On a recent trip to China I visited the Hubei Provincial Museum in the city of Wuhan.
Wuhan is located on the Yangtze River, about half way between where the river flows out of the Himalayan Mountains and where the river meets the East China Sea. Emperors of China have visited France and been influenced by the French culture. This ruler took on the title of Marquis.
One interesting find is the ancient bronze bells of 5000 years ago. The knowledge of casting bronze was well developed in China at this time. They also had developed a bell design that produced two notes from the same bell. When struck on the flat spot on the flatter face of the bell, it rings with one tone and when struck on the side 90 degrees around the side, a different note was produced.
The original wooden frame that held the large bells has rotted away long ago. The bells were held in the wooden frame and hit with hammers on the smaller bells, and long wooden poles on the larger bells.
If you compare the size of the people in the bottom left corner with the size of the bells,you will get a sense of the size of the bells.
Notice the bronze figures supporting the wooden frame.
Replica bells have been cast and are used in performances today to show and preserve the cultural heritage.
The amazing historical places and items in China are somewhat overwhelming. It is one of my favourite places to visit, but have not been to Wuhan. Thanks for a very interesting post.