THE SOUL OF THE GREAT BELL

The Soul the Great Bell: A Reflection



       The Son of Heaven had instructed an official Kouan-Yu to create a bell that would be heard for one hundred li. Kouan-Yu and his laborers worked hard to finish the bell. They showed it to the Son of Heaven but the Son of Heaven was disappointed for the metals failed to mix with each other. They tried and worked harder for the second bell but it was the same. The Son of Heaven was frustrated and ordered the death of Kouan-Yu if he cannot produce the bell on his third try.

        Ko-Ngai, daughter of Kouan-Yu was afraid of his father's fate so she had consulted an astrologer to help his father. The astrologer advised that it will only be successful if a maiden will be melted into the crucible. So on the day of the third casting of the bell, she leapt in the crucible. Kouan-Yu was devasted however, everyone was surprised because the bell turned out to be more beautiful than the Son of Heaven had wished for.

Introduction 

        The soul of the Great Bell is a chinese legend by Lafcadio Hearn. This story is all about a young lady who loves her father unconditionally that she sacrificed her life for her father’s sake. Reading this story made my heart melt. I didn’t expect that there is actually a child who could sacrifice for their parents because as far as we know, most of the time, the parents are the one who sacrifice for their children. This story may be ancient yet we can still apply the lessons in the present.

          This blog is not only about the story. It also boosts your curiosity about the Chinese tradition and culture. This blog doesn’t only give facts but it also includes my opinions. Pictures were also provided to expound the information.
Yung-Lo (3rd ruler of China's Ming Dynasty)


Body

           In the story, Yung-Lo is the one who commanded Kouan-Yu to make a bell. According to EpicHistory.com, Yung-Lo is the man who became the third ruler of China’s Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) as Emperor Yongle (Yung-Lo) (meaning “lasting joy”) was the fourth son of Zhu Yuanzhang (Chu Yuan-Chang), the dynastic founder. His personal name was Zhu Di (Chu Ti).

          The first part of the story is that Yung-Lo commanded Kouan-Yu that he should make a bell that can be heard in the entire city of Peking.

The city of Peking

          For around ten centuries, successive generations of Chinese women endured a practice when, as children, their feet were systematically broken and shaped in such a way that they resembled hooves. The tradition, known as foot binding, eventually came to symbolize China’s backwardness, a relic from the country’s distant past. Foot binding was seen as sign of beauty and preparation for marriage. When a girl was of marriageable age, the mothers of marriageable age men would come to her home to check the size of her feet. If a girl wanted a wealthy husband, she had to have a tiny feet.
Foot binding

          In my opinion, it was a foolish way to symbolize beauty because for me, beauty isn’t about your physical appearance but it is also about having a beautiful soul. To be honest, if I existed during that time, I would probably disagree about that because you don’t have to feel pain to be beautiful because beauty is effortless. And It had me asking, “Do we really need to sacrifice in order to be wealthy and to get the man of our dreams?” because for me, I would rather marry an ordinary man than to experience pain growing up.

          Ko-ngai, a beautiful daughter of Kouan-Yu, loved her father so much that she had to refuse a hundred worthy suitors. It showed how she really loved her father. The bond of the father and daughter relationship is really tight that no one could ever tear them apart.

         
Dragon-Seal stamp 
         The part when Kouan-Yu didn’t succeed in making the bell, he got a letter that is sealed with a Dragon-Seal from Yung-Lo. The emperors of China were identified as the sons of Dragons. In fact, the flag of China is a dragon. It symbolizes power and strength. The letter from Yung-Lo telling him that if he can’t make it successfully in the third time, he will be executed. In ancient times, Long ago when you haven’t made your task a punishment will be given directly. Punishment is something that is given if someone does a wrong action. From what Kouan-Yu did, he didn’t made a crime at all. We can’t blame the person who failed in doing the task and it is unjustifiable to execute Kouan-Yu because we all know in the first place, he tried his very best in order the bell to be made successfully.

the bell is hanged in the Beijing Big Bell Temple
           After Ko-ngai sacrificed her life for the sake of her father’s life, the bell was successfully made. Until know, the bell that already lived for how many years is still present in the temple known as Beijing Big Bell Temple. And the city of Peking is now called Beijing, capital city of China.


Beijing, capital city of China

The Beijing Big Bell Temple









Conclusion 

           The legend gives us information about the tradition and beliefs in China. I find it distinctive and somewhat creepy.
                 In the story, I realized that if you love someone, you will sacrifice everything for him/her. You will risk your life just for her/his sake. I’m not saying that you will kill yourself in order to prove your love to someone, what I’m saying is that if you love someone, you should be brave. The bell still exists until now to symbolize the unconditional love of Ko-ngai to her father. It is a reminder to everyone that love is fair and love prevails. One thing in the story also taught us not to give up. Ko-ngai’s father worked hard in order the bell to be made successfully even if he already failed in many times. He showed determination when he did not give up.

REFERENCES:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_dragon
https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/article/1854927/all-about-sex-real-reason-why-chinese-women-bound-their-feet
https://allthatsinteresting.com/chinese-foot-binding
http://storyoftheweek.loa.org/2016/06/the-soul-of-great-bell.html




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