The gong is one of the oldest percussion instruments. The earliest possible depictions of gongs appear on Dong Son bronze drums (northern Vietnam, 3rd–2nd century BC); in China the gong is first reliably recorded in the 6th century AD as a foreign instrument. It spread across Southeast Asia: in Indonesia, gongs are the heart of the gamelan orchestra; in Tibet, part of Buddhist ritual; in Japan, the signal of monasteries.
Types of gongs: the tam-tam (the largest, up to 1.5 m, with no definite pitch); the Chinese gong (with a raised central boss); the Balinese gong ageng (low, with a powerful drone). The gong is struck with a large felt mallet — the blow is followed by a long, overtone-rich sound that seems to “dissolve” in the air.
The gong (tam-tam) entered the European orchestra with Gossec's Marche lugubre (1790). Puccini used it in the opera Turandot; Mahler used it in several symphonies. In film music the gong is the signature sound of the Rank Organisation studio (British films) and of “exotic” epic scenes (such as openings of films set in the Far East).
