曾侯乙編鐘The Chime Bells in the Tomb of the Marquis Yi

胡昊Hu Hao

褐土之謎The Mystery of the Brown Soil

隨州市位于湖北省中北部，省會武漢市西北方155公里處。1977年，隨州的一處空軍修理所準備在城關西北郊的一處丘陵地帶建造營房。9月正式動工時，修理所副所長王家貴發現推土機下的泥土有些異樣，中間的軟土好似人為回填過?，F場挖土方的施工人員挖到幾塊已腐朽成黑褐色的舊銅，隨后就拿到廢品回收站賣了。得知此事后，王家貴緊急召集大家，要求凡是挖到舊銅、鐵、瓷器等，都一定要交到部隊里。他強調：“這都是文物，任何人都不能拿走，拿走就是犯罪！”幾天后，在離這片褐土東南面不遠處，又相繼挖出了四件舊銅器。

Suizhou is located in the central-northern partof Hubei Province， 155 kilometers northwest of theprovincial capital， Wuhan. In 1977， an air force repairshop in Suizhou was preparing to build barracksin a hilly area in the northwest outskirts of the city.In September， when construction officially began，the deputy director of the repair shop， Wang Jiagui，noticed something unusual in the soil beneath thebulldozer. The soft soil in the middle seemed tohave been artificially filled in. It turned out that theconstruction workers on site had dug up severalpieces of old copper that decayed into a dark browncolor and sold them to a scrapyard. Upon learning ofthis， Wang Jiagui urgently convened a meeting anddemanded that anyone who dug up old copper， iron，porcelain， or anything similar must turn it in to themilitary. He emphasized， “These are all cultural relics，and no one can take them away. Hoarding them isa crime！” A few days later， not far southeast of thisbrown soil area， four more old bronze artifacts wereexcavated one after another.

王家貴愈發覺得事有蹊蹺，便先后兩次把情況匯報給隨縣文化館，但因現場勘查判定依據不足，兩次上報后都無處理結果，“褐土之謎”一直未能解開。

Wang Jiaguis suspicions grew， and he reportedthe situation to the Suixian County Cultural Centertwice. Unfortunately， due to a lack of substantialevidence at the excavation site， both reports yieldedno results， leaving the “mystery” of the brown soilunresolved.

曙光初現Hope Dawns

1978年春節過后，當推土機推去顏色交錯的紅砂巖和青灰土，施工人員發現了一塊長1.4米、寬1米的芝麻灰色花崗巖大石板，隨即在附近又發現了好幾塊同類型的石板——這下施工現場熱鬧起來，顯然這些石板是人為鋪設的。于是，王家貴三訪隨縣文化館，終于請來了“諸葛亮”——副館長王世振。王世振來到現場勘查后，分析認為，此處具備墓地條件：有墓坑，坑壁清晰，且有經過夯實的填土。但因墓坑太大又不規則，當時他也不敢妄下結論。隨后，他將情況上報上級文化部門。經省考古專家的勘測與發掘，褐土之謎終于解開，曾侯乙墓也終于被揭開神秘面紗，展現在世人面前！

Shortly after the end of the Chinese New Year celebrations in 1978， while bulldozers were clearing away amixture of red sandstone and grayish-blue soil， construction workers stumbled upon a massive slab of sesamegraygranite， measuring 1.4 meters in length and 1 meter in width. They soon discovered several more similarslabs nearby， all clearly indicating human craftsmanship. The construction site buzzed with excitement as itbecame evident that these slabs were intentionally placed. At this point， Wang Jiagui made the third visit tothe Suixian County Cultural Center， eventually persuading Deputy Director Wang Shizhen， the museumsmost learned scholar， to assess the situation. After Wang Shizhens thorough survey of the site， he surmisedthat it possessed the characteristics of a burial site. He noted the presence of tomb pits with distinct walls andcompacted earth within them. However， owing to the irregular and substantial size of the tomb pit， he refrainedfrom drawing premature conclusions. Subsequently， he reported the situation to higher cultural authorities，leading to an investigation and excavation carried out by provincial archaeological experts. Finally， the enigmaof the brown soil was unraveled， revealing the Tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng State to the world.

一鐘雙音The Chime Bell with Dual Sounds

兩個月后，墓坑里的積水幾近抽凈，曾侯乙編鐘露出水面，震驚考古界。整套編鐘由制式不同的鈕鐘、甬鐘和镈鐘組成，共65件。青銅鐘大小漸次，相編而成，分為三層八組，懸掛在呈曲尺形的彩繪銅、木結構的鐘架上；而支撐這座“龐然大物”的僅僅是六個青銅武士和八根小圓柱。這是中國現存規模最大、重量最重、音樂性能最好的一套編鐘，堪稱“編鐘之王”。

Two months later， as the water in the tomb pitgradually receded， the chime bells made a stunningappearance， sending shockwaves through the worldof archaeology. This extraordinary set of bellscomprises 65 pieces， including Niu bells， Yong bells，and Bo bells， each with a unique shape and size.These bronze bells， organized in descending order ofsize into three tiers and eight groups， are suspendedfrom a curved wooden frame adorned with paintedbronze decorations. Surprisingly， this monumental?ensemble is supported by merely six bronze warriorstatues and eight slender columns. It stands as thelargest， heaviest， and most sonorous set of chimebells in all of China， rightfully earning the title of the“King of Chime Bells.”

曾侯乙編鐘最為神奇的地方是其“一鐘雙音”：按照鐘體上的標音銘文所示，分別敲擊鐘的正鼓部和側鼓部，同一件鐘可以發出兩個不同的樂音，而且兩個樂音之間呈三度的和諧音程關系。比如，中層三組第五號鐘，其正鼓部標音為“羽”，側鼓部標音為“宮”，意思是分別敲擊，就可以發出la和do 的音。

What truly distinguishes these bells is theirunique dual sounds： based on inscriptions on thebells， ringing the front and the side of each bellproduces two distinct musical sounds with threedegrees interval between them. Take the fifth bell in?the middle tier for example： its front section bears theinscription 羽， while the side section is marked with宮， indicating that they give off the musical notes “la”and “do” respectively.

那么，這“一鐘雙音”的奧秘究竟是什么呢？《夢溪筆談》中有記載，先秦時期“ 古樂鐘皆扁，如合瓦”。所謂“合瓦”，是說鐘的形狀如兩片瓦合在一起。當敲打這種合瓦形鐘體時，鐘體兩側的棱部進入振動狀態會對鐘聲起到阻尼作用，也可以避免編鐘所發樂聲過長而相互干擾。敲擊同一編鐘的不同部位時，就出現了一鐘雙音現象。

What exactly produces the dual sounds of thesebells？ The Dream Pool Essays reveal that before thepre-Qin period， ancient musical bells were “shaped flatlike two fused tiles.” This term describes their shape astwo semicircular tiles joined together. Striking thesebells causes the edges on both sides to vibrate， whichdampens the sound and prevents interference betweendifferent tones when struck at various points. Thisunique structural feature is what enables the bells toproduce their distinctive dual sounds.

編鐘的音色也受其材質的影響。曾侯乙編鐘的青銅合金經檢測為錫青銅，并含少量的鉛。研究表明，不同金屬的配比會影響編鐘的音色。含錫量為13% ～ 16%，音色就會渾厚豐滿，而曾侯乙編鐘的含錫量是13%左右，使得音色恰到好處、悅耳動聽。此外，含鉛量過大，就會對音色產生不良影響。曾侯乙編鐘的含鉛量為1.2% ～ 3%，既保持了鐘聲的衰減速度以適應演奏的需要，又保持了音色的和諧。

Furthermore， the material of a chime bellsignificantly influences its tone. The alloy used inthese bells has been analyzed as tin bronze with aminor trace of lead. Research show that the ratio ofdifferent metals can affect the tone of chime bells.With a tin content ranging from 13% to 16%， thebells produce a rich and resonant tone， while atin content of approximately 13% results in a tonethat is perfectly balanced and pleasing to the ear.Additionally， an excess of lead content can negativelyimpact the tone quality. The lead content of the chimebells in the Tomb of Marquis Yi， which ranges from1.2% to 3%， not only maintains the desired decayrate of their sounds but also preserves the overallharmony of the tones.

要使一件鐘發出兩個不同的樂音，并且保持三度的音程關系，除了合瓦形的鐘體，還需要技術上的調音和調律。曾侯乙編鐘的鐘體內壁上有凸起的音塬（yuán）和凹陷的音隧，并且大多經過了研磨和刮削，這些便是當年工匠們留下的調音、調律的痕跡。一鐘雙音是中國樂器的偉大發明，它誕生于青銅和火焰之中，植根于文明，成熟于禮樂。這是古人幾千年來不斷探尋鐘鈴樂器發音規律、磨煉鑄鐘技術的結果。

Achieving two distinct musical notes from asingle bell while maintaining three degrees of intervalin between is not solely attributed to the bells fusedtile shape; it also necessitates meticulous technicaltuning and tempering. Inside the body of each bell，one can find raised sound platforms and recessedsound tunnels， many of which bear the marks ofgrinding and scraping. These are the telltale signs leftby skilled artisans during the tuning and temperingprocess. These dual-tone bells represent a magnificentinvention in Chinese musical instruments. It wasborn from the elements of bronze and fire， rooted inancient civilization， and refined through the mediumof ritual music. This remarkable innovation is theculmination of millennia of exploration into theprinciples of bell sound production and the masteryof bell-casting technology by Chinese ancestors.

千古絕響Echoes Through the Ages

曾侯乙編鐘自出土以來，僅公演三次。Since the discovery of these chime bells from theTomb of Marquis Yi， they have graced the public withtheir melodies on just three occasions.

出土后三個月，經復原組裝、保護處理后，曾侯乙編鐘以《東方紅》為開篇，第一次向世人發出它那雄渾的千古絕響。

Their grand debut took place a mere threemonths following their excavation and restoration，when they were used in the beginning section of thesong “The East is Red.”

中華人民共和國成立30周年之際，在北京舉辦的“湖北隨縣曾侯乙墓出土文物展覽”上，曾侯乙編鐘原件展出并現場演奏，這是它第一次且唯一一次離開湖北省博物館，也是它的第二次奏響。

To mark the 30th anniversary of the foundingof the Peoples Republic of China， an exhibitionwas held in Beijing to display the artifacts from theTomb of Marquis Yi. On this occasion， the bells wereshowcased and played live. This marked not onlytheir second appearance but also their sole departurefrom the Hubei Provincial Museum.

1997年香港回歸，在中英政府的香港交接儀式現場，來自世界各地的數千名嘉賓欣賞了由著名音樂家譚盾創作并指揮、用曾侯乙編鐘原件采音錄制的《交響曲1997 ：天 · 地 · 人》。曾侯乙編鐘第三次向世人展現了它的無窮魅力。

In 1997， during the historic handover ceremony of Hong Kong from Britain to China， thousands ofdistinguished guests from around the globe had the privilege of enjoying “Symphony 1997： Heaven， Earth，Mankind，” composed and conducted by the renowned musician Tan Dun. In this performance， the chime bellswere used for recording， revealing their allure to the world for the third time.

與現代鋼琴相比，整套曾侯乙編鐘的音域跨五個半八度，中心音域內12個半音齊備，可以用來演奏古今中外名曲。時至今日，湖北省博物館利用曾侯乙編鐘復制件，仍延續著那來自千年前的動聽音韻。

Compared to modern pianos， the chime bells in the Tomb of Marquis Yi make all the 12 semitones in fiveand a half octaves within the central range， allowing them to perform famous music from different times andplaces. Today， the Hubei Provincial Museum continues to reproduce these iconic bells， preserving and carryingforward the enchanting melodies of a bygone era.