As everyone knows, "China has been passed down for 5,000 years", and in this long period of time, dozens of dynasties such as "Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, Qing, and Qing" have also been born, and when it comes to this, we can't help but ask: Which dynasty can be "prosperous"? This problem is complicated, and the key depends on which angle to understand, so some people say that "Tang Zong and Song Zu" can be described as prosperous; others say: From the economic and military point of view, the Ming Dynasty can be described as prosperous.
Of course, more people think that it should be the "Kangqian prosperous world" of the Qing Dynasty, especially Qianlong, who prides himself on being a "ten-year-old man"; if we really want to talk about the "Prosperous Era of Kangqian", Kangxi and Qianlong have held a "Banquet of a Thousand Sorrows", Kangxi is for the integration of Manchu and Han, and Qianlong is simply for the sake of display.
Qianlong, who was already the "Emperor Taishang", made another astonishing move at the age of 80, not only to set up a feast, but also to collect ten thousand taels of gold, and finally cast a set of chimes; friends who have studied history may know that the symbol of ancient imperial power in addition to the "Jiuding", that is, the "chimes", the Shang Zhou many cast bells in bronze, Qianlong ingenious, even cast 16 chimes in gold.
Realistically speaking, the Qianlong era was prosperous, so there was no shortage of skilled craftsmen; these 16 golden chimes were shaped by ancient craftsmen with a majestic atmosphere, shining golden light, which was roughly oval in shape, and the middle part was slightly drummed, and the overall thickness and elegance were thick and elegant.
Since it is a "Taishang Emperor" thing, the chimes are naturally indispensable to "dragons". The top of the chime is a double-headed dragon button, and the dragon heads at both ends are connected with the dragon body to form a perforation; in addition to these, the chimes also have relief decorations such as yunlong seawater and dragon play beads, and the lower part of the bell has 8 circular sound nails for percussion when playing, and there are symmetrical cloud patterns between each two sound nails.
Overall, although the 16 gold chimes have different sizes, the bell body is almost the same height, about 21.2 centimeters; its "different sizes" are reflected in the diameter, and the largest chime diameter is 20.6 centimeters.
Speaking of this, some friends may say, "Qianlong doesn't understand the rhythm, right?" The bronze bell also has to be divided into sizes to emit different tones, and this gold-made chime, and almost the same height, can the sound be good? "Of course, Qianlong cast gold chimes, a large part of it is for the sake of display, but it cannot be said that he is messing around, these 16 chimes can really make different sounds.
Taking the Shang Zhou bronze bell as an example, the volume of a single bell is mostly used to adjust the pitch. "Golden chimes" are special, their pitch is not adjusted by the size of a single bell, but by the thickness of a single bell to determine the pitch; in simple terms, these 16 gold chimes seem to be the same size in volume, but the thickness of the bell wall is not the same, roughly between 1.2 and 2.2 centimeters.
This is easy to understand, the thinner the bell wall, the lower the tone, the thicker the bell wall is the higher the tone; in general, 16 chimes can produce 12 positive laws and 4 variations, of which 12 positive laws are equivalent to the 12 semitones of modern international use.
Then arranged on the bell stand according to the syllables from low to high, when it is ringed, its sound is "clear and not sharp, without the thickness of the drum, but it is better than light and remote"; in order to distinguish, this set of chimes is cast with 16 scale names such as "Yellow Bell" and "Da Lu" on the front, and the back is cast with the style of "Qianlong Fifty-five Years".
Of course, the sound emitted by the bronze bell and the "golden bell" is definitely not the same, as for where it is different, the text is difficult to express; whether this set of "golden chimes" cast by Qianlong is for the rhythm, this is not easy to say, but it is definitely for the "golden brilliance" of the imperial authority.
According to the ancient system, every time there was a major ceremony, the emperor had to visit the Taihe Hall in person, and the court musicians would ring the "chimes" to play the Zhonghe Shao music; since the "golden chimes", the Taihe Hall often emitted a natural sound, and for more than 100 years, this set of golden chimes became a symbol of the imperial power of the Qing court.
Unfortunately, after Qianlong, the Qing court went downhill. After the Xinhai Revolution, the "abdication of Puyi" declared the collapse of the Qing Dynasty; but what was unusual was that Puyi could still live in the "Forbidden City", and the Government of the Republic of China at that time allocated 4 million yuan per year for support.
This "Puyi" is also unaware, and even in 1922, in accordance with the imperial etiquette system of the Qing Dynasty, there was a unique "wedding"; the idea was quite plump, but the actual situation was that "Puyi was no longer an emperor", and he was facing the dilemma of no money.
But then again, "Puyi had no money", but the "Forbidden City" had money; Puyi began to sell and mortgage the rare treasures in the Forbidden City, and 16 "golden chimes" were also mortgaged to the "Salt Industry Bank" at that time.
As mentioned earlier, the "chimes" are symbols of imperial power, not to mention the "golden chimes" made by Qianlong himself, and Puyi's mortgage is also worthy of the ancestors; Puyi does not think that it is a treasure, and others can understand the value of the "golden chimes", so the forces of all sides began to besiege the "Salt Industry Bank".
At that time, the manager of the Salt Industry Bank was called "Chen Yihou", and in the face of the threats and inducements of warlords and forces from all sides, he never revealed the whereabouts of the "golden chimes"; especially after the "July 7 Incident", the Japanese consul in Tianjin found "Chen Yihou", and his coercion methods were even more self-evident.
According to historical records, the "Salt Industry Bank" at that time could not even withstand the pressure and was ready to melt the "golden chimes" into gold bars; or "Chen Yihou", "Hu Zhongwen", the manager of the Four Elements Savings Association, transported a few tons of coal and buried the "golden chimes" in the depths of the coal pile, which escaped the clutches of the Japanese army.
Not only that, under the protection of "Chen Yihou" and "Hu Zhongwen", the golden chimes first escaped the Japanese army, and then in the following days they escaped the plundering of Kong Xiangxi, Dai Kasa and others, of which the thrill was indescribable; on January 15, 1949, Tianjin was liberated, and the "golden chimes" that had gone through all kinds of difficulties and dangers were finally handed over to New China by Hu Zhongwen.
At first glance, the "golden chimes" are a historical story about national treasures, but they reflect more than just "stories"; it is precisely the last emperor like "Puyi" who has produced so many terrifying waves in modern times.
Of course, thanks to such national volunteers as "Chen Yihou" and "Hu Zhongwen", the Chinese nation has been able to stand tall to this day.