The Bianzhong of Marquis Yi of Zeng (), or Zenghouyi Bells, is the name given to an ancient musical instrument made of bells (called

bianzhong Bianzhong ( Chinese:编钟) is an ancient Chinese musical instrument consisting of a set of bronze bells, played melodically. China is the earliest country to manufacture and use musical chimes. They are also called Chime Bells. These sets of c ...

) unearthed in 1978 in the

Tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng The Tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng () is an archaeological site in Leigudun Community (), Nanjiao Subdistrict (), Zengdu District, Suizhou (during the Spring and Autumn period called Sui County), Hubei, China, dated sometime after 433 BC. The tomb co ...

in Leigudun Community (擂鼓墩社区), Nanjiao Subdistrict (南郊街道),

Zengdu District Zengdu () is a district of the city of Suizhou, Hubei province, People's Republic of China. Administrative divisions Four subdistricts: * Xicheng Subdistrict (), Dongcheng Subdistrict (), Nanjiao Subdistrict (), Beijiao Subdistrict () Five tow ...

Suizhou Suizhou (), formerly Sui County (), is a prefecture-level city in northern Hubei province, People's Republic of China, bordering Henan province to the north and east. Etymology The Sui in Suizhou is derived from the ancient 'Suishizu' () . Ad ...

(then 'Sui County'),

Hubei Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The p ...

Province,

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

. The bianzhong were made in 433 B.C. The bianzhong are hung on two sets of wooden racks. One rack is long and wide. The other rack is long and wide. The two racks are perpendicular to each other. The instrument contains a total of 64 bianzhong, which are hung at three levels and are divided into eight groups. There are 19 bells in three groups at the top level. 33 bells are in three groups in the middle level. There are 12 bells in two groups at the bottom level. The biggest bell is in height and weighs weight. The smallest bell is in height and weighs . Each bell can play two tones with three degrees' interval between them. The tonal range of Zenghouyi Bells is from C2 to D7. In the middle area of the tonal range, it can play all twelve half tones. The wooden hammers used to strike the bells were also unearthed from the Zeng-hou-yi Tomb. The original bells are on permanent display at the Hubei Provincial Museum in

Wuhan Wuhan (, ; ; ) is the capital of Hubei Province in the People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the ninth-most populous Chinese city a ...

. Copies have been made for other museums.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bianzhong Of Marquis Yi Of Zeng Zhou dynasty bronzeware Individual bells 1978 archaeological discoveries

See also

Further reading

References