Hubei Sheng Bowuguan (Hubei Provincial Museum)

Frommer's Review

"When the Master was in Qi he heard the Shao [ceremonial music] and for three months was oblivious to the taste of food. He marveled, 'I never expected music to do this to me'" (from The Analects, Confucius).

Since no musical notations survive from the time of Confucius (ca. 551-479 B.C.), there's no way of knowing what the music he refers to above sounded like, but thanks to the excavation in 1978 of the intact tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng (d. ca. 433 B.C.), visitors to this museum can see some of the actual instruments on which the music was played. In addition to an ensemble of ancient musical instruments, the tomb included coffins, gold and jade decorative items, weapons, and impressive bronze- and lacquerware from China's Warring States period (474-221 B.C.). The centerpiece of the exhibition is a huge set of 65 bronze chime bells, said to be the heaviest and possibly oldest extant musical instrument in the world. Inscriptions on the bells and hooks that hold them constitute the earliest known work on musicology. To give visitors an idea of how the bells were played and how their pentatonic scale sounded, musicians give an excellent 20-minute performance on classical instruments, which include replicas of the bronze bells. Two performances are scheduled at 11am and 4pm each day. Two new halls, completed in 2006, feature Bronze Age artifacts and additional items from the Warring States period.

Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.

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