Bronze Bells from Ancient Korea

Metal craftsmen in ancient Korea were highly skilled artists, and some of their best surviving works are the large bronze bells used in Buddhist temples and monasteries. Both the unified Silla and Goryeo kingdoms made bells, but perhaps the most famous example is the 19-ton Emir bell from Bongdeoksa Temple, considered one of Korea's national treasures.

Origins and Functions

Bronze bells were first made in Korea during the Bronze Age, but these were small objects of uncertain use. They were not musical and may have been added to harnesses or used in shamanic rituals, or perhaps even as symbols of authority. Bells were introduced from China in 1116 AD as part of the aak orchestra that accompanied Confucian rituals and ceremonies. However, the most famous bells in Korea are the large cast bells (pomjong) used in Buddhist temples and monasteries. These were also imported from China during the Tang Dynasty, but as with other arts such as papermaking and ceramics, the Koreans outdid their teachers by making very large and beautifully decorated examples.

Korean large bronze bells do not have clappers; they are struck from the side with a horizontal wooden beam suspended from a rope. The bells themselves are suspended from the ceiling of a small, purpose-built pavilion structure near the entrance to the temple. The large bells ring at the beginning and end of each day to announce services, while smaller bells herald other services and ring hourly.

Silla Bells

The largest and most famous bronze bells in Korea come from the Silla Kingdom, which ruled southeastern Korea from 57 B.C. to 668 A.D., and then ruled the entire Korean Peninsula as a unified Silla Kingdom until 935 A.D. The bells are the most famous in Korea. Metalwork has long been a fine Silla art, most commonly found in gold-crowned and gilded bronze statues of various tombs and statues of Buddhist figures. A new art form that emerged during the Unified Silla period was the production of large bronze cast bells that hung in Buddhist temples.

The combination of dragon rings on the Korean bell crown is a unique combination of Chinese hanging bells and handbells.

Like Chinese bells, there are four square decorative panels (yugwak) near the top, each with nine knobs (ju) in three rows of three. Silla bells, however, differed from Chinese bells with a similar purpose in that they had a pair of relief-carved fleurs-de-lis - female celestial beings dedicated to the Buddha - as well as a more elaborate bell-suspension design, most commonly in the form of beautifully carved dragons and short hollow columns that may have acted as bathymetric tubes. Thus, the combination of dragon rings on Korean bell crowns (wu) is a unique combination of Chinese hanging bells (chung) and handbells (t'o).

Additional decoration usually includes floral motifs (sangdae) on the bottom and top of the bell, most often of honeysuckle or bosunghwa flowers. In addition, there is a large lotus garland near the bottom of the bell where the beam of light strikes the bell and a garland on the opposite side.

The oldest surviving bell comes from the Shangyuan Temple on Wutai Mountain near Pyeongchang and dates back to 725 AD. The bell is 1.67 meters tall and less than a meter in diameter, and was financed by Suidori, the wife of a local nobleman. The bell's decoration includes a flute and two harp players, as well as a lotus medallion surrounded by gold and silver flowers.

The largest of the Silla bells is from Bongdeoksa (Pandok-sa), also known as the Emir's Bell, which was cast in 771 CE in honor of King Sungdeok (reigned 702-737 CE). The inscription on the bell tells of the long process required to cast such a huge bell. It says that the project was started by Seongdeok's son Kyeongdeok, but he died in 765 A.D. It was not ready at that time, so his son Hyegong was left to finish the work. According to the legend of Samguk Yusa in the 13th century A.D., the man in charge of casting the bell was so arduous that he was forced to throw his own daughter into the molten bronze in the hope that her sacrifice would allow the bell to be finally made. The knock on the door *** is thought to echo the desperate cries of the girl Emile ('Mother') as she is thrown into the bronze, hence its popular name.

A closer look at the face of the bell reveals that the mold is made of several different pieces with ten pouring holes at the top. About 3.5 meters high and 2.27 meters in diameter, it is decorated with lotus flowers and celestial beings in the classic Silla dragon-shaped hanging rings. The bell weighs nearly 19 tons and is now on display at the Gyeongju National Museum. However, even the Pandok-sa Great Bell is dwarfed by a number of larger bells that, unfortunately, have not survived. One of them is the Hwangryongsa Great Bell, which is recorded to have weighed 500,000 kun or more than 300 tons.

Goryeo Bells

The Goryeo Dynasty ruled Korea from 918 AD to 1392 AD, and Buddhism remained the most important religion in the country. Seventy bells from this period have survived, 17 of which bear dates, the earliest being 963 AD. There are many examples in Japan today, gifted by the Yi *** or looted during Hideyoshi's invasion in the 16th century AD. Goryeo Great Bells are smaller than the giant bells made in the Silla Kingdom, but still up to 1.7 meters high. They were also cast in bronze and decorated with dragons and celestial figures, but now also with Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. If anything, Goryeo bells were more decorative than their predecessors, such as an example from the Naesco temple in southwestern Korea (AD 1222), where the upper edge of the bell extends into the petals of a lotus leaf, and there is a more elaborate border square around the nine nodules, with four spheres added to the dragon suspension ring. Perhaps the most outstanding Goryeo example is the 1.7-meter-tall bell now at the Deoksugung Museum of Art in Seoul.

The bells must not have been particularly popular with the local farmers, who were often forced by temples and monasteries to "donate" their bronze artifacts so that they could be melted down and recast into bells. This is probably the origin of the Bulgari monster in Korean folklore. His name means "Buddhist temple dweller" and it is believed that he lived on bronze and iron, which he melted with his hot body. He was particularly fond of needles, and would chase away other monsters as long as his appetite was satisfied. Handbells and temple gongs were also made of metal for use in Buddhist monasteries, and these smaller pieces were often beautifully inlaid with very fine silver or gold.