At that time, there were many kinds of drums, including war drums, music drums, as well as sacrificial drums and time-telling drums. Zhou Ren attaches great importance to drums, and once set up a special "drum person" to be responsible for making drums, drumming and other things. During the Western Zhou Dynasty, there were so-called "eight tones" in the Tianzi liturgical music, and the drum was the leader of the group sounds, that is, all the music was preceded by a drum. As for the sacrificial activities, the drum is regarded as a tool to reach the heavens, which is absolutely indispensable, and the drums used for sacrifice include thunder drums, spiritual drums, etc.
In the life of the Zhou people, from the son of heaven to the common people, the drum is quite important, especially in the middle of the night, people hear the sound of bells and drums, and they will always have a thousand thoughts. When King Xuan of Zhou was forty-three years old, at the time of the great sacrifice, "the night leaked two drums, and the voice was silent." Suddenly I saw a beautiful woman, rising from the West... Tie the Seven Temples God Lord, make a bundle, and look east. "The nightmare of the Son of Heaven also arises from the sound of drums." Summoning the gong to beat the drum, the bamboo bullet silk, the palace people sing and dance into the near, the concubines are all no joy", The King of Zhou You even used the silk bamboo drum music, which is to make the concubine happy. As a result, this person is not a music lover, and he is indifferent to the drum music.
Where there is the Son of Heaven, there is drum music. When Zhou Tianzi ascended the throne or was a courtier, he would beat the drum and sound the sign. There is the so-called "drumming to gather a group of courtiers, and one or two of the generals who are chaotic sit on the crime to cover the eyes of the people" "Wei Hou Shuo sounded the bell and beat the drum and re-ascended the throne" "Hearing the sound of the bell and drum, people reported that the old king had entered the city and sat in the court." When the Qi Huan Guild allies with the princes, it is also "building an altar on three floors, raising three feet high, hanging the bell on the left, and setting a drum on the right", that is, the Tianzi is not present, and it is also necessary to set up a "Tianzi virtual position on the top" on the field. When the alliance is officially met, it is even more necessary to hit the three-way drum before the jade bowl is full of blood and kneels to ask for help.
As for the battlefield, both sides will also play drums at the same time. When Song Xianggong fought against the Chu state, there were "drums in the Army of the Xiang Gong envoys, and drums in the Chu army", which was the launch of a bloody battle. The princes and generals all thought of "one drum to make a gas" and "one drum to win", and the drum beaters in the army were at least the strongest. When King Wen of Chu attacked the Yellow Kingdom, there was also the matter of "the prince drumming, the soldier died in battle, and the Defeat of the Yellow Division at the Foot Ling", which shows that the drumming is good and is also crucial to the victory or defeat of the battlefield. There are sayings such as "the drum sounds like thunder", "the golden drum is loud", and "the golden drum is noisy", that is, when there are often large armies going out or attacking. And "the flags in the city have stopped and there is no movement at all", it may be a defeat in the battle, and it is necessary to lose the armor and withdraw completely.
In the battlefield defense system, the war drum is also valued. King Yu shi of Zhou You's father once said, "Under the Li Mountain, there were more than twenty smoke piers and dozens of large drums, but there were thieves, who put up wolf smoke, and rushed straight to XiaoHan, and the nearby princes sent troops to rescue each other, and they also raised big drums and urged them to come." It can be seen that the war drums are very similar to today's telegraphs, that is, when the country is invaded, the war drums are used to summon the princes to the rescue.
In this era, the time of the briefing, after an hour, it seems that a drum will be beaten. The so-called "five drums in the morning, above and below the altar, all set up a court to burn, shining like a day" "The lord left the palace a few days ago, in the five drums micro-service" "to the five drums, excuse the feeling of cold and sick", it seems to say that in the early morning or early morning, it can also be seen that even the princes and courtiers in that era could not sleep peacefully, and it was also a day and night hardship.
When the children of the nobility or the common people sing songs, they will not be less than the music of drums. There is the so-called "Du's piano and drums, its sound is miserable, the music workers are listening quietly, and they claim to be inferior", which shows that the folk drummers are inferior to the musicians of the court. Drum music sometimes becomes the standard for festive events, such as when Jin Wengong married the daughter of Qin Mugong, it was a marriage ceremony by the river, which was "a hundred officials obeying, the flag covering the sun, the drum music is noisy, and it is not hot."