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Bianzhong

Bianzhong
Bianzhong.jpg
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese
Simplified Chinese
Korean name
Hangul 편종
Hanja

Bianzhong (pronounced [pi̯ɛ́n t͡ʂʊ́ŋ]) is an ancient Chinese musical instrument consisting of a set of bronze bells, played melodically. These sets of chime bells were used as polyphonic musical instruments and some of these bells have been dated at between 2,000 to 3,600 years old. They were hung in a wooden frame and struck with a mallet. Along with the stone chimes called bianqing, they were an important instrument in China's ritual and court music going back to ancient times.

Several sets of bianzhong were imported to the Korean court during the Song Dynasty. Pronounced in Korean as pyeonjong, the instrument became an important part in Korea's ritual and court music and is still in use. The instrument's name is pronounced henshō in Japanese.

Among the most important sets of bianzhong discovered are a complete ceremonial set of 65 zhong bells, found in a near-perfect state of preservation during the excavation of the tomb of Marquis Yi, who died ca. 430 BCE. Yi was the ruler of Zeng, one of the minor states under control of the major State of Chu. This region is now part of the present-day Hubei province.

Although tuned bells have been created and used for musical performance in many cultures, zhong are unique among all other types of cast bells in several respects. They have a lens-shaped (rather than circular) section, the bell mouth has a distinctive "cutaway" profile, and the outer surfaces of the large bells feature 36 studs or bosses, symmetrically placed around the body in four groups of nine. This special shape gives zhong bells the remarkable ability to produce two different musical tones, depending on where they are struck. The interval between these notes on each bell is either a major or minor third, equivalent to a distance of four or five notes on a piano.


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Wikipedia

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