WUHAN, April 25 (Xinhua) -- As a 2,400-year-old set of bronze chime bells in central China was recently been inscribed in UNESCO's Memory of the World Register, scholars and cultural custodians, especially those who witnessed the excavation nearly half a century ago, have been celebrating this momentous achievement in music history.
Dubbed the world's first "sound-producing music textbook," the Bianzhong of Marquis Yi of Zeng is currently on display at Hubei Provincial Museum in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province.
In 2024, the museum reported more than 5 million visits. During peak periods, daily visits to the exhibition of the bianzhong, or chime bells, exceeded 30,000 people, said Zhang Xiaoyun, curator of the museum.
"The chime bells are not just a national treasure -- they are a brilliant symbol of human ingenuity and cultural continuity that transcends borders," said Feng Guangsheng, one of the original excavators of the bells and former deputy curator of the Hubei Provincial Museum. "These bells, dating back to the 5th century B.C., are a living record of sound and civilization."
Discovered in 1978 in Suizhou, Hubei Province, the bronze percussion instrument weighs nearly 5 tonnes, and comprises 65 chime bells. The bells featured 3,755 inscribed Chinese characters -- the only known systematic musical treatise from the 5th century B.C.
They were part of a lavish musical trove buried alongside Marquis Yi, a local ruler of the Zeng state in the Zhou Dynasty (1046-256 B.C.).
Excavations also unearthed 125 additional instruments, including stone chimes, zithers, panpipes and bamboo flutes, showcasing a fully realized court music tradition. The spatial arrangement of the instruments and their placement within the tomb offered scholars a rare view into Zhou Dynasty ritual music practices.
According to Feng, the bells astonished archaeologists and musicologists with their dual-tone capability, with each bell producing two distinct tones depending on where it is struck.
Since that landmark discovery, nearly 1,000 Zeng state tombs have been found in Suizhou and neighboring areas. Across these sites, 269 chime bells have been recovered, making the region one of the richest archaeological repositories of ancient Chinese music.
To this day, the tomb of Marquis Yi rests undisturbed in a preserved section of a tomb complex. Visitors can peer into the 13-meter-deep burial chamber, where four interconnected rooms once cradled the now-famous chime ensemble.
Soon after their excavation, the chime bells were thrust into the public eye. On August 1, 1978, the bells gave their first modern performance -- an orchestral rendition -- in a local auditorium. For many, it was the first time an ancient voice had spoken so clearly across the centuries.
In the underground concert hall of the Hubei Provincial Museum, an exact replica of the bells is used in daily performances, where audiences are treated to Chinese and Western classics alike, from The Butterfly Lovers to Ode to Joy. Each show sells out quickly.
"This recognition (Memory of the World Register) is a consensus from the international community," said Zeng Pan, director of the museum's exhibition department. "And perhaps, the chime bells still have more stories to tell." ■