SONOROUS STONES.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2278, 10 November 1891, Page 4

SONOROUS STONES.

The use of sonorous stones for musical purposes (says C. F. Gordon Gumming in Blackwood) is almost peculiar to China. The Siamese have marble flutes, and it is recorded that the ancient Peruvians had a musical instrument of green stone, about a foot long and an inch and a-half wide, arched in the centre where it was pierced by a small hole, - and thus suspended. When struck like a gong the sound was singularly musical. With these exceptions, however, the Chinese alone seem to have discovered the melody to be extracted from stone. This they extol as one of the most beautiful of all sounds, ranking midway between the sounds of wood and metal, and more clear and pure in sound than either of these. Three species of sonorous stone are in use that which is most highly prized being the Yu, of which large water-worn boulders are found near the mountain torrents in the province of Yun-nan. It is very hard, and takes a polish like agate. Its colour varies, and affects its value, the most melodious tones being obtained from the whey - coloured Yu, after which ranks light-blue then sky-blue indigo, light yellow, orange, darkred and These stones, which are of great weight, are rarely found more than two feet in length. Among the treasures of the Imperial Palace at Peking, however, are a set three feet eight inches in length, supposed to be unique. These stones are hung so that they can be struck successively, forming a “ King,” or great-stone, chime. Sixteen stones, each shaped like a carpenter’s square, ar suspended in two rows of eight, one above the other, iu a handsome frame. The thicker the stone, the deeper- is its tone when struck, and most skilful carving is requisite to obtain a gradation of tone. So highly were these musical stones prized, that 2000 years before Christ they were brought to China as tribute, reserved for the sole use of the Emperor. Confucins, however* was so enraptured with their melody that now every Confucian, as well as every Imperial temple, possesses one of these “ Kings.” A simpler form of the stone chime, bnt one likewise reserved only for religious services, is the T’se King, which stands outside the temples, it of only one large stone, suspended from a frame by a strong cord passing through a! hole bored at the apex. It is struck with a hammer, to give a single note at the 1 end of each verse in the service. The Chinese also employ a sonorous stone in the manufacture of two varieties of flutes, the object being to avoid the changes to which bamboo is liable in varying temperature.