The Yongle Bell was cast during the reign of Emperor Yongle of the
Ming Dynasty early in the 15th century. The story goes that when
Emperor Chengzu (his dynastic title, or Yongle as his reign title)
moved the capital to Beijing, he initiated three great projects,
that is, the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven and the Yongle
Bell. This attests to the historical position of the Yongle Bell in
those days.?
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Emperor Taizu (Zhu Yuanzhang) overthrew the Yuan Dynasty and
founded the Ming Dynasty. He made Nanjing the capital. In order to
strengthen the frontier defense in the north, Zhu Yuanzhang made
his fourth son Zhu Di the Prince of Yan and gave Beiping to him as
his domain. In 1398, Zhu Yuanzhang died and his grandson Zhu Yunwen
succeeded to the throne. Historically he was known as Emperor
Jianwen. After he came to the throne, he deeply felt the threat
from the various vassals who had powerful troops under their
command. He adopted the advice of Qi Tai, Minister of War, and
Huang Zicheng, Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices to
weaken the power of the vassals. In the 6th lunar month of the year
when he came to the throne, he began to depose Prince of Zhou,
Prince of Xiang and three other princes in outlying areas. Zhu Di,
the Prince of Yan, who had 100,000 troops under his command, was
the most powerful vassal. He launched a punitive expedition against
Qi and Huang under the pretext of "no honest ministers but
treacherous officials in the imperial court." He won the war to
seize the throne. In 1402, he stormed into Nanjing and seized the
throne. Emperor Jianwen was nowhere to be found. Qi Tai, Huang
Zicheng and other senior officials as well as their families were
executed. Tens of thousands of people were involved in the case and
executed. In 1403, Zhu Di changed the reign title to Yongle and
issued an imperial edict to "take Beiping as Beijing" (Northern
Capital). He decided to move the capital. In the first lunar month
of the 19th year of the reign of Yongle (1421), Beijing became the
capital.
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According to the established law contained in the Veritable
Records of Taizu that "a big bell can be cast only for those
who made meritorious services," he ordered the casting of the
matchless big bell. The Yongle Bell was regarded as a "guardian"
when Zhu Di moved the capital to Beijing. It was also a symbol of
the greatest reverence of imperial power.
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In the old days, there was another argument for the casting of
the Yongle Bell. In the Ode to the Big Bell of the Temple of
Awakening, Shen Deqian, a poet of the Qing Dynasty, wrote:
???
?"The swallow (referring to the
Prince of Yah) flew to peck the boy.
???????? ?A
million troops advanced southward like worms.
??????? ? Many
were implicated and killed in cold blood.
????????
?Loyal officials were eliminated in a disaster.
?????? ?? The
might of Buddha was relied on to wipe out the black
karma.
?????? ?? The bell
resounded through the gates of Heaven..."
The poet denounced Zhu Di for killing innocent people
without discrimination to seize the throne and pointed out
explicitly that Emperor Chengzu had the bell cast to "eliminate the
black karma by relying on the might of Buddha." After he read this
poem, Emperor Qianlong wrote these interesting verses:
???
??"How tragic and vicious
the implication was!
??????? ? Graves
were scattered on both banks of the Longjiang.
??????? ? The pen
of a historian could hardly be avoided.
??????? ? He
confessed by dint of the Buddhist bell..."
???
In the capacity of an emperor, Qianlong noted without restraint
and more incisively that in the battle to usurp the throne, Zhu Di
killed countless people and cruelly implicated many others in the
case and that he had the bell cast with a view to confessing by
dint of the bell.
???
No matter which argument holds true, Emperor Chengzu has really
left behind an admirable and priceless treasure. Several hundred
years have elapsed. The rise and fall of emperors have gone with
the wind. But the Yongle Bell remains majestic. It is a
crystallization of superb skills of laboring people in ancient
times. Today, the resounding strokes of the Yongle Bell spread the
splendid civilization of the Chinese nation far and near.
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Opinions are widely divided about when the Yongle Bell was
cast, the casting technology, the inscriptions on the bell and the
relocations of the bell. Even erroneous messages have been
incorrectly relayed. The establishment of the Big Bell Temple
Museum has made it possible to carry out comprehensive,
thoroughgoing and systematic textual research on the Yongle
Bell.
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