Introduction to Yongle Bell

The big bell of Juesheng Temple was cast during the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty, so it is called "Yongle Bell". The bronze bell is hung on a huge frame in the center of the bell tower. It is made of pure yellow and is 6.75 meters high, 3.7 meters in diameter and weighs 46.5 tons. The bell lip is 18.5 meters thick, and the bell body is smooth and clean without any cracks. There are 230,184 characters of scriptures cast inside and outside, without any omission. The casting process is exquisite, making it a treasure of Buddhist culture and calligraphy art. When struck, the sound is good, decays slowly and spreads far. The slight impact made the sound clear and graceful, echoing for a minute. A heavy impact, the sound was loud and powerful, the tail sound lasted for more than 2 minutes, and the sound could be heard in a radius of 50 kilometers. According to the analysis of the metallurgical department, the formula of the clock is scientific and the strength of the bell body has reached the optimal value. Therefore, it has been hit for more than 500 years and is still intact. The hanging method of this clock is in line with the principles of mechanics. The wooden frame of the hanging clock is supported by eight inclined columns. The resultant force is centripetal and the force is evenly distributed. The big clock is suspended on the main beam, relying on a one meter long, 14 cm high and 6.5 wide The copper piercing nails, which are as large as a box meter, endured dozens of tons of shear stress but remained unharmed. There are scriptures cast inside and outside the bell. On the outside are the Sutras of Buddhas, Tathagata, Bodhisattva, Divine Monks, Amitabha Sutra and the Twelve Causes and Conditions Mantra. On the inside are the Lotus Sutra of Wonderful Dharma. On the lip of the bell are the Vajra Stock. "Ruo Sutra", "Shrangama Mantra" is engraved on Pulao (Zhong Niu), etc. There are 17 kinds of sutras and mantras, all in regular Chinese script, with neat fonts, simple Taoism, and evenly distributed throughout the bell body. It is said that it was in the early Ming Dynasty. The handwriting of calligrapher Shen Du. At the beginning, Emperor Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty cast so many Buddhist scriptures on the bell in order to promote Buddhism and spread the Buddhist scriptures for a long time. More than 230,000 words of Buddhist scriptures are cast on the bell. When the bell is struck, every word can be heard, which is equivalent to reciting the scriptures once. Naturally, it has immeasurable merit. In the early 15th century, after Zhu Di, the founder of the Ming Dynasty, moved the capital to Beijing, he built three major projects in the capital, namely Guguan, Temple of Heaven, and Yongle Bell. Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty cast the bell to promote his "feat". After the bell was cast, it was first hung in the palace. It was moved to Wanshou Temple in the Wanli Period of the Ming Dynasty and to Juesheng Temple in the 11th year of Yongzheng Period in the Qing Dynasty. The bell is inlaid with Buddhist sutras and mantras in Manyang script both inside and outside. It is a representative work of Guange style calligraphy art in the early Ming Dynasty. The scriptures cast on the big bell have been mistakenly believed to be the "Huayan Sutra" for hundreds of years, so it is called the "Huayan Bell". In recent years, it has been found that the bell is cast from the Sutra of the Names of Buddhas, World Honored Tathagata, Bodhisattvas, Divine Monks, and eight other sutras, mainly the Lotus Sutra, made by Emperor Yongle of the Ming Dynasty. There is no "Huayan Sutra". The large bell is exquisitely cast, with various bell-shaped arcs and no traces of grinding processing on the whole body, which fully demonstrates the superb casting craftsmanship and its uniqueness.

The Yongle bell of the Ming Dynasty was cast using the clay mold method (one of China's three traditional casting techniques - clay mold method, iron mold method and lost wax method). First dig a big hole in the ground, make the inner wall with grass and Sanhe soil, apply fine mud on it, put the rice paper with the sutra written on it back on the fine mud, carve the Yin characters, heat and bake it into a pottery mold, and then circle it again Set a good example outside the circle. During the casting, dozens of furnaces were turned on at the same time, with pure green fire, flames soaring into the sky, gold flowers flying, copper juice flowing, and molten metal poured into the pottery mold along the groove made of mud, and it was cast at once. The copper of Yongle Bell is of excellent quality, dense and strong, and the purity of the alloy is exquisite. The bell contains 80.5% copper, 16% tin, and elements such as lead, zinc, iron, silicon, and magnesium. This composition ratio is very similar to the record of "Qi of Zhong and Ding" under "Six Qi" in "Kaogong Ji". The bell wall is thin but can withstand heavy blows, and its sound quality is world-famous. After the bell was cast, wells were dug every other mile until winter, trenches were dug along the road to divert water, water was poured to freeze, and then transportation began; the bell slid along the road for dozens of miles before reaching the palace. Then slide onto the pile of ice and soil, then build a bell tower and hang the bell on the top of the building. After the spring thaw, take the soil and hang the bell. The big bell stand has four arms and eight forks, and the bell button is divided into upper and lower sections. The middle is fixed on the beam with a nail. A slight bump with a wooden pestle will emit a shocking bell sound. The Yongle Bell was cast in the Deshengmennei Bell Foundry. After it was cast, it was stored in the Han Jing Factory (the site is in the area of ​​today's Songzhu Temple). It was not until the 35th year of Wanli (1607) that it was moved to Wanshou Temple outside Xizhimen and hung. A square bell tower was built for it. Six monks are responsible for ringing the bell. According to the description of Jiang Yikui, a Ming Dynasty scholar: "It hits day and night, and the sound can be heard for dozens of miles. Its sound is very strange, sometimes far and sometimes close, and it is different from other bells."

The Yongle Bell has been hanging in Wanshou Temple for about 20 years. By the end of the Ming Dynasty, people saw it lying on the ground.

In the Eight Passes of the Qing Dynasty, in the eleventh year of Yongzheng in the Qing Dynasty (1733), after some debate among the courtiers, according to the theory of yin and yang and the five elements, it was believed that the big bell belongs to gold, and the north belongs to water, and metal and water are in harmony. Therefore, it should be placed North of the capital. So Emperor Yongzheng finally decided to place the clock in Juesheng Temple, a geomantic treasure located "Qianfang of the capital and Rifang of Yuanmingyuan". The bell moving project was not completed until the eighth year of Qianlong's reign (1743). A large plaque inscribed by Emperor Qianlong "Hua Yan Jue Hai" hangs high on the bell tower. In order to hang this big bell, a two-story bell tower was specially designed behind the temple. The upper floor is round and the lower floor is square. There are stairs spiraling up inside the building. There are windows on all sides of the clock tower, so there is plenty of light inside and good visibility. You can clearly see the clock buttons and the top of the clock body. The frame of the hanging clock is made of thick wooden beams. The tops of its four columns are tilted inward to disperse the force. The structure is reasonable, so after more than 200 years, there is no sign of tilt or tilt. In order to reduce the height of the bell frame, an octagonal pit 70 centimeters deep was dug below the bell. People can view the writings on the inner wall of the bell in the pit. According to experts, the Yongle Bell has "five unique features". The first is that it has a large number of forms and a long history. The second unique thing is the Yongle Bell, which has the largest number of inscriptions in the world. The wonderful and beautiful sound of the big bell is the third best thing. An authority in the field of acoustics gave an eight-character comment on the bell of the Yongle Bell: "Elegance and touching, longevity." The scientific mechanical structure is the fourth unique feature of Yongle Bell. The hanging button of the Yongle Bell is connected by a copper nail that is very small compared with the bell body. Even though the nail is small, it is well within the range of the shear stress it can withstand more than 40 tons. The fifth element of the Yongle Bell is its superb casting technology.

In Chinese history, ancient bells have a unique status and role. Its history is even older than the history of writing. As far back as the end of primitive society, bells have appeared in our country, either made of wood, bamboo, or pottery. It is a simple percussion instrument that plays a role in listening to music and enjoying it. With the development of human society, people's understanding of scales and temperaments has gradually improved. During the Shang and Zhou dynasties, bronze cymbals, bells, bells, chimes and other playing instruments appeared. "The bells ring and the cauldrons eat" has increasingly become a symbol of the power and status of aristocratic rulers. Hanging chime bells must strictly follow the rank stipulated in the ritual and music system, such as Tian Gongxuan (bells hanging on four sides), Zhuhou Xuanxuan (bells hanging on three sides), Qing Dafu Fenxuan (bells hanging on two sides), and Shitexuan (bells hanging on one side). bell). Making rituals and making music became a major event in governing the country at that time. Qu Yuan, a great poet in the Warring States Period, has a poem that has been passed down to the world: "The yellow bell is destroyed, the tile cauldron thunders, the greedy man is high, and the wise man is unknown." In addition to reflecting the social situation of the collapse of etiquette and music at that time, it also shows that the ancient bell has become a symbol of noble, just, wise and beautiful Chinese civilization in people's hearts. In the Qin Dynasty, another giant bronze bell - Chao Zhong - appeared that symbolized centralization of power. Since China is the hometown of bells, as Indian Buddhism was gradually introduced into China, Chinese Buddhist monks created a magical instrument with Chinese characteristics—Buddha bells. From then on, successive dynasties competed to cast various court bells, Buddhist bells, Taoist bells and music bells. The Yongle Bell, which is treasured in the Dazhong Temple today, can be said to be a giant bell that combines all kinds of ancient bells in my country. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, whenever it was time to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new, the monks of the Dazhong Temple would ring the bell 108 times. It is said that firstly, it is because there are 12 months, 24 solar terms, and 72 Hous in a year; secondly, because Buddhism believes that people have 108 kinds of worries. Ringing the bell 108 times can relieve people's worries and relieve their worries. Nowadays, in order to protect the Yongle Bell and at the same time enable tourists to appreciate the beautiful voice of the Bell King, the Ancient Bell Museum of Dazhong Temple rings the bell three times a day from the first to the third day of the first lunar month every year, three times each time. Each time the bell is struck, the sound can echo in the temple for 7o seconds.

In the past, the Great Bell Temple was a place where emperors prayed for rain, Buddhists performed Buddhist rituals, and people worshiped and visited. The Beijing Municipal People's Government announced the Big Bell Temple as a key cultural relic protection unit in 1957. An ancient bell museum was built in 1986, and now has a collection of more than 180 ancient bells from all dynasties. Most of them are ancient clocks from the Ming and Qing dynasties, with exquisite patterns and shapes. One of the pottery bells, made in the late primitive society, is said to be about 4,000 years old.

The various ancient bells displayed in the Dazhong Temple Ancient Bell Museum are not only of great value to the study of my country's ritual and music system, history of thought, music, chronology and other special histories, but also because they gather the essence of my country's ancient craftsmanship, they represent The superb technical level of casting, acoustics, music theory, and mechanics at that time was also valuable information for the study of our country's traditional science and technology.

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Chasing the Yongle Bell

...the most cherished Yongle Bell. Exciting, majestic, majestic and loud, with a sense of mystery from the outside world and a sense of vicissitudes deep in history, every sound covers hundreds of miles of Beijing. At this time, the auspicious and joyful sounds from all directions took on a solemn lead. ……