Why did the discovery of Zeng Houyi's chimes shock the music and scientific circles?

Look at the information and you will understand after reading it!

Ceng Houyi rings the bell.

Famous bronze musical instruments in the early Warring States period. 1978 Unearthed from the tomb of Zeng Houyi in Sui County, Hubei Province. Ceng Houyi was a vassal of Zeng State (now Suizhou and Zaoyang in Hubei) during the Warring States Period, and his name was "B". This man died in the fifty-sixth year of King Hui of Chu (433 BC). 1978 the discovery and excavation of Zeng Houyi's tomb led to the rediscovery of many precious historical relics buried underground. Existing Hubei Provincial Museum.

Regarding ancient musical instruments, there are amazing excavations in the tomb of Zeng Houyi. There are Qin (ten strings) and Zheng (? ), five strings (? ) One each, five musical instruments, two sheng instruments and one hanging drum. There are braids on the north wall and huge drums in the southeast corner. Besides, there are two rulers, two flutes, seven harps and drums, and so on. Among them, the most brilliant and "national treasure" is the huge musical instrument combination-chime. There are sixty-five bells * * *, all of which are made of bronze and beautifully made. The clock frame is in the shape of a ruler, made of copper and wood. The clock train is divided into upper, middle and lower floors. There are 19 clocks on the upper floor, and the middle and lower floors are the main parts of chimes, which are divided into three groups. The shapes of these three groups of clocks are different. A set of "Tiger Bell" consists of 1 1 long-breasted bell; The second set, named "Raw Silk Clock", consists of twelve short-chested chimes; The third group, named "Zhong Jie", consists of 23 long-breasted bells. Each clock body is engraved with the inscription of the wrong gold seal, and the front of the clock is engraved with "The First Time in Ceng Houyi" (by Ceng Houyi). The inscription on the other body of the piano is basically about the five-tone name and eight changing names; Knocking on the front and side of each clock can make two sounds: rising and falling. Zeng's other five countries put forward inscriptions, Zeng's dharma name and the corresponding words of Jin and Chu, and so on. These inscriptions are extremely valuable materials for studying the laws of ancient music in China.

Ceng Houyi's chimes have a total range of five octaves, which is slightly inferior to modern pianos. The middle part accounts for about three octaves. Because there are chimes with roughly the same structure, three overlapping parts are formed, which can play almost twelve semitones and music works with five, six and seven tones.

According to the research and speculation of modern scholars, this set of chimes should be struck by three musicians with a T-shaped mallet, with three sets of chimes in the middle layer striking to play the main theme of the music, and two musicians striking the bass bell in the lower layer with big sticks as harmony.

The unearthing of bells in the tomb of Zeng Houyi shocked the world archaeological community, because there were such exquisite musical instruments and such magnificent bands more than two thousand years ago, which is extremely rare in the history of world culture. The casting of the tomb bell of Zeng Houyi shows the great achievements of bronze casting technology in China, and also shows the developed degree of ancient tonology in China. It is the crystallization of the high wisdom of the ancient people in China and the pride of our Chinese nation.

Ceng Houyi rings the bell.

Zeng Houyi's chime is the largest and most complete chime in China. 1978 The tomb of Zeng Houyi, an early tomb of the Warring States Period in Sui County, Hubei Province, was unearthed. When unearthed, the whole set of bells remained the same.

In Shang Dynasty, chimes appeared in China. At first, there were only three or five bells. By the Zhou Dynasty, they increased to nine bells 13, and by the Warring States Period, they developed to six bells1. People group clocks according to size, rhythm and pitch, and make them into chimes to play melodious music. There were 65 bells chimed by Zeng Houyi, of which 65,438+0 were presented by Chu during the Warring States Period. The chimes are divided into eight groups, and * * * is hung on a three-layer clock rack made of copper and wood. The clock stand is 10.79 m long and 2.73 m high. It is supported by six bronze warriors with swords and several columns. The total weight of 65 chimes is 3500 kg, which is rare in chimes. Most clocks are engraved with inscriptions. There were fewer inscriptions on the last nineteen clocks, and only the phonetic names were marked. There is no right to label the middle and lower 45 minutes, and there is a long musical inscription, which records the dharma name, order name and phonetic change name of the clock in detail. These inscriptions are convenient for people to knock and play with.

Ceng Houyi's chimes have a wide range of five octaves, only one octave less than modern pianos. The timbre of the clock is beautiful and pure, and the timbre is the same as that of modern C major. Archaeologists cooperated with literary and art workers and used this clock to discover and play various famous Chinese and foreign songs, all of which were amazing. Zeng Houyi's chime is a brilliant achievement in the history of ancient music in China, which provides valuable information for studying ancient melodies and making chimes today.

The loudest bell

1978 The chime unearthed from the world-famous tomb of Zeng Houyi in Sui County, Hubei Province, China is the largest musical instrument in ancient China. It has 64 pieces (19 buttons, 45 horns), which are hung on a copper-wood clock frame full of painted patterns in three layers, and the column body of each layer is a bronze warrior with a sword. Their shape and weight are the smallest in the upper layer, followed by the middle layer and the largest in the lower layer. The smallest weighs 2.4 kilograms and is 20.2 centimeters high; The largest one weighs 203.6 kg and is 153.4 cm high. Their total weight exceeds 2500 kilograms. Clock frame length11.83m; Up to 2.73 meters. Magnificent spirit, the scene is quite spectacular. This tomb was buried in 433 BC, which is more than 24 10 years ago. Its excavation has attracted attention at home and abroad, and it is considered as a major discovery in the history of world music.

In the early 1980s, hundreds of scientific and technical personnel from Hubei Provincial Museum, Institute of Natural Science History of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan Institute of Mechanical Engineering, Foshan Institute of Ductile Iron, Wuhan University of Technology, harbin university of science and technology and other units worked together to find that our ancestors had worked out the best formula of copper, tin and lead more than 400 years ago to obtain beautiful timbre. Mastered the size of the clock, the strict ratio of the thickness of the clock wall to the pitch, and cast a series of different pitches; The unique bell shape and complex design of the bell cavity of the "tile type" form a wonderful two-tone clock and a beautiful melody. This set of chimes is divided into two tones, and the whole range runs through five and a half octaves, with obvious treble and bass, three octaves in the middle and twelve semitones. Because there is a complete alto, you can turn around and tune flexibly on any tone. What is particularly commendable is that there are more than 2,800 words of inscriptions on the bell body and its accessories, which record the music theory in the pre-Qin period and the corresponding relationship with the names of laws and decrees of Zhou, Chu, Qi and other vassal States. This important discovery abandons the saying that "China's seven tones come from Europe and cannot be transferred from one palace to another".

In order to make this precious national treasure in the history of Chinese musical instruments play a greater role, scientists copied Zeng Houyi's chime. 1983 1 From June 6 to 9, more than 80 scholars and experts from China Music Association, China Mechanical Engineering Society, Foundry Society and Archaeological Society appraised the imitation chimes in Wuhan. Experts listen to and compare the timbre and pitch of each clock between the original and the replica, and appreciate the recording and reproduction of the original alternately, such as Eighteen Beats of Hu Jia, Three Lane of Plum Blossoms, Liuyang River and Silent Night. They think that the reproduction really achieves the acoustic effect of the original, and the high-pitched area is crisp, bright and melodious; The bass area is rich, deep and magnificent. Most of the released music is less than plus or minus five minutes from the original, which is difficult for the general audience to distinguish.