4 BULLETIN 136, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



A comparatively small wooden gong from the Samoan Islands 

 is 152749. It is made of a rounded block of wood and the ends slope 

 like the bow and stern of a canoe. An oblong opening is cut in the 

 upper side. The drumstick is a conical piece of dark red wood. 

 A flat wooden gong from China is 94856. 



Gongs of bamboo are commonly used in Asiatic countries. No. 

 95,619 (pi. 2>d) is a bamboo gong open at one end that was sounded 

 by striking the sides with a stick or by holding it vertically and 

 striking the closed end on the ground. Another bamboo gonii 

 (54190, pi. 3c) is called a " watchman's rattle " and was received 

 from China in 1876. A Chinese priest's gong of bamboo is 5415*') 

 (pi. 3a). 



The metal gong varies from small disks of hammered bell metal 

 to huge gongs with surface elaborately damascened. It is said that 

 the metal gong was used in China a little later than the time of Con- 

 fucius (478 B. C.) and that it was the first metal instrument intro- 

 duced into Japan. Its antiquity in Egypt, Africa, India, and the 

 Malayan Islands will remain a matter of conjecture. The uses of 

 the metal gongs are varied and interesting. A Chinese gong wns 

 carried by servants before a Mandarin in his sedan to give notice 

 of his approach, a certain number of strokes at intervals indicating 

 his rank; a gong was also carried in processions and beaten to 

 drive away evil spirits. During eclipses it was beaten to frighten 

 the heaventy dog as he was about to devour the moon. In Japan " a 

 kind of gong was suspended before idols and struck by worshippers 

 to arouse the attention of the god." In both countries it accom- 

 panied the wedding and funeral processions, and also served the 

 purpose of a clock. The soldiers on guard at night were accustomed 

 to sound the large divisions of the night on a drum, and the lesser 

 divisions on a gong. In India the gong was beaten in the temple 

 at the hour of ceremony or sacrifice, and in Burma the gong went 

 forth with the warriors, its sound being heard in battle at a distance 

 of 4 or 5 miles. From Burma we have a flat, somewhat thick plate 

 of metal resembling the outline of a hat with a turned up brim 

 (95497). This was suspended by a cord in Buddhist temples and 

 struck with a wooden mallet to call the god's attention to the 

 offerings. 



A common form of Chinese gong consists of a thin round plate 

 with the edges turned up, like a shallow sieve or tambourine. It is 

 held in the left hand by a cord and struck with a stick held in the 

 right hand, this stick having a large padded knob at the end. Sev- 

 eral excellent examples of these gongs are in the collection. The 

 metal may be brass, but is usually an alloy of 80 parts copper to 20 

 parts of tin. It is a remarkable property of the alloys of copper and 

 tin that they become malleable by being heated and then plunged 



