Divine Bell of King Seongdeok (bronze casting and acoustics)
Campana del rey Seongdeok (fundición de bronce y acústica)
- Date
- 771 · confidence high
- Place
- Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang, South Korea
- Credited to
- Bronze casters of Unified Silla
- Field
- Matter & energy
What it is
A great bronze bell of about 19 tonnes cast in 771, with a sound pipe (eumtong) in the crown and a resonance pit dug beneath it. Its long, modulated tone made it the reference for the Korean Buddhist bell.
It was commissioned by King Gyeongdeok to honour his father Seongdeok and completed under Hyegong. The 'Emille' legend (a child sacrifice) has no historical basis; modern analyses explain its sound by its shape and alloy.
What it led to
- the Korean bell style with sound pipe and resonance pit
- casting of large bronze pieces in Silla temples
- modern studies of bell acoustics (beating or 'maeum')