Emille

The Sacred Bell of King Songdok

This bronze bell, the largest of its kind in the Orient, was cast in 771 A.D. during the reign of King Hyegong, the 36th ruler of Shilla. An impressive example of Shilla metal craft, the bell is approximately 3.78 meters high and 2.24 meters in diameter, weighing 18.9 tons. The making of the bell was first undertaken by King Kyongbok to honor the spirit of his deceased father, King Songdok. King Kyongdok died before realizing his dream and the bell was not completed until the reign of his son, King Hyegong.The hollow tube, which is believed to control the tone, the kneeling apsaras (or heavenly maidens), the four panels (each containing 9 nipple-like protrusions), and the lotus and grass designs are all typical of bells of the Unified Shilla period (668-935). The bell is commonly known as the Emile Bell, a name derived from an ancient Shilla term, pronounced em-ee-leh that means "mommy." According to legend, the bell would not ring when it was first cast, so it was melted down to be recast. The head priest of a temple threw a small child into the molten metal, saying he was told to do so by a vision. When the bell was recast and struck, it sounded like the baby's cries of em-ee-leh when the child was sacrificed.  --Gyeongju National Museum Travel Guide

Above mountains swathed in thin blue mist

Teeter giant dragonflies

Buzzing drunken mid-summer songs

Under black earth and bright green grass

Slumber kings and soldiers

Servants and concubines

Ancient tongues, wrist bones, and hair

Ache and hope

The everyday grind

Between the two worlds

A large bronze bell

Is tolling is pleading

Inside 

The necessary sacrifice of a woman 
Who had nothing else to give

A nation under threat

A grateful, indifferent king

The child’s voice cries for his mother

em-ee-leh em-ee-leh em-ee-leh

Knowing no one will answer

No one will come

© Jane Park