The ''bianqing'' ( Chinese: 编磬) is a traditional Chinese

percussion instrument A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Excl ...

consisting of a set of L-shaped flat stone chimes known as ''

qing The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

'', played melodically. The chimes were hung in a wooden frame and struck with a mallet. Along with the bronze bells called '' bianzhong'', they were an important instrument in China's ritual and court music going back to ancient times. The instrument was imported to

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making it ...

(where it is called ''biên khánh''), and

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republi ...

(where it is called ''pyeongyeong''). In the 11th year of King

Yejong of Goryeo Yejong of Goryeo (11 February 1079 – 15 May 1122) (r. 1105–1122) was the 16th monarch of the Korean Goryeo dynasty. He was the eldest son of King Sukjong and Queen Myeongui, and succeeded to the throne upon his father's death. His reign is u ...

(1116), it was imported from the

Song Dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the res ...

. It is still used in Korean court and ritual music.

History

The bianqing existed before

Shang Dynasty The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Dynasties in Chinese history, Chinese royal dynasty founded by Tang of Shang (Cheng Tang) that ruled in the Yellow River valley in the second millennium BC, traditionally suc ...

. The bianqing in the Shang Dynasty are made of stone, jade and bronze. The tiger shaped stone bianqing unearthed from the Yin tomb in the village of Wu Guan in Anyang,

Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...

Province, is made of marble and has a history of more than 3000 years. Its timbre is as clear as that of bronze musical instruments. During the

spring and Autumn period The Spring and Autumn period was a period in Chinese history from approximately 770 to 476 BC (or according to some authorities until 403 BC) which corresponds roughly to the first half of the Eastern Zhou period. The period's name derives fr ...

Confucius Confucius ( ; zh, s=, p=Kǒng Fūzǐ, "Master Kǒng"; or commonly zh, s=, p=Kǒngzǐ, labels=no; – ) was a Chinese philosopher and politician of the Spring and Autumn period who is traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. C ...

was an expert in making bianqing. During the reign of

Emperor Qianlong The Qianlong Emperor (25 September 17117 February 1799), also known by his temple name Emperor Gaozong of Qing, born Hongli, was the fifth Emperor of the Qing dynasty and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1735 t ...

of the

Qing Dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

(1736-1795), the special bianqing (now collected in the temple of heaven in Beijing) were made of

Xinjiang Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...

Hetian Hotan (also known as Gosthana, Gaustana, Godana, Godaniya, Khotan, Hetian, Hotien) is a major oasis town in southwestern Xinjiang, an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region in Western China. The city proper of Hotan broke off from the l ...

Jasper, with a zigzag shape. In 1790, Emperor Qianlong also made a set of bianqing with gold, and a set of bianzhong was used with it. Since the 1970s, China has successively unearthed large bianqing in Jiangling and suixian counties of

Hubei Province 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 ...

. Jiangnan ancient city of Jiangling, Hubei Province, is the capital of Chu state during the spring and Autumn period and

Warring States The Warring States period () was an era in ancient Chinese history characterized by warfare, as well as bureaucratic and military reforms and consolidation. It followed the Spring and Autumn period and concluded with the Qin wars of conquest ...

period. A set of 25 chimes were unearthed here in 1970. A total of 41 chimes were unearthed from 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 ...

in suixian County, Hubei Province. In the second half of 1980,

Hubei Provincial Museum The Hubei Provincial Museum ( Chinese: 湖北省博物馆) is one of the best known museums in China, with a large amount of state-level historic and cultural relics. Established in 1953, the museum moved to its present location in 1960 and gaine ...

cooperated with Wuhan Institute of physics to copy this set of bianqing from the early Warring States period more than 2400 years ago. Its pronunciation is consistent with the phonetic inscriptions of the original bianqing．The bass is thick and high, the treble is clear, the timbre is beautiful and beautiful, and the range is up to three octaves. It can rotate the palace and play a variety of music. The bianqing has always played an important role in traditional Chinese music. In ancient times, it was used for large ceremonies and sacrifices. In modern times, it appears more and more in the performance in people's vision.

References

Chinese musical instruments Lithophones Korean musical instruments Vietnamese musical instruments {{Mallet-stub

History

See also

References