Bell Set

Western Zhou dynasty
Shaanxi History Museum, Xi'an

This is a set (bianzhong) of eight suspended clapperless bells, usually called "chime bells" in English. Bells of this size were struck with mallets, larger ones being struck with wooden poles. The pitch of a bell is roughly determined by its size. Fine tuning is accomplished by trimming the bosses until the desired exact pitch and clarity of tone is achieved. Remarkably, a bell of this shape will produce each of two distinct tones, depending on whether it is struck on the front or on the side. The tones will be either a major third or a minor third apart, depending on the tuning of the bell.