Abstract
Thirty-four bronze zhong 鐘 chime-bells were buried in the tomb of Lord Qiu of Zeng 曾公求 (?–?). Based on differences in their inscriptions, the bells can be divided into two groups: so-called “harmonious bells” 龢鐘 and “marching bells” 行鐘. The former group includes four fringed bo 鎛 bells and seventeen yong 甬 bells. Sets of four bo-bells were common in the Eastern Zhou, but the acoustics of these artifacts have not been measured due to conservation considerations. The seventeen yong-bells can be further separated into sets of eight and nine pieces based on their respective tones and inscriptions. The eight-piece set adopts a tone row of yu-gong-jue-yu-jue-yu-jue-yu 羽-宮-角-羽-角-羽-角-羽 with the gong position at D#, which was the most common tone row during the late Western Zhou; moreover, the inscriptions on the bells are orderly, without any repetition. The nine-piece yong-bell set has a tone row based on its eight-piece counterpart, with the shang 商 and zhi 徵 tones in the zhenggu yin 正鼓音 (front drum tone) position, giving a progression of zhi-gong-shang-yu-jue-yu 徵-宮-商-羽-角-羽 with a D# gong. However, the inscriptions on two bells in this set, namely the jue-tone bell (#236) and the qingyu 清羽 bell (#233), are not consistent with those seen on any of the other bells, indicating that they were included in the harmonious bell group only for the burial, with the arrangement of four bo, eight yong, and nine yong bells being undoubtedly linked to the ritual logic of the burial system itself.
The group of marching bells consists of a set of four bo-bells with simple animal-motif handles and a set of nine niu 鈕 bells. The tone row of the former is yu-gong-jue-zhi 羽-宮-角-徵 with a D# gong, the most common progression during the Eastern Zhou. The niu-bells, in contrast, adopt the tone row of zhi-yu-gong-shang-jue-yu-shang-jue-yu 徵-羽-宮-商-角-羽-商-角-羽, again with a D# gong, which was the most popular tone row in the Spring and Autumn period. Overall, both the harmonious bell and marching bell groups adopt D# for gong, with the tone row regularized, indicating consistency in design. According to the inscriptions, the harmonious bells were used at the ancestral temple and to reflect the status of the tomb occupant; therefore, a three-tiered system of chime-bell sets was employed in the burial. Following a local Hanhuai area trend that emphasized “marching,” or traveling, objects, instead of only using harmonious bells from the ancestral temple, Lord Qiu of Zeng began to cast bronze musical instruments specifically for burial rites, signifying how the funeral was a “grand march” to a distant land without return. But because the marching bells derived their meaning from martial expeditions, their ritual importance naturally paled in comparison to the bells from the ancestral temple and thus ranked slightly below that of the harmonious bells.
To date, Lord Qiu of Zeng’s tomb is the earliest known burial to include a marching bell group. It reflects a preliminary stage in the reform of burial rites involving musical instruments, which is the reason why two different groups of bells—harmonious and marching—were found in the same tomb with the latter serving a more practical function. In the later tombs of Marquis Bao of Zeng 曾侯寶 (?–?) and Marquis De of Zeng 曾侯得 (?–?), only marching bell groups were interred and placed in similar arrangements as that of a harmonious bell group to likewise reflect the status of the tomb occupant. But of course, ritual systems are complex, and contradictory phenomena are occasionally witnessed in tombs dating to subsequent periods, such as those of Marquis Yu of Zeng 曾侯與 (?–?) or Marquis Cai 蔡侯 (?–491 BC) in Shou county.
Keywords
Lord Qiu of Zeng; harmonious bells; marching bells; tone row; arrangement of chime-bells
Cite
Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.
