In ancient China, "beating drums to advance" and "singing gold to withdraw troops" were used to command battles. The "gold" in "Ming Jin" refers to the musical instrument used in the military as a signal for combat. Zheng, an ancient musical instrument, is shaped like a bell and is long and narrow, with a handle on it, made of copper. The idiom "Ming Jin withdraws troops" originally meant to stop the attack and end the battle; now it is more like the completion of the task and the end of the work.
A "drum" is a percussion instrument. The sound of the drum is the longest of the group sound, and the ancients used it to control other musical instruments; those who applaud were called "drummen" in ancient times. In ancient times, when the army fought, drumming was used to urge and direct the soldiers to march. In "Zuo Zhuan: The Ten Years of Zhuanggong", "Cao Gui's Debate" has "a husband's war is also courageous. Once you are in a hurry, you will decline again, and you will be exhausted in three." Therefore, the idiom "one drum" is often used to describe the work of being motivated and going forward; "Three exhaustions" describes the repeated consumption of power, and it is almost over. Flags and drums were tools for commanding battles in ancient armies. The idiom "evenly matched" originally referred to the confrontation between the two armies, and later represented the equal strength of the two sides. The original meaning of "big fanfare" is to display a large number of flags and war drums, and later it is a metaphor for great momentum. "The flag and the drums" originally meant to bring down the military flag and stop the snare drums. "Resurrection" is a metaphor for reorganizing forces after something has failed.

Archaeologists found a command tool on the command vehicle of the Qin Terracotta Army Array. Unfortunately, the leather drum has long since decayed, but this bronze duo remains. The soldiers of the Qin army more than 2,000 years ago retreated from the battlefield just listening to its voice. Ming Jin is to withdraw troops, and drumming is to advance. Officers at all levels changed the rhythm of drumming according to the instructions of the flag, and the soldiers acted according to the rhythm. In this way, under the commander's will, thousands of soldiers advanced and retreated as a whole and cooperated with each other.
During the Warring States Period, Sun Wu of Qi State came to Wu State, and King Wu ordered 180 beauties in the palace to be summoned to the training ground behind the palace and handed over to Sun Wu to practice. Sun Wu divided the 180 palace maids into two teams, the left and the right, and appointed the two most favored Maggies of King Wu as the left and right captains, and asked them to lead the palace maids to practice. Sun Wu stood on the podium and seriously preached the essentials of the drill. When the arrangement was ready, Sun Wu beat the drums and issued the order. However, although Sun Wu made three orders and five orders, the palace maids responded in their mouths, but they felt novel and amusing in their hearts. Sun Wu then summoned the officers and executed the two captains according to the art of war. When the King of Wu saw that Sun Wu was going to kill his beloved concubine, he immediately sent a message saying: The widow has already learned that the general can use troops. Without these two beauties to serve, the widow's meal would be tasteless. Sun Wu said mercilessly: "Since the minister has been appointed as a general, the general will be in the army, and the emperor's order will not be accepted." Sun Wu insisted on killing the two captains and appointed the leaders of the two teams to be the captains and continue to train. When Sun Wu hit the drum again and gave the order, all the court ladies, back and forth, back and forth, and knelt, climbed and rolled up, all conformed to the rules, and the formation was very neat. The descendants of Sun Wu asked Helu to review, but Helu was unhappy because he lost his beloved concubine, so he couldn't make excuses, and Sun Wu saw Helu in person. He said: "The order is forbidden, and rewards and punishments are clearly defined. This is the common law of the military family, and it is the general rule of the army. The soldiers must be dignified. Only in this way will they obey the orders and fight the enemy to win." After listening to Sun Wu's explanation , Wu Wang Helu's anger dissipated, and he worshiped Sun Wu as the general.
There is only one bronze musical instrument of the Shang Dynasty discovered so far, and that is the nao (yin ra). The shape of the nao is similar to the bronze bells of later generations. It has a cavity similar to two tiles glued together. The upper part is large and the lower part is small, and it can be pronounced after being struck. A round tubular handle is connected under the cavity. At that time, people could get crisp music by tapping the handle with one hand and hitting the cavity with the other. There are buttons on the clock for hanging and striking, the exact opposite of how the cymbal is used. According to literature records, the main function of the nao is not actually a court feast, but is used for war - commanding the army to retreat. "Shuowen Jiezi·Jinbu" said: "The cymbal is a small cymbal. The military law, the pawn is in charge of the cymbal." "Zhou Li·Diguan·Drumman" contains: "The drum is stopped by the golden cymbal." Zheng Xuan of the Eastern Han Dynasty noted: "The nao is like a bell, it has no tongue, and it has a handle, and it is called to stop the drum." When the Shang army was fighting, they instructed the soldiers to charge by beating the drum; Instructs to stop drumming.