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The Bell of King Seongdeok is a massive bronze bell, the largest extant bell in Korea. The full Korean name means ''"Sacred (or Divine) Bell of King Seongdeok the Great."'' It was also known as the Emile Bell, after a legend about its casting, and as the Bell of Bongdeoksa Temple, where it was first housed. The bell was commissioned by King Gyeongdeok to honor his father, King Seongdeok. However, King Gyeongdeok never lived to see the casting of the bell, as he died in 765 A.D. The bell was finally cast in 771 A.D., during the reign of Gyeongdeok's son, King Hyegong. Now stored in the National Museum of Gyeongju, the bell was designated as the 29th national treasure of Korea on December 12, 1962. It measures 3.33 meters high, 2.27 meters in diameter, and 11 to 25 centimeters in wall thickness. The Gyeongju National Museum weighed it in 1997, and found that its weight was 18.9 tons.〔Official Site of Korea Tourism: (The Divine Bell of King Seongdeok )〕 When rung, it is said to have been heard from 40 miles away on a clear day.. ==Artistic characteristics== thumb thumb thumb The bell is considered a masterpiece of Unified Silla art. It is unique among Korean bronze bells because of the presence of a small hollow tube near the hook. The whole structure, including its decorative elements, produces a wide range of sound frequencies; the tube absorbes high frequency waves, contributing to a distinctive beat.〔Beat Maps of King Song-Dok Bell, Beat Map Drawing Method of Bell Type Structures and Beat Maps of the King Seong-deok Divine Bell by Kim Seok Hyun. http://www.ndsl.kr/ Another article can search at JSV 2005.3 by Yi JangMu and Yi CiUk〕 The hook of the bell is in the shape of a dragon's head. There are many relief patterns on the bell, including are flower patterns along the rim and shoulder. There are also reliefs of lotus flowers, grass reliefs, and a pair of two ''apsarases'' (heavenly maidens). The striking point of the bell (''dwangja'') is also in the shape of a lotus and sits between two of the apsarases reliefs. The bottom of the bell is in a rhombic shape, lending it a look unique among bells of the Orient. The inscriptions on the bell, over a thousand hanja, are a fine example of Korean calligraphy and carving. They provide detailed information about the bell and why it was cast. The column the bell hangs on is quite firm. Even a column made with the same diameter, out of modern alloy might bend by weight of the bell, yet the bell still hangs on an ancient column that has lasted for several centuries.〔나의 문화유산답사기(literally ''My Cultural Heritage Exploration''.) book 3 chapter 9, by Yu HengJun〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Bell of King Seongdeok」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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