Technologies like sonar or ultrasound demonstrate that sound can contribute to society in ways that are not easily visible. In this video, NOA HEGESH explores the notable role that sound played in early and medieval China in areas as diverse as the calendar, weights and measures and prognostication. Identifying and translating relevant texts and artifacts before situating them in context, Hegesh highlights the ways that sound as understood in relation to concepts like qi and yin and yang helped to underpin the power held by the Emperor and his ruling dynasty in this period of Chinese history.