The Big Bell Temple, or Da Zhong Temple (), originally known as Jue Sheng Temple (), is a Buddhist temple located on North 3rd Road in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

. The Big Bell Temple was built in 1733 during the reign of the

Yongzheng Emperor The Yongzheng Emperor (13 December 1678 – 8 October 1735), also known by his temple name Emperor Shizong of Qing, born Yinzhen, was the fourth Emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the third Qing emperor to rule over China proper. He reigned from ...

of the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

(1644-1911). 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 The Yongle Emperor (; pronounced ; 2 May 1360 – 12 August 1424), personal name Zhu Di (), was the third Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1402 to 1424. Zhu Di was the fourth son of the Hongwu Emperor, the founder of the Ming dyn ...

(1403-1424) of the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

(1368-1644). According to a test by the

Chinese Academy of Sciences The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS); ), known by Academia Sinica in English until the 1980s, is the national academy of the People's Republic of China for natural sciences. It has historical origins in the Academia Sinica during the Republi ...

, 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.China tour China Tour
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 The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that o ...

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

Gallery

Image:Big Bell Tower.jpg, The temple's bell tower Image:Bell made in Ming Dynasty.jpg, The temple's Ming Dynasty bell Image:Drum Tower of Big Bell Temple.jpg, The temple's drum tower Image:Big Bell Temple Foundation Stone.jpg, Stone inscription Image:Temple of the Big Bell map.jpg, Map of the Temple of the Big Bell Image:Bell Museum Interior.jpg, Bell Museum Interior Bell Temple Garden.jpg, Bell Temple Garden Floor plaque .jpg, Floor plaque showing the distances where the bell can be heard

Footnotes

Buddhist temples in Beijing Religious buildings and structures completed in 1733 Major National Historical and Cultural Sites in Beijing 1733 establishments in China {{PRChina-religious-struct-stub