applied sciences Article Courtyard Sound Field Characteristics by Bell Sounds in Han Chinese Buddhist Temples Dongxu Zhang 1,*, Chunxiao Kong 1, Mei Zhang 2 and Qi Meng 3,* 1 JangHo Architecture College, Northeastern University, Shenyang 110819, China;
[email protected] 2 School of East Asia Studies, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TD, UK; m.zhang@sheffield.ac.uk 3 Key Laboratory of Cold Region Urban and Rural Human Settlement Environment Science and Technology, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, School of Architecture, Harbin Institute of Technology, 66 West Dazhi Street, Nan Gang District, Harbin 150001, China * Correspondence:
[email protected] (D.Z.);
[email protected] (Q.M.) Received: 4 January 2020; Accepted: 12 February 2020; Published: 14 February 2020 Abstract: The acoustic environments of Han Chinese Buddhist temples have long played an important role in the development of Buddhism. This study explored the effects of layouts and spatial elements of Han Chinese Buddhist temples on courtyard sound fields. First, sound fields of three traditional Han Chinese courtyards were measured, and results were compared with sound field simulations to determine the appropriate acoustic and software parameter setting for ancient building materials in the context of sound field simulation. Next, a sound field model for standard forms of Han Chinese Buddhist temples was built and analysed. Results indicate that in traditional Buddhist temples, spatial elements—such as the height and sound absorption coefficient of temple courtyard walls, position of courtyard partition walls, and the position and height of bell towers—could significantly affect the sound pressure level (SPL), reverberation time (RT), and musical clarity (C80) of each courtyard.