Warring States set of bronze bells

The Warring States era was a period of 250 years in ancient Chinese history, between 475 and 221 BC, with the region of the Zhou Dynasty being divided between 8 states. These states had frequent wars amongst them until 221 BC when the state of Qin conquered them all, thus becoming the first unified Chinese empire. The “Warring States Period” derives its name from the Record of the Warring States, a work compiled early in the Han dynasty. The Seven Warring States namely were: Qin, Han, Wei and Zhao, also known as The Three Jins, Qi, Chu and Yan. Bianzhong is an ancient Chinese musical instrument consisting of a set of clapperless bronze bells, played melodically. These sets of graduated chime bells were used as polyphonic musical instruments, were hung by a wooden frame and struck with a mallet. They were an important musical accompaniment in China's ritual ceremonies and court music.