  The
Bell Tower was one of the tallest buildings in the temple. From
the picture on the back of the tablet Deeds of Dharmapala,
the wall paintings in White Robe Hall and pictures taken before it
was destroyed by fire, the Bell Tower was pavilion style structure,
approximately 9x15 in size, four layers of flying eaves. It
measured 10 zhang (more than 33 meters) in height and looked very
lofty. |
 The
iron bell hanging in the top room of the tower crashed down to the
ground when the tower was burnt. It now rests next to the newly
build Bell Tower. The inscriptions on the bell say that it was
cast in 1204. The bell in 200cm high, 170cm in calibre and its
wall in 4 to 12cm thick from top to bottom. The bell weights
5500kg. There are eight lips along the edge (for striking). The
Eight Diagrams cast on the bell indicate the hanging positions.
According to the History of the Shaolin Temple the bell
could be heard 30 li (15 km) away. |
| There are two other relics on the ruins of the Bell Tower. One is the statue of Ksitigarba cast in 148, 175cm high. He is bald headed, sitting with his legs crossing in the lotus-shaped pedestal, his kasaya over his shoulders: but his chest is not covered. The other is a tablet named Inscription on the Casting of the Copper Statue of Maitreya, standing in the northwest corner. It is 138cm high, 61cm wide and 17.5cm thick, cast in the same year as the statue of Ksitigarba. |
 Present
day information board attached to the building says this:"The Bell Tower is a spacious pavilion - style structure at the foot of the mountain, with four layers of flying eaves. It is one of the major building in the temple, more than 33 meters high. The original building was destroyed in 1928 and was rebuilt in 1994 after the old model. The bell hanging in the tower weighs about 6500 kg. The statue of Bodhissattva Dizang (Ksitigarbha) was cast in the first year of Emperor Hongzhi of the Ming Dynasty. It is 1.7 meters tall, weighing more than 5000 kg." |
 . |
  |
 In
728 was a tablet was erected, which told the events of monks
saving Lishimin. The tablet can be found at the foot of the Bell
Tower. The picture on the left shows the tablets protected by a
brick structure. The first B/W picture on this page shows the
tablets freestanding.
The text was once dictated by emperor Taizong during his visit to the temple. This visit took place on the 30th day of the 4th lunar month in the 4th year since the commencement of the Tang Dynasty (621). The text was engraved on the upper part of the front side of the tablet. The words were written in 38 lines, each of 8 Chinese characters. In the fifth line there is the name "Shimin" autographed by Li Shimin himself. The text praised the monks who helped him in defeating Wang Shichong. Under the text are carved the name of the tablet Shaolin Temple of the Imperial Tang, written by Pei Cui. The inscription that follows describes the historical events relating to the Temple from its initial stage to the reign on Emperor Xuan Zong (712-742). On the back of this tablet is carved the Inscription about the Imperial Bestowal on Shaolin Temple autographed by Emperor Li Shimin. The meaning is basically the same as that on the front side. Below it are the imperial documents concerning Shaolin temple promulgated respectively in 621,625,632 an 723. Of the fights a mural was also made, this can be seen inside the White Robe Hall (Baiyi Dian). |
| Next is: Gu Lou; 'Drum Tower' |