Bronze Bell with Inscription of "Cheonheungsa Temple" in Seonggeosan Mountain

The largest of the Goryeo bells surviving in Korea, 1.33 m high and 0.96 m across the mouth. The dragon loop on top, from which the bell hangs, is a dragon holding a magic jewel, its head raised higher than on Silla bells. The sound tube behind the loop is shaped like bamboo, and lotus rings the edge of the flat crown. Bands about 10 cm wide, bordered with beading and filled with flowers and scrolls, run round the top and bottom of the body. Just below the upper band are four square nipple panels, each with nine lotus-bud bosses. Below them are two round striking places, bordered with beading and decorated with lotus. Between the striking places are two flying celestials, placed one each on the diagonal, unlike on Silla bells. Just below one of the nipple panels is a frame shaped like a memorial tablet with an inscription in relief, which shows that the bell was made in 1010 (Tonghe 28, the first year of King Hyeonjong of Goryeo) for Cheonheungsa on Seonggeosan Mountain. Next in size only to the Silla bell of Sangwonsa (a national treasure) and the Divine Bell of King Seongdeok (a national treasure) among bells in Korea, it may be called the bell that represents the Goryeo temple bell in technique and style.

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Where it is

Region

Yongsan-gu, Seoul

Designation

National Treasure · 국보