Yellow Bell Legend From China

The legend of The Yellow Bell begins in the third millenium B.C.E.. The Emperor of China, Huang-Di, sent his mathematician Ling-Lun to the western mountains near India and instructed him to cut bamboo pipes from which the fundamentals of music could be derived. The bamboo tube upon which all other pitches and measurements were based was called the Yellow Bell. Yellow was the color of the Imperial court and symbolized sacred wisdom This foundation tone was considered to be an exact pitch representing a divine principle in harmony with the forces of the universe.

From that time on each successive dynasty (with its new emperor) was compelled to order its astrologers, mathematicians, and musicians to recalculate the length of the Yellow Bell. This new tone would redefine the entire system so as to have the best spiritual and mathematical foundation possible - bringing the new dynasty in tune with the natural order of the universe.

The Yellow Bell is variously described as being a bamboo flute, or a set of bamboo pipes, and as being derived from a mathematical formula or based on the lowest note of a human voice. In any case the concept is that of the Primal Sound or the Vibrational beginning of time. The tone that brings life.

Read more about my connection to the Yellow Bell Legend, how I work with the Yellow Bell Concept, and the history and philosophy of Chinese Music in relation to the Yellow Bell Legend.