Alteration In The Technology Of The Two-tone Chime Bells

The history of the technology behind the production of two-tone bells is one of the primary aspects under scrutiny when approaching the study of the musical nature of ancient chime bells. Such a technology had already reached a pinnacle during the Pre-Qin period. However, in recent years, archeological discoveries of chime bells in a Han dynasty burial site in Luozhuang (Shandong province), in the tomb of Nanyue King (Guanzhou) and in a Han dynasty tomb in Xuyu Dayunshan (Jiangsu province) have changed our understanding of the transmission of the technology used in the manufacturing of two-tone bells. These discoveries show that the transmission of this technological knowhow did not terminate with the Qin dynasty, but lasted as late as the early Western Han dynasty. It is these very archeological discoveries that allow for a continuity of research on the two-tone chime bell technology.This dissertation offers a systematic review of the two-tone chime bell technology used from the Zhou to the Han dynasties. It also provides an in depth inquiry into a selection of bells from the Zhou and Han dynasties through an analysis of important aspects like the form of decorations, the combination of the two tone intervals and the series of tone distributions. Similarities and differences of technology between the two periods are also investigated.