Brief introduction
All kinds of musical instruments discovered in this period are of great significance to the study of social life and the history of Chinese music in the Shang and Zhou dynasties.
According to the literature, according to the different materials used, musical instruments are also called eight tones, namely, gold, stone, silk, bamboo, Pao, earth, leather and wood. The musical instruments of the Shang and Zhou dynasties are known to include the chime made of jade and stone, the Cuan made of clay, the bell made of bronze, the wooden Qin, Se with silk strings, the drum with wooden frame and leather surface, and the chi, Sheng and panxiao made of bamboo. Among these instruments, Cuan, Chi, Sheng and panxiao are used for playing, Qin and Se are used for playing, and bell, chime and drum are used for percussion. Among them, except that Xun is often unearthed in the sites, almost all of the others are from tombs (mainly noble tombs), while Qin, Se, Chi, PaiXiao, Sheng and so on are only found in tombs of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty.
Xun appeared in Hemudu culture in the early Neolithic age, but it has not been finalized. The Shang Dynasty basically took shape. The body of Cuan is conical. The pottery Cuan unearthed in Yin Ruins of Anyang and liulige of Huixian county all have five tone holes. Their pitch is the same as a.
The drum also appeared very early. In the early stage, it may have been fired with clay, which is called Earth drum. Most of the drums with wooden leather surface are not easy to preserve, and most of them are rotten marks. A bronze drum of the Shang Dynasty unearthed in Chongyang, Hubei Province, should have been cast in imitation of the wooden drum. We can know the shape of the wooden drum used in the Shang Dynasty. From the Eastern Zhou tombs unearthed, it can be seen that the lower part of the drum generally has a wooden or bronze drum base, without a drum base, there is a wooden handle, and some are hanging drums.
The emergence of Qing may be before the Shang Dynasty. The early stone chime unearthed from Dongxiafeng site in Xiaxian county has holes in the hook part for hanging. Its shape is the same as that of the later popular stone chime, but there are traces of making on the surface, which have not been polished. After sound measurement, the height of bosom friend is □. Some of the stone chimes of the Shang and Zhou dynasties are carved with exquisite decorative patterns. For example, a stone chime unearthed from the tomb of Wuguan village in Anyang is carved with exquisite tiger patterns on both sides. However, carving patterns may affect the sound quality, so many stone chimes are only painted with patterns on the surface, while some are made of jade or jade like stone. The chimes are divided into a single special chime and a set of chimes. There were three or five chimes in the Shang Dynasty, and nine chimes in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. When playing, the chime is suspended on the chime stand, and each chime can produce one sound. The height of the sound depends on the shape of the chime: large and thin means low; small and thick means high. Its hanging order is from big to small, that is, in the order of bass to treble. The number of stone chimes unearthed from the tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng is the largest at present. When unearthed, two layers of stone chimes were hung on the bronze chime frame, with two groups of stone chimes in each layer (6 in each group and 10 in each group), a total of 32. However, according to the chime groove, the number in the groove and the inscriptions on music, the total number should be 41.
All kinds of musical instruments
Shang Dynasty bronze drum unearthed in Chongyang, Hubei Province
Unearthed from the tomb of Wu Guan Cun in Anyang
Unearthed from tomb No.1 of Changtaiguan in Xinyang
Due to the different shapes of bells, they are also called Nao, duo, Yongzhong, Yongzhong, niuzhong and so on. Most of the bells were made of bronze, but some of them were made of glazed pottery. When used, some are held by hand or planted on the base, and some are hung on the clock stand. In Shang Dynasty, there were three or five clocks in a set. In the middle and late Western Zhou Dynasty, there were eight clocks in a set. In the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, there were nine or 13 clocks in a set. When the mallet of the tunnel part and the right drum (or left drum) part of the bell is struck, it can make two different sounds. Some people call them positive drum sound (or middle drum sound) and side drum sound (or side drum sound). The Bianzhong unearthed from the tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng is the most abundant and best preserved set ever found in China. There are 64 Bianzhong, 65 of which are presented by King Hui of Chu. According to the size and pitch, they are arranged into 8 groups and hung on the three-layer bell stand. The bell frame is made of copper and wood. It is in the shape of a curved ruler, with a total length of 10.79 meters and a height of 2.67 meters.
Bronze cymbals with elephant pattern unearthed in Ningxiang, Hunan Province
Unearthed from tomb No.1, Changtaiguan, Bianzhong, Warring States Period
Chi, Sheng, PaiXiao, Qin, Se and other silk and bamboo musical instruments were also unearthed in Eastern Zhou tombs, but the number and combination are not the same. Among them, 12 pieces of tuse, 5 pieces of Sheng, 2 pieces of Chi and PaiXiao, 1 piece of Wuxian Qin and 1 piece of Shixian Qin were unearthed from the tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng. There are 12, 14 and 18 kinds of Sheng. Chi and flute are different in shape. They blow horizontally, have no membrane, have seven holes, have a bottom, and five finger holes are side by side. The other two holes are arranged at both ends and form a 90 ° angle with the five finger holes.
Unearthed from tomb No.1 at Changtaiguan, Muse County, Warring States Period
The burial of musical instruments in a tomb is a reflection of the life of the tomb owner. For example, the tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng has four rooms in the East, West, middle and North. In the north room, there are mainly weapons and chariots and horses; in the east room, there are 8 burial utensils and accompanying coffins, and musical instruments such as Qin, Se, Sheng and Xuangu; in the middle room, there are Bianzhong, bianqing, Jiangu, Chi, Sheng, panxiao, Se and Xugu; beside the bell stand, there are 6 mallets and two sticks used to play Bianzhong, forming a fairly complete "bell and drum band"; in the west room, there are 13 accompanying coffins. The dead in the coffins of the East chamber and the west chamber are all young women. Some people speculate that they were originally band players or female musicians performing songs and dances.
In the past half century, more than 40 sets of chimes have been found in Shang and Zhou dynasties. Through sound measurement, we know that the two sound levels of the tunnel part and the right drum (or left drum) part of the clock are separated by a small or large third interval. Five bells unearthed from Fuhao tomb in Yin Ruins are about g, a, C, F, (?) And G, which can form a four tone scale sequence. The tussah bells of the Western Zhou Dynasty unearthed in Qijia village, Fufeng, are basically arranged in the order of feather, palace, horn, sign, feather and palace. There are nine spring and autumn chimes unearthed from Houma, and the total range is one octave less than that of Zha chime. However, Shang and Bianzheng tones are added to the structure of Jiao, Zheng, Yu and Gong, forming a six tone scale with variation. The chime of Marquis Yi of Zeng in the early Warring States period has a total range of five octaves. In the middle part of the octave, there are three sets of chime bells with similar structure, which form three overlapping parts and complete 12 semitones. Therefore, it is possible to play a complete pentatonic, hexatonic or Heptatonic scale.
Twelve semitones, the traditional musical term is called "Twelve temperament". There are inscriptions on the bell, the bell frame, the chime and the chime box unearthed from the tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng Dynasty. There are phonetic inscriptions on the pronunciation parts of the tunnel part and the right drum part of the bell. The inscriptions on the chime are interlinked with the bell. It can be seen from the inscriptions that the names and systems of the twelve rhythms used by the vassal states in the early Warring States period were not unified. For example, Guxi of Zeng state was equivalent to Lvzhong of Chu state, and the great family of Zeng state was equivalent to Muzhong of Chu state and the Ci of Zongzhou state. However, its basic principles are still consistent with those of Zongzhou. For example, at least five of the six laws of Zeng state (Huangzhong, Dazu, Guxi, Tobin, Wu) are exactly the same as those of Zongzhou.
There are always different views on the formation and development of pentatonic scale and Heptatonic scale in the study of musical instruments and music history. In recent years, scholars have discussed this on the basis of measuring ancient musical instruments. Some people believe that the formation of ancient Chinese pentatonic scale was in the period of Yangshao culture, and the formation of the seven tone scale was around 2000 BC; others believe that the emergence of the seven tone scale is not necessarily later than the emergence of the five tone scale, at least in the late Shang Dynasty, a complete seven tone scale has appeared; others believe that the seven tone scale has been formed at the latest in the spring and Autumn period and the Warring States period. Although there are different opinions, they all deny the view that the formation time of ancient Chinese scale is estimated too late.
As for Bianzhong, scholars found that the pitch of drum of each bell is one small third (or big third) higher than that of tunnel. Some people traced the phenomenon of two pitch of each copper bell back to Shang Dynasty. Some people use laser holographic interferometry to study the acoustic performance of chime bells. They think that the relationship between the tunnel sound and the drum sound of Shang Dynasty bells is mostly the big second degree. Since the late Western Zhou Dynasty, the relationship between the small third degree and the big third degree of the interval of double tone bells is very significant, and with the development of the times, other interval relationships are gradually expanding.
The research on Zeng Houyi's chime bells has proved that all 65 bronze bells are made of pottery moulds, and the patterns are made by molds. The content of tin in the clock is 12.5-14.6% and the content of lead is 1-3%. According to the metallographic structure, it is possible to preheat the mold, delay the degerming, and use the residual heat of the mold and metal for uniform annealing to improve the metal structure and reduce the residual stress. Some researchers point out that the comprehensive performance of the clock is the best when the tin content is about 14% and the lead content is between 2% and 4%. The quenching and tempering process can adjust and stabilize the audio frequency. The casting technology of Zeng Houyi chime bells has reached a high level.
