Jui-pin and I-tze Bells
Bronze
Northern Sung, datable ca. 1105
Heights: 28.2 and 27.4 cm (respectively), weights: 6495 and 5545 g (respectively)

    These bells, judging from their decoration, design and similarity to surviving Ta-ch'eng bells in Chinese and foreign collections, once belonged to the "Ta-ch'eng bell series" from the reign of Emperor Hui-tsung (r. 1101-1125) of the Northern Sung. Following a year of production under Hui-tsung combined with three years to compose the music, the "Ta-ch'eng music" was performed in a grand performance by the imperial orchestra in the Ch'ung-cheng Hall in 1105. Hui-tsung sought to compose Sung music based on the revival of that in the Spring and Autumn period (770-481 BC), creating an elegant court style in which "music nowadays is similar to that of old." In other words, Hui-tsung sought to revive the sounds of antiquity to reflect the revival of the classical ideals of the past.

    The two bells are based on the "Kung-ch'eng bell series" from the ancient state of Sung in the Spring and Autumn Period that was found in Tuan-chou and presented to the court. The ones reproduced in the Sung dynasty, however, have less sculptural relief and appear to be more decorative in terms of design. Moreover, the proportions differ from those of the ancients, revealing an aspect of revivalistic Sung musical instruments. The style and manner of the seal script inscription also follows the ancients, but reflects more of Sung familiarity with the "Shuo-wen" dictionary.

    Striking the mouth of the Jui-pin bell at any place produces a pitch equivalent to F-sharp, while that of the I-tse bell is G sharp. This differs from Spring and Autumn bells, which can produce two pitches. These two bells therefore are complementary in the set of bells. Scholarship has shown that the 12 pitches of the pure and classical "cheng" and "chung" sounds were created to accommodate the Ta-ch'eng bell series and then combined with the four "light" sounds of music of the time. The theory that the bell series had 12 bells suggests that court musicians of Hui-tsung's reign attempted to keys reproduced by the human voice. The court of Korea even sent an envoy to the Sung to learn this new music.

    The two inscribed characters of "Ta-ch'eng" on the Jui-pin bell are no longer present, while the two characters on the I-tze bell have been changed to "Ta-ho (Great Harmony)." The style differs from the curving clerical script of the original. The change might be related to events after the sacking of the Sung capital in 1126 by the Chin. In 1127, the Sung court instruments were transported north by Chin troops. In 1141, the first year of the Huang-t'ung era of the Chin emperor Hsi-tsung, court music was based on the Sung, but the "ch'eng" of "Ta-ch'eng" was a taboo character in the personal name of the emperor and thus proscribed. However, in 1174, the 14th year of the Ta-t'ing era of emperor Shih-tsung, the bureau of rites had the original name of the bell recarved as a sign that "harmony" had been achieved.