and Southeast Asia. In fact, we were originally developed from a kind of cooking utensil - cauldron. Later, people turned it upside down and called it a drum. Since then, we have become a command signal and a tool for political rule of ancient minority nobles. We are still used by Zhuang, Yao, Miao, Yi and other ethnic groups.
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