Bronze chime bells echo records of Western Zhou war

These two bronze chime bells once formed part of a set of 16, all unearthed from the tomb of Marquis Su of the Jin State in Beizhao village, Quwo county, Shanxi province.

The 16 bells together bear a 355-Chinese character inscription—a record of a military campaign launched by King Li of Zhou in his 33rd year against the Dongyi people, filling a gap in the historical records of the Western Zhou Dynasty (c.11th century-771 BC) and the Jin State.

With perfectly tuned and harmonious sound, two of these bells are now housed at Shanxi Museum, while the other 14 are at Shanghai Museum.