Thread by @senjatanuklir

One of my most favorite thing in imperial China, Dengwen drum (登聞鼓).

The drum was placed outside the court for people to beat when they need the imperial court’s attention to set up a lawsuit or addressing injustice.

Whoever beat the drum, their case must be tried & solved.

Emperor Wu of Jin began to put Dengwen drums outside the court, allowing the people to beat the drums & complain directly to the central government.

Northern Wei Dynasty also put the Dengwen Drum outside the gate of the Beijing Palace.

It is said that in the Song Dynasty, every time the emperor hears the drum beating, no matter what he is doing, he must go to court.

The Dengwen drum required enemy soldiers to come to the siege, the prince's death or other major events could be used to beat the drum.

The importance of the Dengwen Drum in different periods in Chinese history is quite different, and there may be additions in the past,

Before the Song Dynasty, ordinary people could beat drums and melody to redress grievances, make suggestions to the court, raise objections to policies, and so on.

After the Song Dynasty, the conditions for hitting the Dengwen Drum became more and more strict.

In Qing Dynasty, it was stipulated that those who hit the Dengwen Drum should be thirty in age.

Since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the law has become more and more complete, and Dengwen Drum only represents a symbol.

Imagine if we have this now outside the DPR court or Istana Negara when we need to raise objection about govt’s policies, complain directly to the central govt, make suggestions to the court, or to address injustice.

Although the Dengwen Drum isn’t an invention of Song Dynasty, the system in that period was the best. The Dengwen Drum was equipped with ‘Dengwen Drum Academy’, the institution that manages the report.

Anyone can beat the drum as long as they’re the citizen of Song Dynasty.