Bells and
drums were musical instruments in ancient China. Later they were used
to tell time and became watches for the officials and common people
as well. Bell and Drum towers was time telling center during the Yuan,
Ming and Qing Dynasties (1271-1911).
In
the Qing Dynasty, the hours were marked at night beginning at 7:00 p.m.,
a procedure that was popularly called "setting the watch."
At this hour, the drums were sounded 13 times. After the watch had been
"set" in this fashion, each subsequent two-hour interval was
marked by a single drum beat. Civil and military officials oriented
their lives around these time signals. At the sounding of the third
watch (1:00 a.m.) officials attending the morning court audience rose
from there beds and at the fourth (3:00 a.m.) assembled outside the
Meridian Gate (Wumen). At the sounding of the fifth watch (5:00 a.m.)
they entered the Imperial Palace and knelt on the Sea of Flagstones
(Haimen) before the Hall of Supreme Harmony (Taihedian) to await instructions
from the emperor.
At the
very beginning in the Ming Dynasty, the bell and drum were beaten together
both during the day and nighttime. When Qian Long was emperor in the
Qing Dynasty, the bell and drum were beaten together only two times
at night by two workers who were assigned to beat the bell and drum
respectively. First the drum and then the bell was beaten.
At seven
o'clock in the evening, the drum was beaten followed by the bell to
inform people it was time to go to sleep. At nine o'clock, eleven o'clock,
as well as one and three o'clock in the morning, only the bell was beaten
to avoid awakening the sleeping people. At five o'clock in the morning,
again the drum was beaten followed by the bell to inform people to rise.
Each time this ritual of the drum being beaten occurred 108 times, 18
times very rapidly and 18 times very slowly. The bell was beaten following
the same method.
Although
the Bell and Drum Towers have lost their function of telling time (The
function was completely lost in 1924 when the last emperor of the Qing
Dynasty was forced to leave the Forbidden City), you can still hear
the rings of these ancient timepieces even now.
Beijing Tour Routes Includes Bell and Drum Tower
Photo of Drum and Bell Tower
   
|
Home: China Attractions : Beijing Attractions :
Home