qing

qing, stone or jade chime used as a percussion instrument in ancient Chinese music. Sound was produced by hitting the qing with a mallet. The largest known qing—36 inches long × 24 inches wide × 1.5 inches high (91 cm long × 61 cm wide × 4 cm high)—was excavated in Lajia, Qinghai province, in 2000. It was in the shape of an ancient stone knife and pierced by small holes that would have enabled it to be hung from a frame. Many qing from the Shang dynasty in varied shapes and sizes also have been discovered. Exquisitely made with smooth, level surfaces, these stones contain engravings of inscriptions and animal figures. A set of three Shang dynasty qing forming a bianqing (“group of qing”) also have been excavated, and the inscriptions thereon have been deciphered as yongqi, yongyu, and yaoyu (one interpretation is that these are the names of three pitches). From the period of the Western Zhou dynasty (c. 1046–771 bce) onwards, the form of the qing was standardized: its body was made uniformly flat, and it was shaped like an irregular chevron but with a curved rather than angular bottom edge. Each set had 8 to 24 pieces. The set unearthed at the tomb of Zenghouyi, however, had as many as 32 pieces (in addition, there were nine spare pieces). Each piece was engraved with the name of the tone it sounded. The additional pieces were used as needed to sound tones lacking in the main set.

In early times the qing was used in music and dances. Later it was used together with zhong (bronze clapperless bell) and other instruments especially in the performance of yayue (elegant music) in the royal courts. With the downfall of the Qing dynasty (1644–1911/12), the qing was used only for special occasions. Since 1978 and the excavation of the Zenghouyi qing, manufacturing and performance of qing have been restored, and they are often used in large Chinese orchestras.