On February 3, the Beijing Olympic Park Garden, with very Chinese characteristics, has the initial signs of a sinking prototype. At present, construction on the whole project is being stepped up. The Chinese sunken garden will share characteristics with the compound, from the red walls of the Forbidden City to a traditional Beijing courtyard, and from the Millennium drum to the Tang Dynasty polo campaigns.
Seven traditional Chinese courtyards are taking shape as construction on the Beijing Olympic Park's central sunken garden enters its final phase. The seven courtyards are located along the north-south central axis of Beijing and between the modern sports venues, and serve as condensed snapshots of traditional Chinese culture.
Sculptures including a set of bronze-bells, the "Jiqing (Lucky and Festive) Drums," and Tang dynasty polo have already been erected and will soon be ready for visitors.
On April 1, in the central area of Beijing Olympic sunken garden, some 100 drums with festive color have been embedded in the orange framework. It was learned that these drums vary from 1 to 2.5 meters in diameter. At present, construction workers are stepping up efforts to install tune swab. Hundreds of red drums will comprise landscape rich in Chinese characteristics, and demonstrate that Beijing welcomes the opening of the Olympic Games.
The drum occupies a prominent place in Chinese culture. Though the exact origin of the Chinese drum is still subject to debate, ancient literature suggests that it is about as old as Chinese history itself. The earliest documentation of its application in ancient China occurs in Oracle Inscriptions (Jiaguwen) of the Shang Dynasty (16th-11th century BC), that is, inscriptions carved on tortoise shells and animal bones.
As an old and wonderful form of art, the drum is applied in almost every aspect of Chinese social life, including sacrificial and worshiping ceremonies, farming, warfare, and throughout the centuries it has been imbued with profound cultural implications.
The history of the popularization of the Chinese drum is also the history of its continuous borrowing and assimilation from other artistic forms and expressions. During the process, Chinese drum performance arts have undergone a lot of regional as well as ethnic variations. As a result, today they produce different visual impacts and bring to the viewers different senses of beauty
Some are masculine, giving off a sense of invincible might; some are more delicate with nimble and graceful dancing steps; and still others possess both qualities. This rich array of artistic expressions from the Chinese drum culture gives full expression to the vitality of the Chinese nation.
Bronze-bells
On April 1, more than 1,000 bronze bells flied up to more than 10 meters in the framework in the central area of the Olympic Park. Standing next to lift look up to her, the superb production of it is praise, as if again bring us back to ancient times, long the "Bell" seems to reverberate in the ears!
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A group of bronze-bell chimes are erected in the sunken garden of the Olympic Garden.
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The bell originated from the ling, a small type of bell. At first, the ling was baked out of pottery clay. The ling produced a sound when the clapper was rocked to strike the inner wall, so it was not so easy to control the rhythm. During the Shang Dynasty, a musical instrument bigger than the ling appeared in Henan, Hunan and other parts of the country. Known as the nao, it was struck from outside to control the rhythm of sounding. The nao was also called the zhizhong. It was struck when it was held by the player in his hand or put on a wooden stand.
From the Western Zhou Dynasty to the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, musical bells shaped like combined pairs of tiles appeared in many areas of the country. The mouth of the bell faced down. It was struck more easily when it was suspended. Yongzhong, niuzhong and small bo bells shaped like combined pairs of tiles appeared in chimes or groups.
These bronze chimes in Wuhan are ancient musical instruments and can be traced back to the early Warring Period (about 433 BC). There are 64 of them. The largest bell weighs 448 pounds. Unearthed at Suixian in Hubei in 1978. The chimes were graded to sound a musical scale, C major of seven tine scale. They ring in notes across five octaves with a huge and sonorous sound. Encompassing the 12 chromatic scales, they produce with modulation melodious sound when ancient or modern complex music is played on them. Grand in scale and elaborate in casting technique, they are a miracle in the world histories of music and smelting.
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A set of bronze musical bells excavated from a tomb of the Chu kindom more than 2000 years ago.
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With the collapse of the ritual and musical institutions during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the musical bell, which had served as a typical instrument of the ritual and musical institutions, gradually exited the stage of history.
From the very beginning the bronze bells in China were endowed with strong emotional coloring and cultural connotations. In his Explanation and Study of Principles of Composition of Characters, Xu Shen of the Eastern Han Dynasty said, "The zhong (bell) is the sound of the Autumn Equinox. All crops have been zhong (cultivated)." In Chinese, zhong (bell) and zhong (cultivate) are pronounced similarly, but in different tones. Harvests were the result of toils in our ancient agricultural country with its yellow soil. The stroke of the bell at a feast conveyed feelings of joy for the bumper harvest as well as the emotion of a man with a heavy heart. A Chinese bell produces a slow sound that can be heard far away. This was a choice made carefully and inevitably by our ancients in the light of environmental and social factors.
Tang dynasty polo
March 23, a group of lifelike posture of different copper “polo sculptures” emerged in the central area of Beijing Olympic appearance.
Polo is thought to have originated in China and Persia around 2,000 years ago. The name of the game may well come from the word “pholo” meaning 'ball' or 'ballgame' in the Balti language of Tibet.
Polo, also called "jiju" in ancient China, was most popular in the Tang Dynasty (618-907). All the 16 monarchs from Emperor Zhongzong, who took power in the year 705, to Emperor Zhaozong, who ascended the throne in 889, were polo enthusiasts. Some of them were even highly skilled players. Many high-ranking officials had luxurious polo fields in their own gardens. Measuring 1000 paces long and 100 paces wide, the field was sprayed with oil to prevent the galloping horses from kicking up dust. There were also many polo lovers among groups of scholars . According to historical records, a polo match at the Moon-light Chamber was one of the gala events for celebrating success in the highest imperial examination. Being favored by emperors, nobles and scholars, polo became fashionable in those days.
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A group of copper sculptures featuring polo in the Tang Dynasty (618-907) are erected in the sunken garden of the Olympic Garden.
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Polo also served as a military exercise for the army. All prefectural governors had standard polo fields for training troops. The use of polo for military training lasted for many generations, and the game was always played in reviewing troops. It was not until the Oing Dynasty (1644-1911) that polo gradually declined in popularity.