Nanjing Ming Hongwu Bronze Bell

Nanjing Ming Hongwu Bronze Bell

The Nanjing Ming Hongwu Bronze Bell is a cultural relic protected at the provincial level in Jiangsu Province.

Nanjing Ming Hongwu Bronze Bell

The Ming Hongwu Bronze Bell was cast in refined copper. It stands 3.65 meters tall, has a diameter of 2.3 meters, a base thickness of 0.17 meters, and weighs 23,000 kilograms. The top of the bell is adorned with raised lotus petal patterns, while the lifting beam is decorated with cloud and wave motifs, along with an inscription reading “Cast on an auspicious day in the ninth month of the 21st year of the Hongwu reign.” The bell is exquisitely crafted and beautifully shaped, with a loud and resonant tone. Originally hung in Nanjing’s Bell Tower, the tower collapsed during the Qing Dynasty’s Kangxi era, causing the bell to fall by the roadside and sink halfway into the earth. In the late Qing Dynasty, Jiangning Provincial Governor Xu Zhen erected a pavilion near Nanjing’s Drum Tower to hang the bell, naming it the “Great Bell Pavilion.” When struck, the bronze bell emits a deep, rumbling sound audible for several kilometers, making it the largest existing bronze bell in Nanjing.

The Great Bell Pavilion features a double-eaved, hexagonal pyramidal roof with gray tubular tiles, standing 14.5 meters high. Its structure includes a hexagonal intersecting beam system from which the large bell is suspended. A park centered around the Great Bell Pavilion, covering an area of 4,340 square meters, has been established. The “Ancient Pavilion’s Morning Bell” is listed as one of the New Forty Scenes of Jinling.

Address: No. 1, Dazhongting Road, Northeast Corner of Gulou Square, Nanjing City

Further Reading:

· First and Second Batch of Jiangsu Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units

· Four Great Bronze Bells of Jiangsu