The bronze drum (pinyin: tóng gǔ) was often used in ancient times to direct the army to advance and retreat in war, and it was also often used in banquets, music and dance. It is the crystallization of a long and splendid ancient Chinese culture, a symbol of the wisdom of Chinese ancestors, it has the characteristics of oriental art, and is a treasure house of world culture and art. Bronze drums are also circulated in Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and even the Indonesian islands.
The bronze drums are shaped like round drums and have various patterns, some of which also have toad patterns on them. The diameter of the bronze drum is as large as 2.3 meters and as small as 0.7 meters. There are more than 1,500 bronze drums unearthed in China. More than 200 bronze drums have also been found in Laos, and thousands of them have been collected and unearthed in Thailand.
The word "bronze drum" first appeared in "The Book of the Later Han Dynasty, Ma Yuan Biography", "Ma Yuan went to Jiaozhi, got Luoyue bronze drums, and cast them into horses." Most of the bronze drums were made by Luoyue from Baiyue, namely Li and Zhuang.