Garden bells fun, festive

Shh. Can you hear them? Those sweet little sounds fluttering in the breeze on warm summer days.

Those sounds come from wind chimes, which can be found on porches and in windows across the country. In fact, 85 percent of the households in the United States own a wind chime. The wind chime has been around since 1,000 B.C., but it hardly resembled those we cherish today.

Created by the Chinese and known as the “yongzhong,” the bell was made of metal and had a highly raised rim. It did not have a clapper and was sounded with a mallet. The Chinese used the bell as musical accompaniment in ritual ceremonies.

Later, the Chinese modified the “yongzhong,” and used it to make sets of graduated chimes. They decorated the chimes and hung them from the eaves of religious temples. The chimes became even more sophisticated with the start of bronze production during the Zhou Dynasty from 770 to 475 B.C.

Around the 4th century B.C., the Japanese became familiar with the “yongzhong” and incorporated it into their culture. They modified the bell and cast it in sandstone and suspended a clapper inside of it to catch the wind. The bell was known as “dotaku.”

Today, many “dotaku” bells have been found buried together in hilltops and near dwellings, indicating that they might have been used in agricultural rites.

From 1336 to 1573, the Japanese gradually modified the “dotaku” bell, eventually transforming it into a smaller, lighter bell that they referred to as “furin.” The “furin” was made of glass and decorated with paintings. In 1603, Japanese peddlers began using it to announce their arrival. The Japanese enjoyed the refreshing, soothing sound of the “furin” and began hanging them in their homes.

Of course, the tiny glass “furin” is not practical for American homes where strong breezes could easily break it and few were found.

However, in the late 19th century, an American musician looking to improve the tone of the bells he played in the orchestra stumbled upon a more suitable wind chime. He suspended metal rods of varying lengths from a rack. Others, remembering the Japanese “furin,” put the two concepts together and created the wind chime we know today.