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- Detail of dragon at top of bell.
According to archival records in Victoria, the inscriptions on the bell were translated in 1928 by Lee Mong Kow and in 1952 by Seth More, a Vancouver scholar. They tell us that the bell was made by the Liu family artisans in the 14th year of the reign of the last Ming Emperor, Chongzhen (1627-1644), which corresponds to the date between February 10, 1641, to January 29, 1642.5 The inscription also lists the names of some 300 citizens of Funing City, Yung Ping Fu (Yongbing Fu) district, Chih-li (now Hebei) province, who contributed money for the casting of the bell for the White Robe Convent, which was dedicated to Cuan Yin, the Bodhisattva of Mercy. The name list was not to perpetuate the donor's name for posterity, but was rather a visible sign of the merit one achieved for their donation. These inscriptions are valuable for tracing the history of local families.
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