What is the main material of the ancient Chinese musical instrument "chime"?

The main material is stone.

The chime is an ancient Chinese stone percussion instrument and ritual vessel. The left half of the character "磬" looks like a hanging stone, and the right half looks like a hand holding a mallet and striking it. The chime originated from some kind of flaky stone labor tool, its shape had many variations later on, and the texture also further had jade and copper chime from the primitive stone. The ancient Chinese stone percussion instrument is the "stone" sound of the "eight tones".

Expanded information:

Categorization of "chime":

"Chime":

"There are many types of chimes, including jade chimes, iron chimes, copper chimes, braided chimes, sheng chimes, ode chimes, song chimes, and special chimes. Each type of chime is made of one to sixteen pieces of stone or iron. It is due to the use of the difference in length and thickness of the stone or iron pieces that different sounds are made.

Ancient chimes are divided into: braided chimes, cloud chimes, and special chimes.

1, chime

Chime is a percussion instrument that can be played melodically, mostly used in the palace music or grand ceremonies. The chime is a group of several chimes, each chime emits a different tone, and can play a melody.

The chimes of the Qing Dynasty were mainly used in the "Danghaji Da Le" for the celebrations between the emperor and the princes and ministers, and "Zhonghe Qing Le" and "Danghaji Qing Le" for the large banquets in the palace.

Qing dynasty chime made during the Qianlong period, 16 for a set, the same size, thickness varies, the use of Xinjiang Hetian jasper, its shape and special chime consistent, just smaller, every time the performance of a full set of use, with the melody of the music played.

In the fifty-fifth year of the Qianlong Emperor in the Qing Dynasty (1790), the Qianlong Emperor also made a set of gold chimes in gold, and it was used together with a set of gold chimes.

Cloud chimes are commonly used in religious music, and are the magic instruments used in monasteries.

2, cloud chime

Cloud chime: also known as "lead chime". Percussion instrument. Shape and Yang bowl-shaped sitting chime. The shape is very small, chime body made of copper, shaped like a wine cup, chime mouth diameter of only 7 centimeters, placed on a long wooden handle at the top, the total length of about 35 centimeters. The wooden handle is decorated with stripes.

The cloud chime is used in monasteries and is also used in religious music. When playing, the left hand holds the lower end of the wooden handle. The right hand holds a thin copper stick and strikes it, pronouncing a clear and crisp sound, which is often used to strike the rhythm in Sanskrit music. The special chime is mostly used in court music or grand ceremonies.

3, special chime

Qing Dynasty, special chime and chime in the court music is widely used. The special chime was played by the emperor when he sacrificed to heaven and earth, his ancestors and Confucius.

There were 12 special chimes with different pitches, which were hung individually on wooden racks, and they were of different sizes, with the largest one being the "yellow bell" and the smallest one being the "should bell".

In the 12 months of the year, each month, each playing a tune of music, such as the first month with too much tu, ......, November with the yellow bells, December with the dalu, etc., when playing, just change the corresponding tune of the special chime, the ensemble, in the end of each phrase of the special chime, to strengthen the rhythm of the role of the chime.

The special chime (now in the collection of the Temple of Heaven in Beijing) made during the Qianlong period (1736-1795) in the Qing Dynasty is made of Xinjiang Hetian jasper and has a curved shape.

Reference:

Baidu Encyclopedia - Chime (Ancient Musical Instrument)