Pyeongyeong

Made of stone, pyeongyeong is a rare percussion instrument that was used in court music along with pyeonjong since the Goryeo Dynasty.  In the 7th year of King Saejong¡¯s reign, rare light stones were found in Namyang, Gyeonggi-do Province, and from autumn of the 8th year to the summer of the 10th year of King Saejo¡¯s reign, a total of 528 pieces (33 sets) of pyeongyeong and teukgyeong were made using the light stones.  They were said to have beautiful timbre with accurate tunes, compared to those made in China.  The stones were carved into an ¡®¤¡¡¯ shape to make pyeongyeong having the same size of pyeonjong, and the pitch of the tune was designated by the thickness.  Like pyeonjong, pyeongyeong was built by hanging 16 pieces of carved stones onto a frame in the order of their pitch.  Pyeongyeong is different from pyeonjong in its features and designs:  it has white wild geese instead of a wooden lion, a phoenix head instead of a dragon head, a chimiyuso instead of a saeksayuso, and a hongseung instead of a gamaksoe.  Pyeongyeong and pyeonjong are always incorporated together in any genre of music.