Bell Tower in Xian, built in 17th year during the reign of Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang in Ming Dynasty (AD 1384), is situated in the center of Xian City. There is a big bell hung in it, therefore it is named as ‘Bell Tower’. It is the biggest and most complete one of Chinese ancient bell towers. Xian is the most important military city in Ming Dynasty. In terms of scale, historical value and artistic value, Xian Bell Tower is the champion of similar buildings. Bell Tower is a three-floor building, built on a square base with bricks and woods. It is 36 meters high. The base is 8.6 meters high. Each side of the base is 35.5 meters long. Its total area is 1377.4 square meters. The overall style of Bell Tower is typical Ming architecture. There is a spiral staircase leading to the top of Bell Tower. The roof is covered with bottle-green glazed tiles and the wall is painted with golden pictures. The rooms of the Bell Tower are decorated with painted pillars and carved beams. And each door of the tower was carved with eight embossments. Each embossment represents an ancient story. The copper-gilt pinnacle is shining under the sunray. From the Bell Tower stretch out four roads in the east, west, north and south. The four roads separately connected with the eastern, western, northern and southern gates of the Ming City Wall. The original site of the Bell Tower was at Guangji Street. In the middle of each side of the base, there is a cave about 6 meters high. It used to be the pass way, as the four roads crossed there. But now it can’t meet the need of traffic flow, so it was closed. Instead of it, around the Bell Tower built highway turntable and under the Bell Tower built souterrain. The Bell Tower in ancient China was used to tell the time, now it becomes one of the symbols of Xian. The bell in the tower, named ‘Jing Yun’, was built in the second year of Jingyun during the reign of Emperor Taizhong in Tang Dynasty. The bell is 2 meters high and 1.5 meters in diameter. It is over five thousand kilograms. The bell was carved with flying cranes and dragons. You could hear the ring of the bell from ten miles. It was first set in the Bell Tower at Guangji Street, afterwards it following the Bell Tower moved to the recent site. The bell we saw is a copy. The real one is in the Shanxi Historical Museum. The ring of the bell was recorded and broadcasted everyday in the Xian Baohua Building.
Bell Tower Story
1. Why the Bell Tower Moved
It was moved in the 9th year during the reign of Emperor Wangli. In that year, a great earthquake happened in Xian, the Taoist priest Gao Chengzhi said that the earthquake was caused by a ten thousand years old turtle under the earth. So the local government moved the Bell Tower to the entrance of the turtle’s cave in order to threat the turtle. Afterwards earthquake never happened in Xian. The antithetical couplets in the front of the Bell Tower recorded the story.
2. Blow Xiao (a vertical bamboo flute) to attract phoenix: one of the stories on the carved doors
It is a love story about Xiao Shi and Nong Yu. As the story has a mysterious relationship with music, it is very special in the love history of China. It was said that Xiao Shi was a person in the reign of Qin Mugong during Spring and Autumn Period, and he was very good at blowing Xiao. The beautiful sounds can attract the cranes. The loved daughter of Qin Mugong, named Nongyu, was zealous about the music Xiao Shi blew. So she married Xiao Shi, and learned how to blow Xiao like the sounds of phoenix from her husband. Several years later, the sounds she blew really attracted phoenix coming to their house. Qin Mugong heard of that, built a tall building named ‘Phoenix Platform’ for them. In a morning the couple ridded a phoenix and flied away. In memory of the unique couple, people built a temple, named ‘Feng Nv temple’. It was said that sometimes you could hear the sound of blowing Xiao from the temple.
3. Diao Chang: one of the stories on the carved doors
Diao Chang is one of the Four Great Beauties in Chinese ancient time. She was a servant of Wang Yun, who is an officer loyal to the emperor in East Han Dynasty. But the emperor was under the control of a bad officer, named Dong Zhuo. Wang Yun was very worried about that Dong Zhuo will take the throne. Diao Chang told him that she want to share his worries. As Diao Chang was unbelievably beautiful, Wang Yun asked her to seduce Dong Zhuo and his adopted son, Lv Bu, and sow dissension between them. As a result, Lv Bu killed Dong Zhuo in order to get Diao Chang.
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