Big Bell Temple

Big Bell Temple
Jue Sheng Temple, Da Zhong Temple
The temple's entrance
Location in Beijing
Basic information
Geographic coordinates 39°58′05″N 116°19′55″E / 39.96806°N 116.33194°E / 39.96806; 116.33194Coordinates: 39°58′05″N 116°19′55″E / 39.96806°N 116.33194°E / 39.96806; 116.33194
Affiliation Buddhism
Country China

The Big Bell Temple, or Da Zhong Temple (simplified Chinese: 大钟寺; traditional Chinese: 大鐘寺; pinyin: Dàzhōng Sì), originally known as Jue Sheng Temple (simplified Chinese: 觉生寺; traditional Chinese: 覺生寺; pinyin: Juéshēng Sì), is a Buddhist temple located on North 3rd Road in Beijing, China.

The Big Bell Temple was built in 1733 during the reign of the Yongzheng Emperor of the Qing dynasty (1644-1911).[1] The temple's name came after the famous "Yongle" Big Bell that is housed inside the temple, which was cast during the reign of the Yongle Emperor (1403-1424) of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644).[1] According to a test by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Yongle Big Bell's sound could reaches up to 120 decibels and can be heard 50 kilometers away from the temple in the depth of night.[2] Many music experts, including some from the Chinese Acoustics Institute have found its tone pure, deep and melodious with a sprightly rhythm. Its frequency ranges from 22 to 800 hertz.[2]

According to about.com:

The Yongle Big Bell weighs about 46 tons, with a height of 5.5 meters and a diameter of 3.3 meters. The bell is famous not only because of its size, but probably more importantly because of the over 230,000 characters of Buddhist scriptures engraved on it.

— About.com[1]

The temple has housed a bell museum (Guzhong bowuguan; engl. Ancient Bell Museum) since 1985, featuring hundreds of bronze bells from temples throughout China.

Footnotes


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