Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos
kettle gong
Introduction References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics
Images
kettle gongs
Quizzes
Young girl wearing a demin jacket playing the trumpet (child, musical instruments, Asian ethnicity)
Sound Check: Musical Vocabulary Quiz
Quick Facts
Related Topics:
East Asian arts
See all related content
Britannica AI Icon
Adding us as a Preferred Source tells Google you trust our content, so our articles show up more often in your Google Search, Discover feed, and AI Overviews.
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

External Websites

kettle gong

musical instrument
Also known as: deep-rimmed gong
Written and fact-checked by
Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
Britannica Editors
History

kettle gong, percussion instrument of the Bronze Age cultures of China, Southeast Asia, and Indonesia. It was used mainly in rainmaking rites. Some kettle gongs from northern Vietnam are dated between the 5th and 3rd centuries bc. When played, they are suspended so that the striking surface (the head) is vertical.