1 p.m. Guided Tour Meet in the lobby of the Law Building to tour the Ting Tsung and Wei Fong Chao Arts of China Gallery

2 p.m. Lecture Presented by Haicheng Wang, assistant professor, University of Washington

The amazing discovery of ancient bells that can still be played highlights the technical brilliance of China’s Bronze Age. The Chinese made the world’s first bronze chime-bells, which were used to perform ritual music, particularly during the Shang and Zhou Dynasties (c. 1700–221 BCE).

Chinese classics from the Zhou period indicate that Chinese civilization was the exclusive possession of the Zhou Empire in northern China, and that southern China was inhabited by barbarians playing strange music. But the bronze-bell sets unearthed in recent years from areas controlled by the Zhou have revealed a different story. Stylistic analysis suggests that the Zhou obtained their first bells from musically and technologically more sophisticated centers in the south, where a civilization unknown to recorded history is now coming to light through its cultural remains.

Haicheng Wang shows how the sounds from the past are providing a unique window into ancient Chinese culture and into the ritual and political uses of music in Zhou Dynasty China. A reception follows the lecture.

This event is open to the public and free with general museum admission. 
MFAH Members always receive free general admission.

Generously cosponsored by the Archaeological Institute of America/Houston Society.