The Casting of the

Great Bell
The Casting of the Great Bell was
retold by Lafcadio Hearn .Hearn
was an American journalist
whose parents were Irish and
Greek . He spent the letter part of
his life in japan later marrying a
Japanese girl

His interest in the oriental culture

inspired him to write the English
version of well known Chinese
and japanese folktales. When he
became a Japanese citizen , he
took the name Yakumo Kaizumi.
 Summary of story
• Nearly 500 years ago, the Celestial August and Yung-Lo commanded his
greatest bellsmiths and mouders to create a bell that will create a sound
that reaches 100 Li. It was spearheaded by Kouan-Yu. They tried to cast
a bell twice but gold, silver, brass, iron wouldn’t meld together.At first,
when the Son of Heaven heard about it, he got angry but he spake
nothing. When the second time the Celestial August learned about the
situation, he got angrier and sent Kouan-Yu a letter warning him that if
they wouldn’t successfully cast the bell, he would be condemned to
death.Ko-Ngai is the daughter of Kouan-Yu. She is exquisite but her heart
is much more beautiful than her face. Ko-Ngai found the letter, read it,
and kept mum about it. She sold her jewelries and gold to pay an
astrologer she needs to consult for an advice. The astrologer informed
her that gold and brass will never meet in wedlock, silver and iron never
will embrace until the flesh of a maiden is melted in the crucible and the
blood of a virgin is mixed in the metal fusion. Thus, in the third attempt,
Ko-Ngai leapt in the crucible. His father couldn’t do anything, he was
sorrowful but they need to follow the order of the Celestial August and
Yung-Lo.They casted the bell with success. As they rang the bell, it
created a sound that is deeper, mellower and mightier than any other
bell.
 Who are involved?

Kouan –Yu,
Yong-Lo official Ko –Ngai
,emperor of from the ,daughter
Ming city of of Kouan
Dynasty Peking Yu
Where did this happen?

A long time ago in the

city of Peking , China
during the Ming dynasty
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
Futhermore ,he ordered that the bell’s lips
should be engraved With blessed sayings
Through all the master
molders were tasked
to cast the great bell
,all the metals would
not mix well . The bell
they casted craked,
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 wouldn’t be done ,
Kouan Yu to die.
This worried his beautiful daughter ,Ko –
Ngai who asked for a fortune teller’s
advice to help his father. The advice was
for the bell to be casted perfectly a virgin
blood must be mixed with the metals
Why was the story given
the casting of the great
bell?
• The sound of the bell before is bad. ... When Ko-
ngai sacrificed herself as the astrologer
said,the bell rang/sounded perfectly. It was
pleasant to the ear. It was called the ‘casting of The
Great Bell' because of the sacrifice the daughter
did.Jul 17, 2017
 Reflection
• THE casting OF THE GREAT BELL. The castingof the
Great Bell is a story of a daughter who has an
unconditional love for her father. Ko-Ngai is a brave
girl and she died for her father, Kouan-Yu, who was
commanded that a great bellshould be made.