Investigation On The Musical Archaeology Findings Of Hong Shan Grave (Yue Kingdom) In Wuxi

Hong Shan Grave of Yue kingdom is the largest and most important complex of aristocratic graves from the Yue kingdom ever found. Nearly 400 funerary'instruments' of the Warring States period were unearthed in these graves. They will play a significant role in the research on the development of musical instruments and musical history of the Yue kingdom. These replicas of instruments were made of ceramics. They were modeled on bronze instruments of the same kind, with similar size and morphological traits. The site revealed a great variety of ancient instruments, including bells like the Yong, Bo, the round bells typical of Yue type (yuexi yuan zhong) and the Goudiao, the Qing chimes, and percussion instruments like Chun Yu, the round-head Zheng and Fou, as well as drum pedestals. Yong, Bo and Qing are the main instruments in the Yue Xuan rank of court music from Central China, while the others can be found mostly in south China. Among them, Goudiao, the round bells of Yue type are most notable. The design patterns on the instruments are relatively unified, showing a distinctive Yue area style.This article analyzes the main characteristics and significance of each instrument in these graves, then summarizes some cultural information that can be drawn about the Yue kingdom. Firstly, these funerary instruments reflect some cultural aspects, like ceramic craft, the snake totem symbolism, etc. Secondly, they reveal much information about the musical culture of the Yue nation which was not clear before, like the morphology and orchestral arrangement of the Yue instruments. With regard to the issue of the different type of music used by different hierarchical ranks, the criteria of the Yue kingdom are unique with respect to evidence found in other places. The Yue kingdom showed hierarchical difference mostly through contrast of the instruments'material, the number of ensemble sections, the quantity of instruments made of porcelain and whether in the grave a special niche for the instruments was set up. This article also analyzes the reasons behind such differences. Lastly, by combining research on the instruments unearthed with related historical sources, this thesis also discusses kingdoms as Wu, Chu, Qi, etc., which had interacted with the Yue.