Big Bell Temple

{{Short description|Buddhist temple in Beijing, China}}

{{Infobox religious building

| name = Big Bell Temple

| native_name = Dazhong Temple, Juesheng Temple

| image = Big Bell Temple Entrance.jpg

| image_size = 250px

| alt =

| caption = The temple's entrance

| map_type = Beijing

| map_size =

| map_alt =

| map_caption = Location in Beijing

| location =

| coordinates = {{coord|39|58|05|N|116|19|55|E|region:CN-11_type:landmark_source:kolossus-dewiki|display=title,inline}}

| religious_affiliation = Buddhism

| deity =

| country = China

| functional_status =

| website =

| founded_by =

| year_completed =

}}

The Big Bell Temple, or Dazhong Temple ({{zh|s=大钟寺|t=大鐘寺|p=Dàzhōng Sì}}), originally known as Juesheng Temple ({{zh|s=觉生寺|t=覺生寺|p=Juéshēng Sì}}), is a Buddhist temple located on the North 3rd Ring Road in Haidian District, Beijing, China.

The Big Bell Temple was built in 1733 during the reign of the Yongzheng Emperor of the Qing dynasty (1644-1911).{{Cite web |url=http://chineseculture.about.com/library/gallery/beijing/bell/blgbigbell.htm |title=About.com. The Big Bell Temple |access-date=2008-08-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080706225923/http://chineseculture.about.com/library/gallery/beijing/bell/blgbigbell.htm |archive-date=2008-07-06 |url-status=dead }} The temple's name came after the famous "Yongle Big Bell" that is housed inside the temple, which was cast during the reign of the Yongle Emperor (1403-1424) of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644). According to a test by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Yongle Big Bell's sound could reaches up to 120 decibels and can be heard 50 kilometers away from the temple in the depth of night.[http://www.chinatour.com/attraction/big_bell_temple.htm China tour China Tour] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080917034614/http://www.chinatour.com/attraction/big_bell_temple.htm |date=2008-09-17 }} Many music experts, including some from the Chinese Acoustics Institute have found its tone pure, deep and melodious with a sprightly rhythm. Its frequency ranges from 22 to 800 hertz.

According to about.com: {{quote|The Yongle Big Bell weighs about 46 tons, with a height of 5.5 meters and a diameter of 3.3 meters. The bell is famous not only because of its size, but probably more importantly because of the over 230,000 characters of Buddhist scriptures engraved on it.|About.com}}

The temple has housed an ancient bell museum, known as Big Bell Temple Ancient Bell Museum ({{zh|s=大钟寺古钟博物馆|p=Dàzhōng Sì Gǔzhōng Bówùguǎn}}), since 1985, featuring hundreds of bronze bells from temples throughout China.