Tianjin Fire Bell has many stories behind it

In the fourth year of Emperor Guangxu's reign (1878), the German Krupp Company cast a large bell weighing 6,500 kilograms and presented it to Li Hongzhang as a birthday commemoration. In the seventh year of Emperor Guangxu's reign (1881), the bell was transported to Tianjin.

There is another saying that the bell was originally given to Empress Dowager Cixi by the Germans, but Cixi gave it to Li Hongzhang because it was not auspicious to "send off the dead". In short, no matter who it was given to, the right to dispose of it fell into the hands of Li Hongzhang.

Of course, Li Hongzhang would not accept this ominous object, so he hung the bell in Haiguang Temple, which was where the two emperors Kangxi and Qianlong visited.

Gao Linwen (a famous historian of Tianjin) wrote in his Essays on Records: “At the beginning of the Guangxu period, the Germans brought in a large bell, and Li Xiang ordered it to be hung outside the Haiguang Temple.

Gao's record is rather vague. He only said in general that the Germans brought in the bell, but did not explain the reason. In other words, he did not write who the bell was for or why it was sent to Tianjin.

Li Hongzhang sent seven technicians from the Machinery Bureau to carve the entire Buddhist Diamond Sutra on the clock. However, the seven technicians died one after another within 100 days after carving the scriptures, which became a mystery in the legends of Tianjin people at that time.

Strangely, there is no record of the death of these seven technicians in Tianjin's historical documents. The record of this incident is in "Tianjin Illustration History" written by British Remsen in 1920.

Remsen came to China around 1906 and lived mainly in Tianjin. He worked as an editor and reporter for Tianjin's foreign media, including the North China Business, the North China Star, and the Oriental Times.

"Outline of the History of Tianjin Illustrations" includes 320 pages of text, 175 photos, and three maps.

This book records in detail and humorously the influential and eye-catching events and many anecdotes that took place during the 65 years from the establishment of the Nine-Nation Concessions to the writing of the book during the Republic of China period.

It is a book among the early Western studies on Tianjin that has rich and accurate information, comprehensive and detailed discussion, and lively writing.

According to the Outline of Tianjin Illustration History, this bell was cast in Germany in 1878, shipped to Tianjin in May 1881, and handed over to the Chinese government as a symbol of the German government's friendship with China.

The Chinese government then ordered the then Governor General Li Hongzhang to place the bell in a suitable place. As Emperor Qianlong had visited Haiguang Temple, Li Hongzhang decided to hang the bell in the temple.

Here, the bell donation is said to be a matter between the German and Chinese governments, which is different from a birthday commemoration. However, as the place where Emperors Kangxi and Qianlong visited, the bell was given here, which can be regarded as a proper treatment.

This book not only records the mysterious deaths of seven technicians, but also records Prince Chun Yihuan's inspection of Haiguang Temple. It also includes a group photo of Yihuan with Li Hongzhang and others, and the background of the photo is Haiguang Temple at that time.

Remsen has detailed records of many historical events in Tianjin at that time. Unfortunately, this book only records the time of the technician's death, without describing the specific symptoms and causes, which makes the matter even more mysterious.

In modern times, some experts have suspected from the perspective of modern medicine that the technicians used some chemical methods when carving the scriptures, which caused the technicians to be poisoned. There are many different opinions on this matter among the people, some of which are mixed with some feudal superstitions.

On July 9, 1900, the Japanese army, with the cooperation of Russia, the United States and Britain, fought a fierce battle with the Qing army and the Boxers in the Haiguang Temple area. During the battle, the Haiguang Temple was destroyed by artillery fire and not a single tile remained.

Later, the Japanese army built a barracks on the ruins of Haiguang Temple. After the signing of the Boxer Protocol, Haiguang Temple was included in the Japanese concession.

Haiguang Temple

From the time it was incorporated into the concession until the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, the Japanese army occupied Haiguang Temple for 45 years. Since then, Haiguang Temple has completely disappeared, without a single tile left. Only a road named "Haiguang Temple Avenue" by foreigners remains, which is today's Xikang Road.

After the Japanese army destroyed the temple, they looted the bell and presented it to the Tianjin Municipal Council, which then hung it in Victoria Park in front of Gordon Hall as a fire alarm.

In 1921, the local government rebuilt Wanghai Temple at the new site of Balitai in the southern suburbs of Tianjin. The British Municipal Council returned the bell to Wanghai Temple as a gesture of friendship. From then on, the Haiguang Temple bell was handed over to Nankai University as the school bell.

On July 28, 1937, the Japanese troops stationed in Haiguang Temple brutally bombed Nankai University. Many buildings of Nankai University were destroyed and the big bell disappeared from then on.

Regarding the whereabouts of the bell, some say it was looted by the Japanese and taken to Japan, some say it was destroyed in the bombing, some say it was melted into guns, etc., but these statements are all speculations and there is no documentary evidence to support them.

There are many stories behind this big bell. It is one of the earliest big bells used for fire alarm in my country and a precious firefighting relic. It is a pity that it has been lost for more than 80 years.

Nowadays, people can only recall its existence from "Outline of Tianjin Illustration History", "General History of Chinese Firefighting" and old postcards.

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Text | Fan Qiangqiang

Picture | From Baidu Pictures, copyright belongs to the original author, please contact us if there is any infringement.

Source: Mr. Fire