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Lot Essay
The form of this bell, characterized by its long cylindrical handle, is known in Chinese as yongzhong. The musical notes of the bell were examined by Mr. Shi Yin at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. His analysis concluded that the tone at the central point of the lip is a₁, while the tone at the corner registers as c₂. Based on its size and tonal range, this bell would have been the third in a graduated set of bells.
What makes this bell particularly rare is the continuous, lengthy inscription cast across the central register and extending to the left corner of one side. The inscription reads: 史柞作朕皇考龢鐘用X口朕皇考用口口無疆康純魯永命用祈多福柞其眉壽萬年子子孫孫永寶享, which may be translated as: '[This] harmoniously toned bell was cast for the Shi official, Zuo, in honor of his deceased father, to be used for ritual. [May] father, through it, grant boundless health and steadfast virtue, with pure emoluments and long life, [and may] this serve to pray for many blessings. [May] Zuo be blessed with long years, [may] his descendants cherish and use it for generations of ten-thousand years.'
The character shi refers to an official title, likely responsible for duties such as investiture, bestowal of gifts, ceremonial escort, and divination. The name Zuo identifies the patron who commissioned the bell. Of particular interest is the character he, which according to Eastern Han dictionary Shuowen jiezi, originally denoted a bamboo flute with three perforations producing harmonious sound. Over time, it evolved into an adjective describing musical instruments capable of producing harmonious tones, and later acquired a broader philosophical meaning, signifying political harmony in bronze inscriptions. It is noteworthy that Western Zhou bronze bell inscriptions rarely employ the phrase (he zhong); more commonly, they use (dalin zhong), as seen in examples from Qijiacun, Fufeng County, Shaanxi Province.
The name Zuo also appears on a set of eight bronze bells of similar shape and decoration, varying in size and pitch, unearthed in Qijiacun, in 1960, now in the collection of Shaanxi History Museum. These bells, ranging in height from 21 to 52 cm., represent the largest surviving Western Zhou bell ensemble. Their inscriptions record the historical event of Zuo receiving royal gifts from the Zhou king. The inscriptions on the present bell and the Qijiacun bells exhibit similar compositional structures, though whether they are directly related remains an open question for scholarly investigation.
What makes this bell particularly rare is the continuous, lengthy inscription cast across the central register and extending to the left corner of one side. The inscription reads: 史柞作朕皇考龢鐘用X口朕皇考用口口無疆康純魯永命用祈多福柞其眉壽萬年子子孫孫永寶享, which may be translated as: '[This] harmoniously toned bell was cast for the Shi official, Zuo, in honor of his deceased father, to be used for ritual. [May] father, through it, grant boundless health and steadfast virtue, with pure emoluments and long life, [and may] this serve to pray for many blessings. [May] Zuo be blessed with long years, [may] his descendants cherish and use it for generations of ten-thousand years.'
The character shi refers to an official title, likely responsible for duties such as investiture, bestowal of gifts, ceremonial escort, and divination. The name Zuo identifies the patron who commissioned the bell. Of particular interest is the character he, which according to Eastern Han dictionary Shuowen jiezi, originally denoted a bamboo flute with three perforations producing harmonious sound. Over time, it evolved into an adjective describing musical instruments capable of producing harmonious tones, and later acquired a broader philosophical meaning, signifying political harmony in bronze inscriptions. It is noteworthy that Western Zhou bronze bell inscriptions rarely employ the phrase (he zhong); more commonly, they use (dalin zhong), as seen in examples from Qijiacun, Fufeng County, Shaanxi Province.
The name Zuo also appears on a set of eight bronze bells of similar shape and decoration, varying in size and pitch, unearthed in Qijiacun, in 1960, now in the collection of Shaanxi History Museum. These bells, ranging in height from 21 to 52 cm., represent the largest surviving Western Zhou bell ensemble. Their inscriptions record the historical event of Zuo receiving royal gifts from the Zhou king. The inscriptions on the present bell and the Qijiacun bells exhibit similar compositional structures, though whether they are directly related remains an open question for scholarly investigation.