New Landmark for Travel in Dalian, New Museum Experience, Feel the Infinite Charm of Music
The history of music is as old as humanity itself. As early as 43,000 years ago, there were primitive flutes made from bone and ivory. Many ancient forms of music around the world have also been passed down orally. As for its history, it is impossible to trace exactly when human society first had music. Even before human language was born, people already knew how to use changes in the strength of sounds to convey information and emotions.
With the continuous development of human civilization, during labor, rhythms that unified work and calls to transmit information gradually emerged, giving rise to the earliest form of music. When people celebrated harvests and shared the fruits of labor, when they began to express joy and happiness to each other, they often struck their tools against each other to produce different sounds to express delight. Since ancient times, people have had a strong love for music. As music continued to develop and change in human society, people eventually gained the ability to master music. From those melodious tunes, one can always obtain motivation for progress, spiritual comfort, and purification of the soul.
Dalian is a romantic coastal city, and its romance is evident in its strong musical atmosphere. In Dalian, there are many museums and exhibition halls related to music. The World Music Culture Museum, located in the center of the Oriental Water City in Donggang, Zhongshan District, Dalian, is one of them. It is the first museum in China that integrates Chinese and Western music culture. The museum features zones: Ethnic Music Culture Zone, Western Music Culture Zone, Organ and Piano Zone, Music Box and Phonograph Zone, Musician Records Zone, Radio Zone, Sound Technology Experience Zone, and Patriotism Education Zone. It houses nearly 8,000 treasures of Chinese and Western music culture and art, and over 300,000 classic music records. Among them, more than 500 artifacts are representative of global music culture, fully presenting the development history of world music culture and sound recording and dissemination devices.
Upon entering the exhibition hall, the first thing that catches the eye is one of the museum's treasures: a replica of the Zenghouyi Bells. This replica, made by Master Xiang Shaoqing, a non-genetic inheritor and researcher from the Chinese Bells Research Institute, reproduces one-third of the excavated Zenghouyi Bells. This exhibit is the first and currently only performance-level Zenghouyi Bells in Northeast China. Under the demonstration of the guide, the beautiful melody produced by the bells seems to linger around the beams for three days without fading. Amidst the wonderful music, one cannot help but admire the wisdom and ingenuity of the ancients, and also feel the millennium-long culture of Chinese ritual music.
Unlike ancient Chinese bells, Western instruments such as the piano and organ can be played by a single musician. In the Organ and Piano Zone, a large number of century-old exhibits are displayed, including pianos used by masters like Beethoven, as well as precious historical artifacts such as Yamaha's first children's organ.
In the Treasure Hall, we can see musical cultures from around the world and different periods. The earliest form of the music box used a metal disc placed inside a mechanical box. On the back of the metal disc, there are many metal protrusions. Inside the music box, there is a sound comb with tines of different lengths, producing different notes. When the protrusions on the metal disc strike the sound comb, beautiful music is produced.
The so-called "eight-tone box" (bayinhe) and "music box" are two different concepts. "Bayinhe" specifically refers to a birdcage music box, while metal mechanical music boxes, when introduced to China, were also called bayinhe because they correspond to the description in the Three Character Classic: "pao, tu, ge, mu, jin, shi, si, yu zhu, nai ba yin" (gourd, earth, leather, wood, metal, stone, silk, and bamboo are the eight sounds). That's why they are all called bayinhe.
The sound produced by a birdcage music box is not what we call "music"; it uses mechanical principles to mimic the calls of birds. The birdcage music box evolved from a whistle with a movable plunger. By the end of the 18th century, this type of box became very popular with the public. The bird music box has a spring-driven device and uses a series of cams to control the air flow in the whistle to produce different sounds, imitating various bird calls. Small automatic bird music boxes usually place a fingernail-sized bird inside a beautifully decorated silver or gold enamel filigree box. Larger musical bird boxes often appear as real-sized birds inside a cage. Both types are still manufactured by famous Swiss producers today. The lifelike small bird's feathers are made from real bird feathers; to make one such box, the manufacturer once sent many workers to the mountains and forests to collect feathers naturally shed by birds like hummingbirds. This shows how complex and tedious the production of a birdcage music box is.
The music from a music box is often described as "the most beautiful music in the world" because the frequency of the sound it produces is 528 Hz. This frequency is the most capable of reaching the human heart and the most acceptable to people. That is why when we hear such music, it can soothe our mood and combat anxiety.
In the Phonograph Zone, we can learn about the past and present of the phonograph. On a certain day in 1877, Edison invented the cylinder phonograph. The cylinder was the key component of Edison's phonograph. Initially, it was a metal cylinder wrapped in tinfoil, mounted on a wooden base with a handle to rotate the cylinder. Turning the handle caused the cylinder to rotate and move axially sideways. A curved arm held a steel needle, the stylus. The tip of the needle touched the surface of the cylinder, and at the other end of the needle, a horn was attached. The horn had a metal diaphragm, and the needle was attached to the diaphragm. In 1878, Edison founded the Edison Phonograph Company and began commercial production of tinfoil cylinders.
The Edison-brand phonographs collected here were shipped from the United States. There is a touching story behind this. A descendant of Edison now living in New York has collected more than 300 Edison-brand phonographs. The museum curator visited the United States three times. On the first two visits, the Edison descendant showed no interest in the curator's collection intention and expressed incomprehension. But after the second visit back home, the curator sent him photos and short videos of the museum's exhibits and discussed the development and evolution of the phonograph with him. Later, he invited the curator to his home for a third visit and immediately decided to donate 78 of his 300 phonographs to the museum. That is the origin of the large number of Edison-brand phonographs in the museum.
Speaking of phonographs, one cannot fail to mention another museum in Dalian well worth visiting: the Lushun Phonograph Museum. It is the largest museum in mainland China themed on vintage phonographs. Its collection focuses on old phonographs and other music devices, containing nearly 10,000 items (sets), most of which are related to the historical humanities of the Lüda (Lüshun-Dalian) region in modern times, bearing typical significance. The exhibits mainly include old phonographs and music equipment, covering Edison's first tinfoil phonograph, wax cylinder phonographs, upright, desktop, and portable phonographs, as well as extra-large hand-cranked street organs, music boxes and cabinets, player pianos and organs, and various old records from different periods at home and abroad. Some classic pieces have been restored and can still be played interactively, producing beautiful music that transcends time.
The museum's vast collection and exhibition not only witness the development of sound recording devices over more than a hundred years but also help people strengthen their memory of modern history, stimulate enthusiasm for science and music, and encourage deeper understanding and appreciation of the art of music. Curator Mr. Wang Xinwei and his family have devoted decades to collecting. They have acquired more than 10,000 items (sets) of phonograph-centered music devices and old records spanning from 1877 to 1979, clearly showing the development of sound recording technology and recreating the cultural life of the past. The scale and quality of the collection are among the best in Asia and even the world, including rare treasures and masterpieces that are breathtaking.
The biggest difference between the Lushun Phonograph Museum and the World Music Culture Museum is that it is more down-to-earth and offers closer interaction with visitors. Mr. Wang knows every exhibit by heart. Almost every one has been meticulously maintained and can still play. While listening to the explanation, visitors can also participate and experience how people enjoyed music a hundred years ago. In the vivid explanations, they also learn a great deal about phonographs and records.
When we closely observe these vintage phonographs and old records that have spanned two centuries, weathered over a hundred years of vicissitudes, and still sound as clear as ever, our minds seem to experience a time travel. We truly feel the changes and innovations in the history of world sound recording, as well as the audiovisual enjoyment and spiritual shock they bring. Music can cultivate one's character and heal the soul. Whether nostalgia-filled old songs or popular hits, they have become a universal language. In Dalian, a city full of romance, music has quietly become its base tone, allowing everyone who comes here to truly feel the romantic notes of Dalian.
