Introduction to bells (including bells and half-bells)

Introduction to Bells

Bells in China were probably first made of bamboo or wood, then pottery, then bronze, and began to have a fixed pitch.

After the introduction of Buddhism into China, the "Brahma bell" began to appear. There are three theories about the origin of the Sanskrit bell: one is from the influence of the original Vajra bells in India, the other is from the bronze bells hung on Buddhist pagodas, and the third is from the evolution of the original Chinese musical bells and court bells. During the Indian period of Buddhism, the original existence of "beating wood" to convene the monks, called "gandharva" or "gandharva vertebrae", made of lacquered wood. As mentioned in the Jungniji, "The Sanskrit word 'gandharva' is used to describe the wood used for beating, which is either sandalwood or tung, but there are no bells or chimes. In the early Buddhist period in India, there were no bells and chimes, but the use of bells gradually developed after entering China. The use of bells in Buddhism also has the meaning of summoning and telling time, and furthermore, it has the meaning of enlightening and awakening. For example, the Edicts of the Baizhang Qing Ruling says, "The great bell is the beginning of the jungle's order. If you strike it at dawn, it will break the long night of sleep; if you strike it at evening, it will make you realize the darkness of the streets. This means that the sound of the bell in the morning and the sound of the bell in the evening is used as a reminder of the practice of Buddhism. For Buddhism, the bell also has the religious connotation of stopping bad karma, as in the Zen 1 Ahan Sutra: "If you strike the bell, all the sufferings of the evil paths will stop. The bell has a religious connotation for Buddhism. Because of the religious connotations given to bells in the Buddhist classics, the worship of bells, such as the act of "worshiping the bell," has arisen. There are also small bronze bells suspended from wooden frames and placed on tables, commonly known as "half bells" or "call bells", or "lesson bells" if they are used in Buddhist morning and evening prayers, and they are used as musical instruments for chanting Buddhist hymns to match the beat of the chants. In Japan, only the small bells less than 30 centimeters are called "half bells", but they are not used for religious purposes and are commonly used for fire fighting in Japanese villages.

In Taoism, bells and chimes are hung in the jiao-festival ceremonies. In the Tang Dynasty, it was mentioned in the "Notes on the Precepts of Jiaozhu" that "the Taizhen Section says: 'Before the Jiaozhang, on the platform of the scripture, all hang golden bells and jade chimes'", which is meant to be "chimed according to the time", to warn and remind the Taoist priests of the Jiaozhu rituals on one hand, and on the other hand, it is meant to "touch the spirits", so as to enable the gods and humans to be inducted into each other. In Taoism, the materials of bells are divided into five categories: gold bells, silver bells, metal casting, copper bells and iron bells. In Taoist classics, "golden bells" are often chosen as the best material, which are made of gold and paired with jade chimes made of jade. In the Yuan Dynasty, in the Taoist Book of Aid to the Gods, the use of bells in Taoism was extended to the use of bells in Chinese music rituals, such as chimes and pendant bells, in order to respond to the ancient rhythms of music. Nowadays, Taoism in Taiwan still maintains the ritual of "sounding the golden bells and jade chimes", that is, by ringing the golden bells and jade chimes to harmonize the yin and yang of heaven and earth, and to invite the gods to come to the puja, so as to achieve the religious sentiment of promoting Taoism and helping the world.

The bells found in contemporary Taiwan are all made of copper. In general, Buddhist temples will be in front of the main hall, hanging above the pillar copper bell, called "pillar bell", the bell itself weighs more than 100 pounds. The bells themselves weigh more than a hundred pounds. In the case of larger palaces and temples, bell towers and drum towers are constructed to house large bells and drums. This kind of large bell, in the folk temple is mostly in the puja celebrations, as a welcome to the guests to send off the use of. In Buddhist temples, they are mostly used to tell the time and gather the people, so there is a "morning bell and evening drum"; generally, the number of bells ringing in the folk temples has 36, 72, 108 said that the representative of the number of the "36 astral deities", "72 earthly demons".