Table 4 Research papers on soundscape in Buddhist or other religious historical buildings
From: Soundscape in religious historical buildings: a review
Authors/years | Main research objects/countries | Buildings | Methods | Key findings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Buddhism | ||||
 Ge et al., 2013 [47] | Sound/China | Jingci Temple | Collect soundscapes and subjective evaluations | Natural sounds, cultural sounds, and historic sounds were widely acclaimed in people’s subjective feelings, which indicated the close relationships among the historical and cultural background, soundscape, and natural environment. |
 Soeta et al., 2013 [49] | Sound field/Japan | Japanese Buddhist temple | Acoustic measurements | The change in direction improves speech intelligibility, and the asymmetric property of direct sound and complex reflections from the altar and sidewall increases the apparent source width. |
 Jeon et al., 2014 [23] | Perception of sound/Korea | A Catholic Cathedral and in Buddhist temple precincts in Seoul | Social surveys and soundwalks | The cathedral precincts play a more important role in social functions related to mainly visual components than the temple precincts do, whereas the functions for religious activities related to sound elements are emphasized in the temple precincts. |
 Zhang et al., 2016 [18] | Perception of sound/China | Four typical Han Chinese Buddhist temples | Soundscape evaluation questionnaire; investigate subjective and objective factors influencing soundscape evaluations | There was little difference among the mean values of the day-long sound level measurements of the four temples and a significant correlation in the sound levels between each temple. The sound preferences are significantly correlated with sharpness value of the sounds in temples. |
 Zhang et al., 2018 [48] | Perception of sound/China | Han Buddhist temples | Questionnaire | The physical acoustic and psychoacoustic parameters of various sounds correspond to the roles they play in the temple. Buddhism-related man-made sounds dominate the sound environment in temples. |
 Zhang et al., 2020 [50] | Sound field/China | Main Hall of Chinese Buddhist temple | Sound field measurement and acoustic simulation | This study investigated the effects of spatial elements and sound source characteristics in a Main Hall and revealed that both fabric sound absorbers and Buddha statues had a pronounced effect on the sound field. |
 Zhang et al., 2020 [51] | Sound field/China | Han Buddhist temples | Sound field model; measurements | In traditional Buddhist temples, spatial elements, such as the height and sound absorption coefficient of temple courtyard walls,  the 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. |
 Zhang et al., 2022 [52] | Sound field/China | Han Buddhist temples | Questionnaire | The results indicated that for the respondents, the overall acoustic environment of Buddhist temples was significantly correlated with mental health and that a preference for three sounds in Buddhist temples, i.e., bells, wind chimes and chanting sounds, was significantly correlated with mental health. |
Taoism | ||||
 Xie et al., 2022 [55] | Soundscape evaluation/China | Laojundong Temple in Chongqing | Questionnaires and interviews | With the increasing proportion of the natural elements in the visual landscape in the temple, the acoustic comfort of Taoist priests and lay people increased significantly with the addition of bird sounds. However, with the increasing proportion of Taoist scenes, Taoist music only significantly improved the acoustic comfort and heart rate of lay people. |
Hinduism | ||||
 Balasubramanium et al., 2019 [54] | Sound/India | Indian Hindu | Acoustic simulation; the Praat software and the Speech tool; survey | The results did not reveal any vocal deviations in purohits using perceptual and traditional acoustic measures. In contrast, the Indian Hindu purohits had higher intensities and increased cepstral values compared with normal controls. |
 Gerety 2017 [53] | Sound/India | In the sacrifices of Nambudiri Brahmins | Microphones and loudspeakers | In contrast to the private sacrifices of previous generations, "amplified sacrifice" is now carried out as a public Hindu festival with thousands of attendees and a full suite of marketing and media coverage. In this way, the local, sonic amplification of performance tracks with a regional, cultural "amplification" of Vedic ritual and Nambudiri identity. |