Chapter 36 Section 5 The person who first divided the scale into 12 semitones

In contemporary music education that uses keyboard instruments such as organs and pianos as teaching tools, people know that a complete seven-tone scale can be divided into 12 semitones on average. The simplified notation of these 12 semitones is: Here the pitch distance between every two adjacent notes is equal.In temperament, this kind of temperament system that divides the heptatonic scale into 12 semitones is commonly known as "twelve equal temperament".In music, because there are twelve equal temperaments, it is possible for people to create keyboard instruments such as pianos; it is possible to play any tuned music on these keyboard instruments while maintaining the relative pitch relationship between the scales and tones of each tone. Therefore, modern music technology theory has a fully developed theoretical basis and rhythm foundation.In China, a scholar who devoted himself to writing creatively published a "new law secret rate" that is similar to the twelve equal temperaments in a preface to a Ming Dynasty law history book "Lv Li Rong Tong" in 1596. It is Zhu Zaiyu, a music scholar in the Ming Dynasty who took the lead in completing the theory of twelve equal temperaments in the history of world science and culture.

Zhu Zaiyu (AD 1536-about 1611), a native of Huaiqing Prefecture (now Qinyang) in Henan Province, with the style name Boqin and nickname Qushan.He was born in the royal family of the Ming Dynasty and was the eldest son of Zhu Houtan (Wan Wan), King of Zheng Gong. He received strict education from his family since he was a child.The posthumous works of his uncle He Tang and the direct training of his father had a great influence on Zhu Zaiyu's later academic achievements.When he was young, his father was unfortunately framed and imprisoned. In grief, he gave up his life as a prince. He lived in an earthen house for 19 years, devoting himself to academic research and theoretical writing.After his father was rehabilitated and his title was restored, although he entered the palace again as the eldest son, he continued to devote himself to academic research and writing books through his middle age.After his father died, he resolutely gave up the succession of the title and devoted himself to writing for the rest of his life.Zhu Zaiyu's main works include "Complete Book of Music and Law", "Jialiang Suanjing", "Lülu Zhenglun", "Lülu Questions and Discriminations", etc.

Zhu Zaiyu’s creation of the Twelve-Equivalent Law (New Law Density Rate) not only made the ancient Chinese theory on the twelve-equal law in the leading position in the world, but also belonged to the great achievement of the acoustic theory in the 16th century in the history of world physics.A foreign modern sound scientist said: "Chinese rhythm is more advanced than ours, and we haven't talked about it at all. Although Wang Zizaiyu didn't explain his theory, he only gave us the numbers, but we didn't. It is difficult to deduce it; moreover, we have made a law control experiment, and the results obtained can prove the accuracy of this theory."