Professor Mick Hunter

Ancient Chinese Bell
Friday, September 14, 2018 - 12:00pm to 2:00pm

Harmonizing Heaven and Earth: Ancient Chinese Bells

Abstract:

No ancient civilization invested more in musical instruments than bronze-age China, whose bells were the acme of technological and artistic achievement. In this talk, Mick Hunter will discuss the ritual, political, and cosmological significance of bells in early China with a special focus onthe set of 64 inscribed bells discovered in the tomb of the Marquis Yi of Zeng (d. ca. 433 BCE). As the first of this year’s workshops on “Sensory Experiences in Ancient and Premodern Ritual,” it will also explore the role of pitch in the experience of early Chinese rituals. 

A light lunch will be served