|
Wuhan, Hubei Province Scenes 7. Bronze Bells of Marquis Yi
In 1984 we were the guests of the director of the Wuhan Hospital who had been
our student in Chengdu where we were teaching. He prepared a room for us at the
hospital for our hotel room. Each day he would send us exploring the city in
one of the hospital's ambulances. One day we went to the unearthed Bells of the
Marquis Yi. It was an exiting to see these bells from some 2,417 years ago.
This was how the Chinese could tell how much the middle C had changed over this
period.
"These bronze chimes in Wuhan were ancient musical
instrument and can be traced back to early Warring Period (about
433 BC). These large bronze bells are 64 in number. The largest
bell weigh 448 pounds. Unearthed at Suixian in Hubei in 1978. The
chimes were graded to sound a musical scale which is in C major
of seven tine scale. They give closely the notes ranging from the
five octaves with a huge and sonorous sound. Embracing the 12
chromatic scales, they produce with modulation melodious sound
when ancient or modern complex music is played on them. Grand in
scale and elaborate in casting technique, it was a miracle in the
world histories of music and smelting."
|