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The Great Bell: A Tale of Devotion

The emperor of China commanded one of his officials, Kouan Yu, to cast a giant bell that could be heard from 100 li away. Multiple attempts by master molders failed, as the metals would not combine properly and resulted in cracked, flawed bells that did not ring uniformly. Upon hearing of the failed attempts, the emperor grew angry and decreed that if the bell was not completed successfully, Kouan Yu would be put to death.

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Evanessa Villacrusis
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31 views1 page

The Great Bell: A Tale of Devotion

The emperor of China commanded one of his officials, Kouan Yu, to cast a giant bell that could be heard from 100 li away. Multiple attempts by master molders failed, as the metals would not combine properly and resulted in cracked, flawed bells that did not ring uniformly. Upon hearing of the failed attempts, the emperor grew angry and decreed that if the bell was not completed successfully, Kouan Yu would be put to death.

Uploaded by

Evanessa Villacrusis
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

The Story of the Great Bell

What happened?
Yong-Lo, the mighty emperor
of the Ming Dynasty
commanded the Kouan Yu,
one of his officials to cast a
great bell of an enormous size
that the sound could be heard
for one hundred li. The bell
should be made of brass, gold
and silver. Furthermore, he
ordered that the bells lips
should be engraved with
blessed sayings.
Though all the master molders
were tasked to cast the great
bell, all the metals would not
mix well. The bell they casted
was cracked, fissured and
split. There was even no
uniformity in the sound.
The mighty emperor heard of
it and he was angry. He gave
one final order that if the bell
wouldnt be done, Kouan Yu
had to die.

Why did the author tell this story?


the Chinese (you may ask your students other
Chinese folktales that highlight family devotion
e.g. Mulan)
show that obedience was imperative among
the people of ancient China (follow up question
maybe: Is obedience to their leader still
imperative among the Chinese today?)
bells in China (You may tell your students that
bells play significant role in the Chinese culture)

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