Hanlu Temple · Notes
Why the bell tower is east and the drum tower west
"Morning bell, evening drum" is a phrase every Chinese student knows. It describes a timetable, not a mood.
The phrase
It means the bell marks the start of the day and the drum marks its close — the temple's clock, and a reminder of the schedule for everyone inside.
Later the phrase became a metaphor for anything that wakes you up: a warning, a piece of advice that arrives at the right moment.
What they were for
Before clocks, the bell and drum timed everything: rising, chanting, meals, closing the gate. The bell also carried further, which is why it announced festivals and, in some periods, curfews.
In a large temple the two towers face each other across the courtyard in front of the main hall, so the sound reaches the whole compound from both sides.
Why 108 strikes
The bell is often struck 108 times, matching the 108 beads and the 108 afflictions. The idea is that each strike releases one of them.
On New Year's Eve the strikes are counted aloud by crowds, which is the one time the schedule becomes a public event.
East and west
The usual arrangement puts the bell tower east and the drum tower west, but it is a convention, not a rule. Some temples reverse it, and the explanations offered — sunrise in the east, the bell as yang, the drum as yin — are rationalisations after the fact.
If you are trying to date a temple from its layout, this is not a reliable clue.
These are common explanations, not rules; local practice differs, and the temple in front of you has the final say. Hanlu Temple promises nothing and gives no medical, financial or legal advice.