The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1880-04-03
~ Strange Music.

Uncle Herbert talk about the strange music
OF China. Mother brought in her sewing,
and improved her mind and the children's
stockings at the same time. But Maud and
Arthur sat on the lounge. one on each side
Of Uncle Herbert, dcvoling their entire at
tention to him.
'l suppose we ought to begin at the be
ginning" said he, "sncc Chinese music is
said to have been invented by person
whom you have often read about He was
emperor Of China about 2950 B c., or
nearely 5000 years ago. The Chinese call
ed him Fo Hi, but some of our people sup
pose that he. really was Noah, who lived
about that time. The Chinese also hold
that much of their music was brought to
them from heaven by bird which they
named the Foang- Eoang "rhis was ssuppos-
ed to he a very fortunate bird, which never
appeared anywhere else but in China, and,
whenever ii came, it brought good luck
with 1t. 1t appeared whenever good en-
peror was born, and lis nest IS wrapped in
mystery, for no one knew where it dwell" "
"Why, that's something like the Phoenix,
that the Greeks used to believe ill.," said
Maud.
eyes, there is a resemblance; perhaps the
Greeks borrowed their bird from the Chi
nese one. This bird appeared with its mate,
when Ling Lun, by the order of the En-
peror Hoang-ri, was making his first in
ventions in music 1t sang to him in six
tones, while its mate also used six different
.oncs, making scale containing twelve
notes, just like our chromatic scale. But
the Chinese only use five Of these, and call
the others female tones In China, every
thing female is thought to be useless"
"llavcnt they got topsy-turvy idcas!'
said Maud.
"Wcll, in this case they are open to that
suspicion The singing of the 'Toang-
Hoang was such beautiful music that it
caused absolute goodness in every one who
heard it, and its songs had the beautiful
name Of 'Tsic-vcn, Temperance and
Mercy After lIoang-Ti, came an emperor
named Chao- Hao, who invented Il new
mode Of marking time lie had large drums
beat at various hours of the night, to tell
what o'clock it was; he composed, also,
many songs The earliest cmpcrors all
studied music, but it was with view of
teaching their subjects good manners and
morals. The songs were sometimes only
directions when TO plant seeds, how to
catch fish, how to behave in company, and
so on. Sometimes, The words arc TO keep
the cmpcror's duty in mind. Thus one be-
gins; ''rhc breeze Of midday brings
warmth and dspcls sorrow; may it be the
same with Chun may he he the Joy and
consolation of his people,
'Anothcr emperor, -Yu, the great, -
used musical instruments for a very good
purpose. He cplaccd before his palace Il
large and Il small bell drum, Il gong, and
Il tanbourinc, and any person having bust
ness with him would be admitted on strik-
ing one of these. BY the various sounds
lie could tell, before seeing him, the na-
ture of his visitors business. The large
bell means that the person was coming TO
complain OF injustice the small one was
for private visitors; the drum told that the
business was about the manners or customs
of the empire; the gong, Of public msror-
tune; the tambouinc asked for the cmpcr-
or's judgement in regard to some crime
China possessed some very patriotic songs
ut this ancient date, and when, mt latter
period (245. b. G. ausurpcr won the throne,
he was more afraid of the music than of any
thing else. lie thought that by reminding
the people of their good emperors, they
would be encouraged to resist him. So he
had the ancient books burned, and tried to
destroy the works Of the great philosopher,
Confusius. All the Instruments of music
were broken up and new ones made and in
every way lie tried to root out all the old
ceal anything were punished with death
Ard yet, many people riskcd their lives in
hiding their Instruments and books in the
walls of houses and in the ground"
"What Il monster he must have hccn!"
said Maud.
"Not III all respects; he built the great
wall of China, which was good thing for
the country" replied Uncle Herbert.
'But did the Chinese have many books
about musicG" inquired Arthur
''Thcy had and have more than any
other nation. They have. whole libraries
of musical hooks. In the library of Pcknr
there are four hundred and cighty-two
strictly musical books, and hundreds which
arc partially musical. don't mean books
Of music, but histories and essays. Hun
drcds of years after Tchi-chi (A. ID. G4O),
the Emperor Taytsung searched vigorously
for the books and musical instruments
which had been buried and concealed, and
tried to recover some Of the old style of
music. lie didn't succeed altogether,
and the Chinese have very little of their
ancient music nowadays They thin'. that
the old music must have been very Dcauti-
tul, and use at their greatest fcasts what
ever they have OF it,"
"But what instruments do they usc?"
''That IS the most curious part of all. In
their instruments they seem to have antici-
pated the invention Of many of our instru-
mcFs, by some thousands of years, but,
having once Invented thcm they never seem
to have tried to perfect them. 1t is clarac-
tcristic Of these people to pause at the thrcs-
hold of grent discoveries. Take the organ
for example, the Chinese knew the princi-
pie OF the reed organ d, 500 wears ago. and
to-day know no more than they did then"
"What is their organ likc2" eagerly ask
cd Arthur.
"Ill show yo But don't expect to see
alarge church organ" And Uncle Herbert
went up stairs to his room, whence he i'm
mcdiatcly returned with bundle of papers
''Hcrc Is drawing of the Chinese organ
or chcng. 1t has usually twenty -four pipes
of bamboo, which are inserted In the gourtl
of calabash. In each of these pipes IS a
reed or tongue of gold or copper, which, by
Its vibration, causes the sound, rs in our
cabinet organs; beneath this reed a hole is