Large, lipped flat bronze gong of Korea. It is also variously called taegǔm (‘large gong’), kǔm (‘gong’), na (‘gong’) or kǔmna (‘metal gong’). There is no fixed size for the ching, but it is usually about 40 cm in diameter with a rim lip of about 8 to 10 cm. It is suspended from a cloth cord looped through two holes in the rim. The player holds up the instrument with his left hand and strikes it near the centre with a large mallet, the tip of which is tightly wrapped in cloth; good quality ching will produce a noticeable rise in pitch if properly struck.
The ching is said to have been used traditionally in Korea as a military signalling instrument, the gong sounding the retreat and a drum sounding advance. The treatise Akhak kwebǒm (1493), however, describes it only in connection with dance at the Sacrifice to Royal Ancestors (Chongmyo). At present its use is diverse: it appears in the ritual music performed at the Chongmyo in Seoul, in tae-ch'wit'a (military processional court music), in shaman and Buddhist rites and in nongak (farmers ' music). Typically it serves to reinforce the main beats of rhythmic patterns.
S. Hyǒn, ed.:: Akhak kwebǒm [Guide to the study of Music] (Seoul, 1493/R1975), 8.9b
C. Sahun: Han'guk akki taegwan [Korean Musical Instruments] (Seoul, 1969), 121–2
K. Howard: Korean Musical Instruments: A Practical Guide (Seoul, 1988), 38–40
ROBERT C. PROVINE