Paper short abstract:

The paper discusses the development of Chinese bronze bells taking the discovery of the set of 65 bells unearthed in 1977 as a starting point, while comparing relevant music theory, aesthetics and practices from social / historical perspectives in selected periods.

Paper long abstract:

Chinese bronze bells, collectively known as bianzhong, had an important role to play in early history, owing to their leading role in ceremonial music, a genre endorsed by Confucius (5th century B.C), and a performing tradition built upon distinguishing instruments according to their materials. Since the excavation of the most elaborate set of sixty-five bells in Hubei Province in 1977, many scholars have compared the sound emitted with what has been recorded in history, with scientific proof that the bells were of musical pitches according to music theory that was akin to the generation of pitches based on successions of a rising perfect fifth and falling perfect fourth. The idea is that it is possible to generate eleven pitches from a fundamental pitch called Huangzhong (Yellow Emperor), making a total of twelve, the ultimate number coinciding with the number of months in a year, the number of hours in a day, or the number of animals in a twelve-year cycle. As Confucian doctrine had been adopted by most emperors throughout China's imperial periods, it is possible to make an archaeological, theoretical, moral and musical comparison of bells from different periods, highlighting the Song (960-1279 ), Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties. It will be proved that the construction of bells and composition of ceremonial music was closely related, and that the fundamental pitch Huangzhong occupies a central position throughout Chinese history, even though the music written can have a wide range of characters.