The Culture of Music Among the Eastern Zhou Elite

ASIAN ART HISTORY: THE CULTURE OF MUSIC AMONG THE EASTERN ZHOU ELITE: THE MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS RECOVERED FROM THE TOMB OF THE MARQUIS YI
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This context refers to music in Confucius' time in ancient China. It involves Robert Bagley and Lothar Von Falkenhausen's archaeological and art historical investigation of Strings, Winds, and Drums in the Eastern Zhou and Han Periods. The confident, inspirational music that was highly regarded in ancient China has long been a source of inspiration for musicians throughout Chinese history. The unique Chinese music composers paid close attention to the previous Chinese way of life, and their work provided accurate information about nature and character as well as a pleasing sound. However, because there was no system of written notation, no one knew how to perform the ancient music, and the instruments either went out of use or took on new forms with unclear meanings. Consequently, old Chinese music gradually vanished (Rowell, 2002). Texts that may have been used to preserve the key components of ancient musical theory and practice were lost. This loss of knowledge has, to some extent, been steadily reversed in recent decades. It is now feasible to confidently characterize Chinese music due to the archaeological work that has unearthed actual musical instruments in several tombs.
There had been a discovery of musical instruments or their visual representations in the form of wood, tomb tiles, stones, and engravings in numerous graves from the Eastern Zhou dynasties. This implies that people thought music was a significant aspect of the afterlife. One of the largest undisturbed archeological discoveries in modern Chinese history is the tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng (Zeng Hou Yi), found in 1977. Unusual materials were discovered inside the tomb in a few places. The grave contained the remains of a nobleman, arranged in an ornately decorated coffin, as well as twenty-one strangled ladies, a dog, and other bodies. Nearly ten and a half tons of bronze ritual vessels and other manufactured musical artifacts, including armor, drums, chariot fittings, and swords, were also interred with the body. Musical instruments were placed uniquely inside two of the four burial chambers. The east room, where Marquis was discovered, contained an eight-instrument chamber group meant for private entertainment, while the center room was filled with instruments for the ceremonial ensemble. The oldest musical ensembles, still in existence today, were composed of newly found older instruments. The exceptional musical instrument trove that the ancient Chinese had made the Zeng burials stand out. The uncovered instruments comprised the largest collection of musical instruments that were well-liked throughout the ancient globe, not just in China.
The discovery of the Marquis YI of Zeng tomb instruments reconnected musicians with Chinese traditional music and served as additional motivation to advance music. People in the village who enjoyed the music began playing folk tunes and forming bands using cooking pots and farm implements as instruments. These instruments and those found at the tomb unveiled the musical roots of a unique Chinese style. The tomb of Marquis Yi proved that younger musicians must ...