chunyu (pinyin: chún yú) is also known as chunyu, chun. Ancient Chinese bronze percussion military musical instruments. It first appeared in the Spring and Autumn Period and prevailed in the Warring States and Han Dynasties. Shandong, Jiangsu, Anhui, Hubei, Hunan, Sichuan, Shaanxi and other places have been unearthed. Chunyu first emerged in the north. In the Central Plains, it was mainly used for wars and sacrifices, and then gradually spread to the west. In the late Spring and Autumn Period, it was accepted by the Ba people in the southwest, and was used in wars, sacrifices, and sacrifices of various ethnic groups in the southwest. Curse alliance activities. The chun yu often cooperates with the drum and is used to direct the advance and retreat in war.
It is shaped like a cylinder, the upper part is slightly larger than the lower part, and the button is on the top. The buttons are mostly in the shape of tigers, so they are often called "tiger buttons". Some people think that the chunyu with tiger buttons should be the relics of ancient Ba people.
There are different records in the past dynasties with regard to the method of playing the chunyu. On the bronze shells unearthed from the ancient tomb of Shizhai Mountain in Jinning, Yunnan (about the Western Han Dynasty), there is a scene of a large group of Yunnan people holding religious ceremonies. , The bronze drum hangs on the side, and the chisel is hanging on the crossbar, and there is a person next to it and hits it ("Chinese Music History Illustrated Book" II-41). Provides us with vivid performance images. In addition, according to the records of "Southern History: Qi Shixing Wang Jian's Biography" and "Northern History: Dendrobium Zhengzhuan", a container is used to place water under the chun, "Kneeling carefully with the stem of the awn to inject the chun, and vibrating the awn with the hand, the sound will be heard. Such as thunder" or "stroking it with a awning tube, its sound is extremely clear".