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CHINESE MUSIC. 51 In this pien-ch'ing piece the Chinese note {tf ~ (pei-i) cannot be properly rendered in foreign notation, because it is in reality higher than Ab and lo,,·er than A~ ; the same occurs with the note~ (i), which is lower than G# and higher than G~. It has been already said that in the transpositions of th e tones to form the different scales the intervals do_not remain the same ; this is due to the Chinese scales being formed of perfect fifths brought into the compass of an octave. 1 But the reader may ask, why do the Chinese ~ot use the note f(f m (pei-nan) (A) instead of {{f ~ (pei-i) (Ab), and the note ~ {lin) (G) instead of ~ (i) (G#) ? Because the two notes proposed correspond to the yin lu series, and when the key-note of a scale is a yamg lu, all the notes composing that scale must absolutely be Yci 1 ig lus; and when the key-note is a yin lii,, all the no tes have to correspond to the yin lus. There is no other explanation, and the Chinese aim is attained, viz., to prove the irrefutable connexion of their music w1th astronomy and Nature. _ The pien-ch'ing is exclusively used in court and religious ceremonies; it would be con- s1dered a profanation to use it elsewhere. There is one of these instruments in each Confucian te11:1ple and imperial place of worship in the •Empire, and no doubt the imperial palaces and residences contain many of the best kind ; but it is impossible to find a complete pien-ch'ing for sale, although separate stones may be found. . At the Confucian temple this instrument is placed on the west side of the temple, on a line with the t'e-ch'ing. Its special part is to give one sound at the end of each word, in order to " teceive the sotmcl" and transmit it to the next word. It is not known to whom and to what dynasty the invention of the pien-ch'ing may be attributed, but there is no doubt that it is one of the most ancient instruments. o. 3.-The' K o-ch'ing (~ ~), or "singers' stone-chime," which has now totally dis– ~ppeared, was an instrument the same in principle as the pien-ch'ing, with these exceptions : i t Was composed of either 12 or 24 stones, which were cut in fantastical forms; the pitch was key. C 1 The Chinese recogn/e the neces ity of flattening or shnrpening certain notes to adnpt them to a change of 0 tupru.·e tl " E 1 · ' ' 1e c ys1 " and "Ecbole " of the Greeks. 7
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