甬

Specifically, the solid stem affixed to the crown of ancient bronze bells (銅鐘) from which the bell was suspended.

By extension, it can also denote:

- a narrow walled passage or corridor (as in 甬道),

- a cylindrical vessel or measuring container,

- manual labor or hired work (by metaphor from practical tools and effort).

Originally a pictographic character depicting the stem of a bell (the part from which the bell is hung).

In later analyses it is sometimes classified as an ideogrammic compound suggesting a cylindrical or upright shape protruding upward.

According to archaeological findings and classical sources, 甬 represents the handle atop an ancient bell, visually resembling a short, solid rod inserted into the crown of the bell.

Unlike the hollow 음관 (音管) of Korean temple bells, the 甬 was a closed solid projection, resembling a metal peg or knob.

In Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字):

「甬，鐘上有銎，所以懸之也。」

“甬 is the part at the top of a bell through which it is suspended.”

The shape of the early bronze script forms clearly shows a bell-like vessel with a narrow protrusion above — hence its later association with vertical structures and passageways.

甬鐘 (용종) — bell with a stem handle

甬道 (용도) — corridor, passageway (esp. walled ceremonial walkway)

甬人 (용인) — person from Ningbo (ancient name 甬城, after the nearby river)

甬江 (용강) — Yong River (near Ningbo, Zhejiang Province)

甬路 (용로) — enclosed or narrow road

甬工 (용공) — hired or manual labor

甬桶 (용통) — cylindrical measuring container (variant of 桶)

The Kangxi Dictionary (康熙字典) records:

「甬，鐘有甬以懸，從用省聲。」

“甬 — the bell has a stem for suspension; derived phonetically from 用.”

Over time, the pictograph extended metaphorically to any narrow or vertical passage (such as corridors in palaces or tombs) because of its resemblance to a cylindrical conduit.

Hence, 甬道 in Han and Tang texts refers to stone-lined ceremonial passageways leading to ancestral temples or imperial tombs.

Later meanings of 甬 included:

- measure vessel — cylindrical container for grain (甬桶),

- hired labor or worker (甬工), reflecting the utilitarian - sense of “tool and effort,” place name — 甬城, the ancient name of present-day Ningbo (寧波), derived from the 甬江 river.

The imagery of 甬 — the stem atop a bell — embodies connection and resonance: it is the link between the instrument and its support, the unseen axis that allows sound to emerge.

In ritual symbolism, the bell (鐘) represented harmony between Heaven and Earth, and its 甬 — the point of suspension — symbolized the pivot of order and stability.

Thus, in broader metaphorical sense, 甬 can signify the connecting channel or mediating axis — whether in architecture (甬道) or sound (甬鐘).

In ancient Chinese ritual and music theory, 甬鐘 referred specifically to bells suspended by their stems (甬) rather than by rings (紐).

甬鐘 were hung from a wooden frame through a hole in the stem (旋, the rotation hole) and struck from the outside.

紐鐘 had a loop handle (뉴), similar to the 범종 found in Korean Buddhist temples.

In Korean terminology, this distinction survives conceptually:

용종 (甬鐘) — “bell with a solid stem”

유종 (紐鐘) — “bell with a ring handle”

The term 종꼭지 (“bell knob”) thus refers specifically to this upper metal projection — the 甬 — by which the bell was hung.

甬 is an ancient pictograph representing the stem or handle atop a bronze bell.

From this concrete image, its meaning extended to corridors, conduits, and cylindrical vessels, and it later served as a place name (Ningbo, 甬城).

Etymologically rooted in the ritual world of music and bronze, 甬 stands as a symbol of connection, support, and resonance — the unseen axis linking the sacred sound to its source.