ESHS/HSS Annual Meeting

Bronze Bells and the Sounds of Order: Technological Innovation, Ritual Governance, and Acoustic Knowledge in Ancient China

• In Event: The Evolution of Science and Technology in China: Tradition and Modernity in a Global Perspective 1

English Abstract

This paper examines ancient Chinese bronze chime bells编钟 as a convergence of technology, ritual, and cosmology from the Shang to Han dynasties. Focusing on archaeological finds like the 5th-century BCE Zenghouyi set and texts such as the Zhouli and Kaogong Ji, it shows how bell casting embodied a sophisticated knowledge system integrating metallurgy, acoustics, and mathematics. A key innovation was the “dual-tone” technique—enabled by the distinctive he-va合瓦 shape—allowing one bell to produce two clear pitches, demonstrating empirical mastery of material vibration centuries before modern acoustics.
Beyond sound production, bianzhong functioned as instruments of political order. Their use followed strict “suspended music”乐悬 rules that linked bell arrangements to social hierarchy, making them audible symbols of cosmic and imperial harmony. The decline of this tradition after the Han, and later imperial attempts from Tang to Qing to reconstruct ancient tunings, reveal a persistent gap between classical ideals and lost technical knowledge.
The modern rediscovery of bianzhong since the 1970s has reshaped global perceptions of non-Western scientific traditions. This study argues that bronze bells exemplify a premodern knowledge culture where “science,” “ritual,” and “craft” were inseparable. By highlighting China’s acoustic and metallurgical achievements within their socio-political context, the paper will provide a sample to discussions on the diversity of scientific traditions, the materiality of sound, and the role of ritual objects in knowledge transmission.

Author

• Xiaowu Guan, Institute for the History of Natural Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences