Abstract
The bronze bell in the Shang Dynasty had no name, which was why it has been called Rao (铙) by many scholars and Rong (庸) by others. From the viewpoint of the evolution of bronze bells, Rao was related more to Ling (铃) in the Xia Dynasty, and later Rao became Rong in the Shang Dynasty and finally Bianzhong (编钟) in the Western Zhou Dynasty. Thus seen, Rong was more akin to the nature of bronze bells. The concept system of Yuexuan (乐悬) consisted of three aspects: sunju (簨虡), sidu (肆堵) and gong-xuan-pante (宫-轩-判-特). The three groups of concepts were not only mutually inclusive but also revealed the evolution from the Xia to the Shang and to the Zhou Dynasty. When the bronze bell was a part of the musical instrument system dominated by Zhong and Qing (钟磬), it represented Yin (阴) in the Yin-Yang system. When it became dominant later, it possessed both qualities of Yin (阴) and Yang (阳).
First Page
164
Last Page
171
Recommended Citation
Zhang, Fa. 2017. "The Naming of Bronze Bells in the Shang dynasty;The Concept System of Yuexuan; Bronze Bells' Definition:Three Issues about the Bronze Bell." Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art 37, (3): pp.164-171. https://tsla.researchcommons.org/journal/vol37/iss3/16
