The sounding principle of chime bells is generally that if the chime bell body is small, the pitch will be high and the volume will be small. The larger the bell body, the lower the pitch and the louder the volume. Therefore, the size and shape of the bell during casting have an important impact on the chime. Chime bells are composed of several bells of different sizes hung in order on a wooden frame to form one or several groups. Each bell strikes a different pitch. Due to different ages, the shapes of the chimes are also different, but the bell bodies are all painted with exquisite patterns.
Generally speaking, the later chime bells are far superior to those of the Shang and Zhou dynasties in terms of shape and exquisiteness.
The first chime bell unearthed by archaeologists in this large tomb was not large in size, about forty centimeters high, with a round and flat shape, many raised buttons, and a through hole at the top for hanging a rope. .
The surface of the chime bell is cast with gold and silver animal patterns, which seems to have some characteristics of ethnic minorities. It may be related to the geographical location where Zhao State came from, and it was slightly influenced by the culture of ethnic minorities.
"Professor Li, Professor Zhu, there are also inscriptions on this chime. There are more than ten of them, but the fonts of these inscriptions seem a bit strange."
A staff member said in confusion.
Li Mo looked at it and smiled and said: "The writing system during the Warring States Period can be divided into two major systems, the 'Six Kingdoms' writing' and the 'Qin's writing'. The Six Kingdoms writing refers to the six kingdoms of Han, Zhao, Wei, Qi, Chu and Yan , there are also some writings from small countries such as Zhongshan, Yue and Teng. Compared with bronze inscriptions, the most obvious feature is the random simplification of strokes and extremely chaotic physical structure. Qin's writing is close to the orthodox Western Zhou and Spring and Autumn bronze inscriptions. It was more rigorous and unified, and was later called "Zhenwen" or "Dazhuan".
Due to the different ways of writing in different countries and regions, it caused great confusion in the form of the Warring States period, and the same character was written in very different ways. "
Zhu Changping continued what Li Mo said: "The seal script is divided into big seal script and small seal script. Broadly speaking, the writing style before Qin Shihuang unified the six kingdoms was the big seal script. The common writing style after the unification of the six kingdoms was called Qin seal script, also known as Qin seal script. It’s the Xiaozhuan style later mentioned. This time period distinction is not too rigorous, so everyone can have a rough understanding.”
"Teacher, I'm not proficient enough in identifying the characters of the Six Kingdoms. What do you think the fourteen inscriptions on this mean?"
"Am I proficient in things that you are not proficient in?" Zhu Changping said with a smile, "I won't show my shame here. Just ask professionals to do professional things. For the study of characters, we should invite Zhao, an expert on ancient characters from Tsinghua University. Let the professor do the appraisal. Just make a call and Professor Zhao will probably drop everything he is doing and come over immediately."
"Professor Zhao has been studying the prehistoric writings of the Longshan Neolithic Cultural Site these years. I asked him to come over and help me see if there is anything wrong with it."
"Haha, I had tea with Professor Zhao last month, and he also mentioned that you have allocated too many research funds over the years, and he is a little embarrassed to hold them. If you call him now, he must be very happy, After all, he is the authority in the study of ancient characters."
Li Mo took out his mobile phone and dialed the number of Professor Zhao, an expert on ancient writing at Qing Dynasty. He was connected after seven or eight rings.
"Professor Li, it's rare to receive a call from you, hahaha. What big gains have you made in Jidi recently?"
"Professor Zhao, if I called you ten times a day, you would be bored with me already. Isn't this a problem? I can only turn to ancient writing experts like you."
"When was the princely tomb built?"
"Based on the preliminary judgment of some unearthed bronze inscriptions, it is most likely the tomb of Zhao Xianhou, who was posthumously posthumous by Zhao Liehou after the founding of Zhao State. The first chime has been discovered so far, and the inscriptions on it belong to the Six Kingdoms script, and There are still obvious differences between seal characters as defined by later generations. Regarding ancient characters, who can be more authoritative than you."
"Haha, just what you said, I'll pack my things and leave."
Professor Zhao was in a very good mood and readily agreed.
"Professor Zhao, give me an address and I will arrange a special car to pick you up."
"Okay, I'll send it to you later."
Li Mo hung up the phone, looked around the staff and said with a smile: "Professor Zhao, an expert on ancient writing, will arrive at the latest in the evening. Since the first chime bell has been born, the other chime bells should be nearby. Let's dig out more before Professor Zhao arrives. A few."
The chimes are all in sets, but the number varies. Next, more chimes were discovered under the soil. As the size of the chimes increased, the number of gold and silver inscriptions on them also increased.
Only then did excavations begin, and such amazing heavy bronze artifacts appeared. On the second day, Professor Zhao, an expert in ancient writing, joined in, and the inscriptions on the bells began to be translated simultaneously.
"Professor Li, Professor Zhu, this tomb does belong to Marquis Zhao Xian. The gold and silver inscriptions on these chimes record the life of Marquis Zhao Xian. Currently, four sets of chime bells have been unearthed, with nine in each group. I don't know what will happen next. How many groups were unearthed?”
While reading the translated inscription, Li Mo said: "A total of eight sets of Zeng Yihou chime bells were unearthed, totaling sixty-five chime bells. Looking at the current excavation trend, there should be some chime bells under the soil layer. If the number can exceed If Zeng Yihou chimes the bells, it can be regarded as creating a new archaeological record."
Zhu Changping brought several bottles of mineral water and gave each person one bottle.
"The tomb of Zhao Xianhou was divided into six major modules for excavation, and heavy artifacts were unearthed in the first area. I estimate that the number of bronze artifacts unearthed in this tomb will far exceed the tomb of the King of Zhongshan."
"In any case, the Zhongshan seal script unearthed from the royal tomb of Zhongshan really amazed the world. I have been learning Zhongshan seal calligraphy since I was a child."
Due to the large number of archaeological workers, seven sets of chimes, as well as some hooks and beams, were excavated at around three o'clock in the afternoon.
"Teacher, come here and take a look."
Li Mo found another bronze artifact, but it was not a common weapon or musical instrument, but a bronze foot.
Zhu Changping and several experts came to the side and took a closer look and said: "Hurry and dig out, there is a big discovery."
Several people started working together, and soon a bronze man about 1.5 meters tall appeared in front of everyone. From the bun on her head, to her face, to her clothes, everything shows that this is a female bronze figure.
She lay in the earth with her hands raised, each holding a bronze club that looked like a hammer.
"Is this a bronze musician playing music?"
Li Mo said in surprise that he could not remember whether there were burial objects of bronze figures in the previous archaeological studies in China. Even if there were people buried with them, they were still alive.
"The great discovery is really the latest great archaeological discovery. Come on, help this bronze man musician up."
The youngest person present was Li Mo, and the other experts were probably in their early sixties. He was naturally the one to do the hard work, but as soon as he got started, he felt something was wrong with the bronze man.
The Bronze Man is not an empty shell, there may be something inside. Thinking of this, Li Mo opened his eyes, and the bronze man in front of him suddenly glowed with colorful light.
His sight penetrated the bronze man and saw the inside. He was immediately surprised. There was a stone figure inside the bronze man. No wonder it was so heavy.
"It's not light weight."
Li Mo pushed the bronze man to stand up. If it weren't for his strength, he really wouldn't be able to do this job alone.
(End of chapter)
