There are many kinds of traditional Chinese musical instruments, including flute, zither, pipa, erhu, jinghu, guzheng, sanxin, guqin, liuqin, yueqin, sheng, cymbals, large drums, small hall drums, gongs and so on. What are the bronze age instruments?
Ancient musical instruments can be divided into two categories according to their use: sacrifices, banquets, ceremonies and military use. Ancient bronze instruments can be roughly divided into nine categories, including cymbals, plutonium, sentences (gōu), diào, duo, bells, bells and drums.
Bronze musical instruments are one of the important carriers of the ancient Chinese ritual music system, whether it is sacrifices, banquets, ceremonies, or in the army can be seen. They not only reflect the political system of the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, but also represent the glorious musical culture of the time.
cymbals
Pictured: Elephant copper
Hello friends, my name is náo. I was a percussion instrument, and in the Shang Dynasty I was used by people to command military formations in the military. In addition, people also use me during ritual feasts.
We are divided into two families: large cymbals and small cymbals, and I am a member of the large cymbal family. Hunan is the main discovery of large copper cymbals, and there are more than 40 pieces of copper cymbals that have been excavated, of which about 10 pieces weigh more than 100 kilograms, and it is very rare to have a huge volume like ours elsewhere.
Take a look at the "heavyweight player" we sent out today , the elephant-patterned copper cymbal. As the star cultural relics of this exhibition, it can be described as attracting much attention. This large bronze is the largest Shang Dynasty copper cymbal seen so far, weighing more than 220 kilograms. The body is in the shape of a tile, the long Yong ("Yong" is the "bell handle"), the Yong hollow and the abdominal cavity are connected, the Yong has a spin, and a pair of special tigers are carved on the spin, mysterious and cute!
bell
Pictured: "Kui" clock
Hello, I believe everyone is more familiar with me, my name is Zhong. Our Zhong family arose in the Western Zhou Dynasty and developed and grew during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. When people hit our bodies with thong-shaped wooden hammers and long sticks, we can make different musical sounds. Because each of our bells has a different pitch, we can play a beautiful song together according to the musical spectrum!
Like the famous Ding family, we are all symbols of the royal power of the ruling class, and the symbol of "bell ringing and eating". The "Kui" bell in the picture, excavated from a Western Zhou bronze cellar in Yangjia Village, Mei County, Shaanxi Province, has a memoir inscription of the maker "Kui", which mainly tells that the ancestors of "Kui" were blessed by the previous king and favored, and "Kui" was given the position of Yu (Wu) Lin by the Son of Heaven. In order to promote the virtues of the Son of Heaven and commemorate his father, Uncle Gong, this set of chimes was created to sacrifice ancestors in order to bless the long life and blessings, and the descendants and grandchildren yongbao used it.
hoe
Pictured: Four Tigers Copper Bo
I am an instrument active in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, my name is cadmium. Do you think I look a lot like Zhong? In fact, there are still some differences between us. The mouth of the Zhong family is a curved mouth, and the mouth of our family is a flat mouth, don't confuse us anymore!
Now let's take a look at the four tiger copper pendants of the Shang Dynasty, the theme of the body is decorated with animal face patterns, and the two sides of the body are decorated with two pairs of flat tigers, and the tigers are grinning with their tails, and they chase down in pairs, showing the majesty of the descending tiger. The four tigers have a phoenix in the middle of each side of the front and back of the copper, the bird has a high crown, a curly tail, and a few desires to volley, and the bird body and the tiger body are outlined with yin lines according to the different parts. The bird ornament and the tiger ornament form four symmetrical ribs. There is a clear casting mark from top to bottom on the left and right sides of the skeleton, and the button and the four tigers are cast on this casting mark.
錞于
Pictured: Tiger Button
You may be unfamiliar with me, but I am a musical instrument used in military service and sacrifice called chún yu. During the Spring and Autumn Period, I appeared in people's vision, and developed and grew in the Han Dynasty, and was mainly active in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. We usually have a small tiger on top of our heads, which is an important symbol of our family.
Now let's take a look at Tiger Button. There is more than one tiger on it, let's count it? This button is tiger-shaped, with a round head and a long tail. The plate is oval, the shoulders are folded, the upper part of the waist is decorated with tiger stripes on both sides, the fangs and claws, and the mouth roars, showing the image of the tiger to the fullest. The lower part is decorated with a deformed pattern for a week. This vessel is well-cast and has a unique pattern, which is a treasure in the instrument popular from the Spring and Autumn To the Han Dynasty, and the exquisite tiger button on the plate and the tiger stripe on the waist have important reference value for the study of the indigenous culture of the pre-Qin Hunan.
Brass drum
Pictured: Brass drum
My name is the Brass Drum, and it is a legendary relic of national history. I appeared around the 7th century BC and have been passed down to this day. Our family's influence is very extensive, and we can be seen on the southwestern border of the mainland and in Southeast Asia. In fact, we were originally developed from a kind of cooking utensils, the kettle, and later people turned us upside down, which was called a drum. Since then, we have become the command signal and political rule tool for the ancient ethnic minority nobles to engage in war, and we are still used by zhuang, Yao, Miao, Yi and other ethnic groups.
Visiting tips
Exhibition date: December 30, 2021 - May 18, 2022
Exhibition Address: Hunan Provincial Museum Special Exhibition Hall I
Full-price ticket: 50 yuan / person
Preferential ticket: 25 yuan / person (full-time undergraduate and below students, 60 years old - 65 years old, low-income households with valid documents to enjoy preferential prices)
Free tickets: Children under the age of 14, the elderly over 65 years old, the disabled, active military personnel, retired military cadres can visit for free with valid documents
How to buy tickets:
1. Pay attention to the WeChat public account of Hunan Provincial Museum, click "Visiting Service" to reserve tickets
2. Log in to the official website of Hunan Provincial Museum and click "Visit" to reserve tickets online
(If you have a history of living in another province within 14 days, please provide a negative nucleic acid test certificate within 48 hours.) ）
Opening Hours:
Every Tuesday to Sunday from 9:00 to 17:00 (last admission at 16:00)
Closed on Mondays and postponed on statutory holidays