19TH CENTURY

The present bell was modeled after a bronze prototype that was part of the Da Cheng bianzhong, or ritual bells that were commissioned by the Song dynasty emperor Huizong (1082-1135) between 1104-1105. The bells were based on the Duke Cheng of Song zhong of the Spring and Autumn period, excavated in 1104. A total of twelve sets of bells were cast, each comprising 28 bells, although only about ten or so Da Cheng bells remain today. There is one with the same inscription as the present bell in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in the The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - 28 - Bronze Articles for Daily Life,. Hong Kong, 2006, p. 217. (Fig. 1)