Week 3 - The Soul of the Great Bell

The Soul of the Great Bell (Chinese Ghost Stories)

     Out of all of these stories, I read The Soul of the Great Bell. It was hard to get into the story but I started to understand it when the actual story of how the Great Bell was made.

     I don’t feel the horror in this story. I am not sure if it is just me, or not. I don’t get scared very easily. If this story was turned into a short film, it can be scary to an extent.

     I don’t think there was a “good vs. evil” scenario. Although, the man who demanded the bell to be made is very strict and mean about how he wanted it to be turned out. I guess that’s a bit of an evil connotation, especially when if the third time is not the charm, the Son of Heaven will severe them by the neck. I thought that was a little harsh of him to say that. I’m not sure what is so special about this bell.

     I thought it was interesting where the actual maker of the bell, Guanyu, had a daughter (Ge-ai) where she sacrificed herself to make the Great Bell a perfect cast mold. Although, I am not sure what the importance of the shoe is; all I get from the shoe is that “…the shoe of her beautiful mistress that was”.

     I want to wonder why Ge-ai went into the furnace in the first place. Like, what was the point of her going in there? Did she want to speed up the process? Did she think she was so beautiful that maybe if she went in there, she would make the Great Bell beautiful? The later question was the one that was answered perhaps. Once she gotten in the furnace and the bell cast mold was made, the Great Bell was so beautiful. It was unfortunate that they couldn’t find the actual remains of the daughter’s body but still turned out amazingly beautiful to look at.