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Ancient instruments display long history of music
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TRADITIONALLY, ancient Chinese music used a pentatonic scale, of which the notes were called gong (宫), shang (商), jue
(角), zhi (征) and yu (羽). That conventional thought has been recorded in historical materials and proved by archaeological artifacts.
But a Chinese flute excavated in 1987 presented archaeologists and musicologists with something different: They found it was a diatonic instrument with seven holes. The flute dates back 8,000 years and was made of a crane’s shin bone. It has been dubbed “the origin of Chinese musical culture” since it was unearthed from Jiahu Relic Site of Henan Province.
In the past, it was believed that the diatonic scale, composed of seven distinct pitch classes, originated only in Western countries. However, this flute proves that 8,000 years ago ancient Chinese people had already mastered present-day basic musical theory.
Now this precious antique is on display in the Southern Song Dynasty Guan Kiln Museum, along with another 161 musical antiques discovered from Henan Province. These musical antiques, including 14 top-level national treasures, will be exhibited through April 16.
China had a flourishing musical culture from ancient times, especially in Henan Province where ancient civilizations thrived and the Xia (c. 21st century-16th century BC) and Shang (c. 16th century-11th century BC) dynasties established regimes there.
As one of the original places of Chinese culture, Henan Province features rich musical antiques dating from the Neolithic Age to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). The displayed exhibits, which come from Henan Province Museum, aim to showcase the province’s everlasting music culture and the wisdom of Chinese forefathers.
The exhibition has been set up in chronological order. Thus the first part shows items from primitive times, symbolized by the crane-bone flute. In Chinese mythology, the Getian tribe originated in today’s Ningling County of Henan Province and created the first Chinese music. Fu Xi, a king in Chinese legend and mythology and credited with creating humanity and the invention of hunting, fishing and cooking, fired the ancient egg-shaped instrument, xun (埙).
Other myths tell that Shen Nong (another king living in the same period with Fu Xi) carved a phoenix tree into a five-string zither, which was the origin of today’s plucked seven-string Chinese musical instrument guqin (古琴).
These centuries-old legends of the Getian tribe, Shen Nong and Fu Xi, indicate that Chinese people were entertained by music early in primitive times. Antique ceramic instruments unearthed from relics in Henan Province provided archaeologists with proof that these myths had a substantive base.
They include pristine instruments from Peiligang (8000-7000 BC), Yangshao (7000-5000 BC) and Longshan (4600-4000 BC) periods.
During these Neolithic times, Chinese forefathers turned animal shells and bones into simple instruments that could be tapped and knocked to give off sound. They also fired ceramic drums bound with animal hide.
The second part of the exhibition is bronze instruments that appeared in the Xia, Shang and Zhou (11th century-221 BC) dynasties, when it was stipulated that the use of musical instruments should vary according to different occasions and social status.
Bianzhong (编钟) consisting of a set of bronze bells dominated the royal music at the time. These sets of chime bells were used as polyphonic musical instruments and hung in a wooden frame and were struck with a mallet.
In addition to being an important instrument, bianzhong was a vital element in China's ritual through the dynasties. They are considered the origin and mainstream of traditional Chinese music, especially royal music. Bianzhong was unchallenged for status in ancient Chinese music.
Most bianzhong made in the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC) and Warring States Period (476-221 BC) were engraved with the pattern of panchi (蟠螭), a dragon without horns and with its mouth open.
In addition to bronze instruments, the exhibition also showcases bronze antiques related to music, like a musical stand in the shape of a mythical creature and bronze crafts carved with musical themes.
In the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220) and Southern and Northern Dynasties (AD 420-589), music began to be integrated with folk dance, acrobatics and magic. This came as a result of cultural exchanges within China by various minorities and by interactions with other countries.
Also exhibited are sets of terracotta figurines, which in most cases are composed of figures playing musical instruments, dancing and performing magic.
In the Tang (AD 618-907) and Sui (AD 581-618) dynasties, music featured large scale performances of songs and dance. Some Western music was starting to spread across China by this time, and Chinese music started to mix with Western instruments. This can be seen in the discovered terracotta figurines which were playing exotic instruments.
It wasn’t until the Song Dynasty (960-1279) that music began to populate among civilians. According to historic materials, the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty was dotted with entertainment sites where residents appreciated music performances.
Meanwhile, Chinese opera came into being during the Song and Yuan (1271-1368) dynasties, bringing a richer variety to music and dance.
Date: Through April 16, 8:30am-4:30pm
Address: 60 Nanfu Rd
Admission: Free
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