This sound plate is called yunban 雲板 ("cloud plate") in Chinese, as it is cast in a mould known as a "cloud head" (yuntou 雲頭) in Chinese ornamentation. It hangs in a red wooden stand. An inscription is cast into the upper half of the front. 嘉靖二十七年十月吉日評事趙彥章邢綸監造 Reading: "Jiajing ershi qi nian shi yue ji ri ping shi Zhao Yanzhang Xing Lun jian zao" Translation: "On an auspicious day in October of the 27th year of the Jiaqing era. Year of the Jiaqing era under the supervision of state officials Zhao Yanzhang and Shi Lun" This corresponds to the year 1548. (Reign of the Jiaqing Emperor: 1522-1567) Sound discs are used in Buddhist temples together with three other ritual instruments (bell 梵鐘, drum 法鼓 and a fish-shaped tapping instrument called "wooden fish" (木魚). The striking of the sound disc is associated with the invocation of all living beings in the air for the purpose of hearing the Buddha's teachings (bell: beings that live in heaven and the underworld; drum: beings with skin, wooden fish: beings that live in water). Martin Schwedes, 2006 The mallet cf. I D 22779 b dates from the time of acquisition and is therefore modern.