The role of Beijing bell and drum tower in ancient times

The function of Beijing Bell and Drum Tower in ancient times was to tell the time.

Take Beijing Bell and Drum Tower as an example. The bell hanging on the bell tower was cast in Yongle period of Ming Dynasty. The bell is made of copper-tin alloy, with a height of 7.02 meters, a diameter of 3.40 meters, a wall thickness of 0.245 meters and a weight of about 63 tons. It is called "the oldest clock".

Drum Tower is used to set 25 drums, 1 main drum and 24 groups of drums. It is based on 24 agricultural festivals in China. At present, only the main drum is kept, with a height of 2.22m, a waist diameter of1.71.0m and a diameter of1.40m.. 1900 when Eight-Nation Alliance invaded Peking,

According to the Records of the Imperial Empire of the Qing Dynasty, the chimes of bells and drums are under the jurisdiction of Guan Yiwei, and the method of drumming each time is commonly known as: tight eighteen, slow eighteen, not only slow eighteen, but also slow eighteen. The alternating eighteen tones are * * * six times, totaling 108 tones.

Active structure

On the second floor of Beijing Gulou, an antique drum performance will be held every once in a while. There are 25 drums left in the Drum Tower, with the big drum in the middle representing 1 year and the remaining 24 small drums representing 24 solar terms. In the 600-year-old history of striking time, the bell and drum tower has always followed the mode of beating the drum first and then ringing the bell, resulting in the "twilight drum and morning bell".

At dusk, the bell tower knocks 18, the drum tower knocks 18, and * * * knocks 108 three times, which counts as one hour. During the performance of drum music, three drummers dressed in national costumes will come to the main drum on time and start beating the drum surface. The drums are vigorous and powerful, and the drum music performance of the Drum Tower has different drums in four seasons.

Baidu Encyclopedia-Beijing Drum Tower and Bell Tower