Recently in Architecture Category
Taoist architecture mainly refers to the Taoist temple buildings, which basically consist of the divine hall, the alter, the room for reading sculptures and practicing asceticism, the living room, the reception room for pilgrims, and the park where visitors can have a rest. The general layout adopts the form of Chinese traditional courtyard, with the divine hall on the mean axis and the reception room and Taoists' living room, etc., on both sides. Together with a park cleverly built on the basis of the architectural complex, a kind of fairyland thus comes into being.
Taoist temple buildings also clearly reflect Taoists' strong will in the pursuit of happiness, longevity and immortality.
The existing Taoist architectures were mostly built in the periods of the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911). Some important buildings have been listed as the national or provincial key cultural relics under special protection. As a kind of precious inheritance, their design, layout and craftsmanship are still worthy of borrowing in modern architecture.
The longest man-made architecture in the world is the Great Wall in China. It climbs and descends on the ridges of mountains in northern China and has a total length of more than 6,700 kilometers. It was first started during the Spring and Autumn and the Warring States periods.
The construction of the segments that later made up the Great Wall began during the Spring and Autumn Period and lasted into the Warring States Period (770-221 BC). Many feudal states built hundreds ofliof wall fortifications as boundaries. These unlinked walls were the embryonic form of the Great Wall. In 221 BC, Emperor Qin Shihuang ordered the walls of the Qin, Zhao and Yan kingdoms in the north to be linked up and reinforced, after he united China. As one of the most magnificent ancient military defense works in the world, the Great Wall was listed in theUNESCO World Cultural Heritage Listin 1987.
The Great Wall is one of the oldest and greatest constructions in the world. Its construction work lasted for over 2,000 years. The best preserved and the most magnificent remains today were done in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). It was during the Ming Dynasty that the Wall took on its present form.
At that time, it stretched some 6,700 km from the Yalujiang River in the east to Jiayuguan Pass in the west through 11 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions. In the latter part of 1950s, some sections of the Great Wall, reconstructed for many times, have become the most famous tourist sites in the world.
The biggest and most complete ancient building complex is the former Imperial Palace (also known as the Forbidden City) in Beijing. It was imperial palace of both the Ming and Qing dynasties. It was first completed in 1420 and covers an area of 720,000 square meters.
The Forbidden City, now called the Palace Museum, is located in the center of Beijing. Starting in 1420, the Forbidden City was the home to 24 Chinese emperors during the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911). Now, it has developed into the Palace Museum, which displays art treasures of the past dynasties and is the richest treasury of cultures and arts in China. Lofty and magnificent, the Forbidden City is acclaimed as one of the world five great palaces, ranking with Palace of Versailles in France, Buckingham Palace in Britain, White House in the United States and Kremlin in Russia, and was listed by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage Site in 1987.
Extending 750 meters east-west and 960 meters north-south, The Forbidden City covers 720,000 square meters, and is the largest palatial complex in the world and the most complete ancient architectural group extant in China. It has 9,999 buildings, and is called the Ocean of Palaces. No matter in terms of plain layout, three-dimensional effect or magnificent appearance, the complex is really an unparalleled masterpiece in the world. A central axis runs through the whole palace and the axis happens to be on the central axis of Beijing City. The Forbidden City is divided into southern and northern parts by the axis: The former served as the emperor's work area and the latter as his living quarters. The main structures are arranged along the central axis, and the buildings on both sides of it are symmetrical.
The main structures in the work area that cannot be missed are the Taihe Dian (the Hall of Supreme Harmony), Zhonghe Dian (the Hall of Central Harmony) and Baohe Dian (the Hall ofPreservedHarmony). All the three main halls are built on an eight-meter-high platform covering a total area of about 85,000 square meters. The Taihe Dian is the largest and most imposing hall. It is 60.1 meters wide, 33.33 meters deep and 35.05 meters high. Here the most important ceremonies of the feudal dynasties were held, such as the emperor's enthronement, his marriage and his conferring of titles and issuing orders on expeditions. On these occasions, thousands of people chanted "long life, long life, and long, long life" to his majesty, and hundreds of musical instruments and bells and drums sounded in unison. Behind the Taihe Dian is the Zhonghe Dian, where the emperor used to rest and receive officials before attending major ceremonies. The northernmost structure is the Baohe Dian, in which the emperor threw banquets and interviewed successful candidates for imperial examinations.
The living quarters include the Qianqing, Jiaotai and Kunning halls and the six lesser halls on the east and west sides, which together are called "three main halls and six lesser halls", where the emperor and his concubines lived. North of the living quarters is a small but exquisite imperial garden. In the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and at the beginning of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), all the emperors lived in the QianqingGong(the Palace of Heavenly Purity), while empresses lived in the Kunning Gong (the Palace of Earthly Tranquility). The Jiaotai Dian (the Hall of Union) was a place for the activities of the empresses. But in the middle and late periods of the Qing Dynasty, the emperors and empresses all moved to the six lesser halls on the west side. The most famous is the Yangxin Dian (the Hall of Mind Cultivation). It became the place where most Qing emperors, starting from Emperor Yongzheng, lived and handled state affairs. It is also the place where Empress Dowager Cixi attended to state affairs behind the scenes for as long as 40 years.
The whole complex is tightly guarded by two defense lines. One is the moat, which is 52 meters wide and six meters deep, surrounding the city wall; and the other is the city wall, which is 3,400 meters long, 10 meters high and 8.62 meters wide at the bottom. There are four gates: Wumen Gate to the south, Shenwu Gate to the north, Donghua Gate to the east and Xihua Gate to the west. On the four corners stand four turret towers, each with three layers of eaves and 72 ridges. They are masterpieces of the ancient architectural art.
Some halls in the Palace Museum have developed into the Hall of Historical Arts, the Hall of Jewelry, the Hall of Watches and Clocks, the Hall of Paintings, the Hall of Potteries, the Hall of Toys and so on. The museum has a collection of 1,052,653 pieces of ancient art treasures, accounting for one sixth of the total cultural relics in China. It is the museum with the richest collection of cultural relics in China, and also a world-famous museum of ancient cultural arts. Many cultural relics preserved in it are unique in the world.
Different structures have been used in the building of pagodas, depending on the building materials. The structure and method of construction of a wooden pagoda are similar to those of a palace, temple, multistoreyed building or pavilion made of wood, i.e., the traditional beam or bracket system. It is usually composed of a frame, rafters, sheathing, eaves and roof. A pagoda made of bricks and stones, like other brick and stone buildings, is constructed by methods such as piling up bricks or stone blocks and making archways. Metal pagodas are made by moulding and casting metals. Though the building materials and methods of construction differ, the basic structure does not change drastically. A pagoda is composed of the following major parts:
Underground Palace
Most ancient buildings in China were built on solid ground. Usually nothing was built underground. The pagoda, however, was unique in having an underground palace, called the dragon palace or the dragon cave. This special structure is not found in other buildings, such as palaces, temples or multistoreyed buildings. It was added to a Buddhist pagoda to preserve Buddhist relics. According to a survey, Buddhist relics were not buried underground in India, but kept inside the pagodas. When the pagoda was introduced to China, it was combined with China's traditional burial system. Whenever a pagoda was built, an underground palace was constructed first to preserve the relics and other objects to be buried with the dead. This underground palace was similar to the underground palaces of the mausoleums of emperors and kings in ancient China, but it was usually much smaller and contained fewer funerary objects. The most important thing in an underground palace of a pagoda is a stone container with layer upon layer of cases made of stone, gold, silver, jade and other materials. The innermost case contains the Buddhist relics. The funerary objects in the palace may include copies of Buddhist scriptures and statues of Buddha. Underground palaces were usually built of brick and stone in square, hexagonal, octagonal or round shapes. Occasionally such a structure was built inside the pagoda or semiunderground.
In olden times some superstitious people believed that certain pagodas had been built on "sea holes" to prevent sea water from surging out. If the pagoda fell, the place would be submerged by the sea. The myth came from ignorance of the structure of underground palaces. Sometimes when an underground palace became damaged over the years, underground water would seep into it, and people would mistake it for a "sea hole." Since Liberation in 1949 thorough investigations have been made of the underground palaces in many important pagodas in Beijing, Hebei, Jiangsu, Hubei and other parts of the country.
For a general understanding of underground pagoda palaces in China let's look at the underground palace of the sarira pagoda at Jingzhi Temple in Dingzhou, Hebei Province. The name of this particular underground palace was the sarira cabinet, which was inscribed on the wall of the palace, located in the middle of the pagoda's foundation. A stone shaped like a roof, 60 centimeters deep in the ground, was placed on top of a square hole leading down to the underground palace. The palace room is not an exact square, its east wall being 2.2 meters, west wall 2.1 meters, north wall 2.17 meters and south wall 2.2 meters wide. An arched door is on the south wall. The walls, 2.34 meters high, are joined to the ceiling interlocking brackets. All four walls have murals depicting heavenly kings, Indra, Brahma, boys and maidservants. On the north wall characters read "True Relics of Sakyamuni", and on both sides are paintings of his ten great disciples. The most incredible thing is that the colors of the columns, brackets, beams and murals are as fresh and bright as if new. Such completely fresh mural paintings of the Song Dynasty cannot be found in buildings aboveground.
A great number of cultural relics were also excavated from this underground palace, including gold and silver ware, porcelain, glassware and wood carvings. Since this pagoda was reconstructed during the Song Dynasty and many funerary objects from deteriorated sites of the Sui and Tang dynasties were also buried in the palace, a few gilded bronze cases of the Sui Dynasty and two stone coffins containing relics of the Tang Dynasty were also unearthed. The large stone case in the middle of the underground palace had been in the basement of the Sui Dynasty pagoda and was replaced after the pagoda was reconstructed. The inscriptions on the stone case indicated its contents and date of burial. Inside were three carved gold coffins, four silver pagodas and a lot of gold and silver ware, porcelain, glazed objects, pearls and other relics.
The underground pagoda palaces resulted from combining the Indian system of burying Buddhist relics in pagodas with the traditional Chinese system of tomb burial.
In cleaning out and repairing old pagodas, many underground palaces and Buddhist and cultural relics buried in them were discovered. Objects found in the Iron Pagoda at Ganlu Temple in Zhenjiang and Huqiu Pagoda in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, Qianshengxiang Pagoda at Yellow Crane Tower in Wuchang, Hubei Province, the Twin Pagodas at Qingshou Temple in Beijing, Wanjin Pagoda in Nong'an, Jilin Province, and Qianxun Pagoda at Chongsheng Temple in Dali, Yunnan Province, have all provided valuable data for the study of underground pagoda palaces.
Base
The base, on top of the underground palace, supports the whole superstructure. In early times most pagodas had relatively low bases. For instance, the two oldest pagodas in China the pagoda at Songyue Temple of the Northern Wei Dynasty and the Four-Door Pagoda in Licheng of the Sui Dynasty both have very simple, low bases made of brick and stone. Some bases are only ten or twenty centimeters high. They soon become indistinct and even unrecognizable from the ground after being damaged over the years. The base of Xuanzang Pagoda at Xingjiao Temple in Xi'an has become so undistinguishable that the pagoda seems to have been built right on the ground. During the Tang Dynasty, in order to make pagodas such as the Big and Small Wild Goose Pagodas in Xi'an look magnificent, huge bases were built under them. Large bases were also added to pavilion-style pagodas during the Tang Dynasty, for example, the Pagoda of Monk Fanzhou in Anyi of Shanxi Province and the Dragon and Tiger Pagoda at Shentong Temple in Licheng near Jinan.
After the Tang Dynasty the pagodas' substructure developed into two parts by adding a pedestal to the original base. The effect was a loftier and more majestic pagoda. The lower part of the substructure--the platform --is usually low and without much decoration. The pedestal, in contrast, became the most prominent part of the pagoda with gorgeous decorations. In the process of development the pedestal construction of the multi-eaved pagodas of the Liao and Kin dynasties was most out-standing.
This part of the substructure of pagodas from the Liao and Kin dynasties was called the Sumeru pedestal. According to Buddhist literature, Sumeru is the largest mountain in the world and the home of Buddha and bodhisattvas. To call the pedestal of a pagoda by the name of Sumeru meant that it was a most stable foundation. The supports of palaces, temples, statues of Buddha and other objects were also called Sumeru pedestals. At Tianning Temple in Beijing the pedestal of the pagoda is an octagonal structure on a platform of medium height. The pedestal is divided into two levels. On the first level there are six niches on each side with lion heads carved inside. Carved columns separate the niches. On the lower part of the second level there are five small niches, each with a statue of Buddha inside. On the columns between the niches are images of heavenly guardians in relief sculpture. The brackets on the upper part of the pedestal are decorated with finely carved brick banisters. The banisters are joined to the first storey of the pagoda by a lotus-petal capital. The whole Sumeru pedestal is about one fifth the height of the pagoda.
Later, huge and gorgeous pedestals became very common for other types of pagodas. For a Lamaist pagoda the pedestal, as a major part of the entire structure, often makes one third of its total height. The pedestals of pagodas on vajrasanas, the bulk of the structure, are much bigger than the small pagodas on top of them. Pagodas across streets also have pedestals higher than the pagodas they support. Adopting large pedestals in pagoda construction is closely connected with the traditional Chinese architecture, which always sets great store by the role of base platforms. A large base platform not only provides the building above with a solid and firm foundation but also makes it look majestic and powerful.
Body
The body, or main part, of a pagoda varies depending on the style of architecture. The classification of pagodas was based on the style of the body of the pagoda. Since we have already discussed the outer forms and structures of the pagoda, we are going to concentrate on the inner structure of the pagoda body.
A pagoda may be solid or hollow. Solid pagodas are filled with bricks, stones or rammed earth. Occasionally, a wooden framework is installed inside a solid pagoda to strengthen the bearing capacity of outreaching parts of the pagoda. On the whole, however, the inner structure of a solid pagoda is relatively simple. The following section will focus on hollow pagodas.
1. Wooden pagodas. Wooden pagodas of many storeys were popular during the later years of the Han Dynasty and the Wei, Jin and Northern and Southern dynasties. Most of them have four sides. From historical accounts and existing examples in Japan we have learned that wooden pagodas of this type were composed of the following parts--columns around each level of the pagoda, three rooms on each of the four sides on each level, beams and brackets on the capital of the columns to join with the upper storey, and verandas with banisters around each storey. Eaves stretch out above each of the storeys. As in other multistoreyed buildings, there are stairs for people to climb up and down.
The wooden pagoda in Yingxian County, Shanxi Province, is the best preserved of its kind in China today. It has five levels of eaves on the exterior and five levels of balconies, but there are also five mezzanines in between the main storeys, making it a ten-storey building. The pagoda is octagonal with three rooms and four columns on each side of each exterior storeyed, and the landing are quite spacious. The balconies have protecting banisters so that people can walk around the pagoda freely and enjoy the view. In the middle of the pagoda a huge statue of Buddha was installed. In order to strengthen the structure, double-layer walls were built with post trusses and struts in between to prop up the framework. Spiral stairs lead to each level. Since the pagoda is such a huge and complex structure, the components vary greatly in size and form. For instance, there are more than sixty different kinds of brackets. However, the method of construction was the same as for other wooden buildings.
2. Pagodas with brick exteriors and wooden interiors. The brick walls form the body of the pagoda like a hollow tube, so it is also called a tube-style structure. This structure was used in the construction of both multistoreyed and multi-eaved pagodas during early periods. According to the design for the height of each storey and the positions of doors and windows, holes were left when the brick walls were built for placing the floor slabs and putting up door and window frames. Sometimes pillars were erected at the corners to support the floor above. In most cases spiral stairs were built along the walls.
The number of storeys in a pagoda of this type usually corresponded to the positions of doors and windows and levels of eaves on the outside, and people could ascend them to enjoy the view around. The Big Wild Goose Pagoda in Xi'an, Gongchen Pagoda at Lin'an near Hangzhou and the Twin Pagodas at Luohanyuan Temple in Suzhou are examples of this category. The actual number of storeys in a multi-eaved pagoda, however, usually did not correspond to the positions of doors, windows and eaves, because the eaves were built so close to each other above ground level that there was not enough space for a complete storey in the interior. The pagoda at Songyue Temple, the Small Wild Goose Pagoda and Qianxun Pagoda at Dali's Chongsheng Temple are typical of this category.
3. Pagodas with a central wooden pillar. Most early wooden pagodas had a central pillar as the mainstay of the structure. A huge pillar, erected right in the middle of the pagoda, propped up the frame from the ground to the top. Descriptions of this construction have been found in historical accounts. A five-storeyed pagoda at Falong Temple in Japan is an existing example of this type. The central pillar helps stabilize the structure. The only extant example of this type in China is the wooden pagoda at Tianning Temple in Zhengding. Since the pagoda is a mixture of wood and brick, the pillar was erected in the upper half of the pagoda, not on the bottom floor, but the central-pillar structure is quite obvious. It is a valuable example in the study of this type of pagoda.
4. Pagodas made of both wood and brick. This type of pagoda was a transition from wooden pagodas to pagodas made of bricks and stones. The body of the pagoda was made of bricks; the eaves, verandas and banisters were made of timber. Wooden columns, beams and eaves were joined to the brick walls for interior framework. This structure was popular during the Song Dynasty. The square pagoda at Songjiang in Shanghai, the Pagoda of Six Harmonies in Hangzhou, Ruiguang Pagoda and Beisi Pagoda in Suzhou are typical of this type.
5. Pagodas with a brick pillar as the mainstay. These were products of China's traditional brick and stone architecture at its highest development. The main body of the pagoda is completely brick. The stairs, floors, verandas and eaves are all built of brick or stone as integral parts of a complex whole. In the middle of the pagoda a huge brick pillar props up the roof. Every floor level is connected to the central pillar and the walls to form an integrated whole. The floors are built by means of arch bonding and stacking bricks around the central pillar. There are two forms of stairs: One is built along the walls of the central pillar in a "z' shape; the other winds through the hollow space in the central pillar. In the former case there is a landing around the pillar on every level. Examples of the first structure include the pagoda at Youguo Temple in Kaifeng, Henan Province, the pagoda at Lingyun Temple in Leshan, Sichuan Province, and the one at Famen Temple in Fufeng, Shaanxi Province. The second form is represented by Baodingshan Pagoda in Dazu, Sichuan Province, Liaodi Pagoda at Kaiyuan Temple in Dingzhou and the sarira pagoda in Jingxian County, Hebei Province. Most were built during the Song and Ming dynasties and reached advanced levels in brick and stone architecture.
6. Pagodas build on high platforms. The vajrasanastyle pagodas are pagodas with a huge platform as the main body. Brick or stone staircases were built inside the hollow platform for people to ascend the building. In the pedestal under the pagoda at Zhenjue Temple in Beijing there is a central pillar, and the room around it has a vault roof that serves as the exterior terrace on which small pagodas were erected. The pagodas at Beijing's Biyun Temple and Hohhot's Cideng Temple were both built in this style. Some other pagodas have staircases on the outside of the platforms, such as Qingjinhuayu Pagoda in Beijing's Xihuang Temple and the pagoda at Yuanzhao Temple on Mount Wutai in Shanxi Province.
7. Other types of pagodas. The Lamaist pagoda, for instance, has a round, inverted-bowl-shaped body. During the Ming and Qing dynasties a recess called the yanguang gate was built on the front of the round structure. Sometimes a wooden framework was installed inside the inverted-bowl body to strengthen its stability. Sometimes the inverted-bowl style was combined with a multistoreyed pagoda, such as building a multistoreyed pagoda on top of an inverted-bowl structure, or with a tube-shaped pagoda, or others.
Steeple
Every pagoda is surmounted by a steeple, sometimes pointed and sometimes ball-shaped. They vary greatly in style and building materials. The most commonly used building materials for steeples are bricks, stones and metals.
The steeple, as the tallest part of the pagoda, is extremely important. In Chinese it is called cha, meaning land or territory representing "the country of Buddha." Therefore, a Buddhist temple is also called cha in China. The lake to the north of Beihai Park in Beijing is called Shi Cha Hai, meaning the Lake of Ten Temples, because there used to be ten great Buddhist temples by the lake.
The steeple is also very important in the architectural structure, because it is the tip of the building. No matter whether the pagoda's roof is square, hexagonal, octagonal or round, the rafters, sheathing and tile ridges all come to one point, where a component should be fixed to stabilize the roof structure and prevent rain from leaking into the building. The steeple performs these functions.
From the aesthetic point of view, the steeple, surmounting the whole structure of the pagoda, was the crowning image of the building. Therefore, great efforts were made to create a steeple that was exquisite, lofty and graceful.
Early stupas in India also had steeples, but they were not so tall and complex. For instance, a famous Indian stupa built around the first century has only a spire and three layers of umbrella-shaped decorations. After stupas were introduced to China, however, and combined with traditional architectural styles, the steeple of the pagoda, as the emblem of Buddhism, became more and more important and conspicuous. In Stories About Buddhist Temples in Luoyang the steeple of the pagoda at Yongning Temple was said to be as tall as "ten zhang" (33 meters), which may be an exaggeration, but it must have been quite tall. The decorative precious bottle on top of the steeple allegedly could hold 25 dan (2,500 liters) of grain. We can imagine how big it was. Below the precious golden bottle there were thirty tiers of gilded dew basins and many golden bells hanging around them. Since the steeple was very tall, four iron chains linked the steeple with the four comers of the pagoda roof to stabilize the structure. The iron chains were also ornamented with little golden bells.
Many pagoda steeples were built like small Lamaist dagobas. A typical example is the pagoda at Tianning Temple in Anyang, Henan Province. The five-storeyed pagoda is surmounted by a smaller Lamaist dagoba. In Miaoying Temple in Beijing the White Dagoba is composed of a small Lamaist dagoba on top of a larger dagoba. Some Buddhist scriptures say that Buddhist relics are placed in the tip of a pagoda steeple, but no such case has ever been discovered. Researchers believe this was a mistake and that the bottom of the steeple was intended.
The steeple of a pagoda is itself a small dagoba, composed of bottom, body and top with a pole in the middle. Sometimes there is a small cabinet at the bottom of the steeple to hold Buddhist relics, Buddhist sutras or gold, silver, jade and other valuable objects. Such hiding places were found in recent years when repairing old pagodas. At Qianxun Pagoda at Chongsheng Temple in Dali, Yunnan Province, Buddhist relics, scriptures and statues of Buddha were found in a hiding place at the bottom of the pagoda's steeple, while nothing was found in the underground palace of the pagoda. Whether the underground palace had been robbed of its treasure or it was a mere symbolic form when the real relics and funerary objects had been hidden in the steeple remains an open question.
The base of the steeple was built on the roof of the pagoda, pressing on the rafters, sheathing, corner columns and tile ridges, with the steeple pole planted right in the middle. Steeple bases varied from one another; most were shaped like the Sumeru pedestal, or blooming lotus petals. Some were just plain square platforms. Many had carved patterns of lotus petals or honeysuckle leaves.
The most outstanding characteristic of the steeple was the discs around the pole of the steeple. They were called xianglun (wheel or disc) or golden basins or dew basins, as a symbol of honor or respect for the Buddha. Generally, the bigger the pagoda, the more and bigger the discs. In the early period there were no regulations as to the number of such discs on a particular pagoda. Some had as many as several dozen; others had three or five. Originally, the great wooden pagoda at Yongning Temple ha Luoyang, for instance, had thirty tiers of discs. The Four-Door Pagoda has five and Songyue Temple Pagoda has seven. In later times pagodas were built with one, three, five, seven, nine, eleven or thirteen discs. Most Lamaist dagobas have thirteen discs, which are therefore called "thirteen skies." An umbrellalike canopy is usually built above the discs as part of the pagoda's ornaments.
The top of the steeple is also the top of the pagoda. It was usually put above the canopy and consisted of a crescent moon and a precious bead. Sometimes the bead was put above or in the middle of a flame ornament. To avoid any indication of fire, the flame-shaped ornament was called "water smoke."
The pole of the steeple was the central axle. All the components of a metal steeple were fastened to the pole, which supported the different parts of the steeple. Even small brick pagodas had a wooden or metal pole in the middle of the steeple. According to Buddhist literature, the pole was also called chazhu (steeple pillar) or jincha (golden steeple) or biaocha (symbolic steeple). It was usually made of wood or iron and placed on the roof of the pagoda.
These were the most representative steeple structures. Changes were made in different eras, areas and on different types of pagodas built of different materials. For instance, sometimes three, five, seven or nine metal balls were part of the spire of a pagoda, as in the Twin Pagodas of Chongxing Temple in Beizhen, Liaoning Province. Sometimes a huge canopy was put on top of the pagoda's steeple, as in the Tianning Temple Pagoda in Beijing. The canopies had different shapes--round, square or octagonal. The spire of Haibao Pagoda in Yinchuan consisted of an onion-shaped ornament, possibly influenced by Islamic architecture. Guang Pagoda at Huaisheng Temple in Guangzhou is unique, since the steeple is a weather vane, completely different from an ordinary Buddhist pagoda.
Different structures have been used in the building of pagodas, depending on the building materials. The structure and method of construction of a wooden pagoda are similar to those of a palace, temple, multistoreyed building or pavilion made of wood, i.e., the traditional beam or bracket system. It is usually composed of a frame, rafters, sheathing, eaves and roof. A pagoda made of bricks and stones, like other brick and stone buildings, is constructed by methods such as piling up bricks or stone blocks and making archways. Metal pagodas are made by moulding and casting metals. Though the building materials and methods of construction differ, the basic structure does not change drastically. A pagoda is composed of the following major parts:
Underground Palace
Most ancient buildings in China were built on solid ground. Usually nothing was built underground. The pagoda, however, was unique in having an underground palace, called the dragon palace or the dragon cave. This special structure is not found in other buildings, such as palaces, temples or multistoreyed buildings. It was added to a Buddhist pagoda to preserve Buddhist relics. According to a survey, Buddhist relics were not buried underground in India, but kept inside the pagodas. When the pagoda was introduced to China, it was combined with China's traditional burial system. Whenever a pagoda was built, an underground palace was constructed first to preserve the relics and other objects to be buried with the dead. This underground palace was similar to the underground palaces of the mausoleums of emperors and kings in ancient China, but it was usually much smaller and contained fewer funerary objects. The most important thing in an underground palace of a pagoda is a stone container with layer upon layer of cases made of stone, gold, silver, jade and other materials. The innermost case contains the Buddhist relics. The funerary objects in the palace may include copies of Buddhist scriptures and statues of Buddha. Underground palaces were usually built of brick and stone in square, hexagonal, octagonal or round shapes. Occasionally such a structure was built inside the pagoda or semiunderground.
In olden times some superstitious people believed that certain pagodas had been built on "sea holes" to prevent sea water from surging out. If the pagoda fell, the place would be submerged by the sea. The myth came from ignorance of the structure of underground palaces. Sometimes when an underground palace became damaged over the years, underground water would seep into it, and people would mistake it for a "sea hole." Since Liberation in 1949 thorough investigations have been made of the underground palaces in many important pagodas in Beijing, Hebei, Jiangsu, Hubei and other parts of the country.
For a general understanding of underground pagoda palaces in China let's look at the underground palace of the sarira pagoda at Jingzhi Temple in Dingzhou, Hebei Province. The name of this particular underground palace was the sarira cabinet, which was inscribed on the wall of the palace, located in the middle of the pagoda's foundation. A stone shaped like a roof, 60 centimeters deep in the ground, was placed on top of a square hole leading down to the underground palace. The palace room is not an exact square, its east wall being 2.2 meters, west wall 2.1 meters, north wall 2.17 meters and south wall 2.2 meters wide. An arched door is on the south wall. The walls, 2.34 meters high, are joined to the ceiling interlocking brackets. All four walls have murals depicting heavenly kings, Indra, Brahma, boys and maidservants. On the north wall characters read "True Relics of Sakyamuni", and on both sides are paintings of his ten great disciples. The most incredible thing is that the colors of the columns, brackets, beams and murals are as fresh and bright as if new. Such completely fresh mural paintings of the Song Dynasty cannot be found in buildings aboveground.
A great number of cultural relics were also excavated from this underground palace, including gold and silver ware, porcelain, glassware and wood carvings. Since this pagoda was reconstructed during the Song Dynasty and many funerary objects from deteriorated sites of the Sui and Tang dynasties were also buried in the palace, a few gilded bronze cases of the Sui Dynasty and two stone coffins containing relics of the Tang Dynasty were also unearthed. The large stone case in the middle of the underground palace had been in the basement of the Sui Dynasty pagoda and was replaced after the pagoda was reconstructed. The inscriptions on the stone case indicated its contents and date of burial. Inside were three carved gold coffins, four silver pagodas and a lot of gold and silver ware, porcelain, glazed objects, pearls and other relics.
The underground pagoda palaces resulted from combining the Indian system of burying Buddhist relics in pagodas with the traditional Chinese system of tomb burial.
In cleaning out and repairing old pagodas, many underground palaces and Buddhist and cultural relics buried in them were discovered. Objects found in the Iron Pagoda at Ganlu Temple in Zhenjiang and Huqiu Pagoda in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, Qianshengxiang Pagoda at Yellow Crane Tower in Wuchang, Hubei Province, the Twin Pagodas at Qingshou Temple in Beijing, Wanjin Pagoda in Nong'an, Jilin Province, and Qianxun Pagoda at Chongsheng Temple in Dali, Yunnan Province, have all provided valuable data for the study of underground pagoda palaces.
Base
The base, on top of the underground palace, supports the whole superstructure. In early times most pagodas had relatively low bases. For instance, the two oldest pagodas in China the pagoda at Songyue Temple of the Northern Wei Dynasty and the Four-Door Pagoda in Licheng of the Sui Dynasty both have very simple, low bases made of brick and stone. Some bases are only ten or twenty centimeters high. They soon become indistinct and even unrecognizable from the ground after being damaged over the years. The base of Xuanzang Pagoda at Xingjiao Temple in Xi'an has become so undistinguishable that the pagoda seems to have been built right on the ground. During the Tang Dynasty, in order to make pagodas such as the Big and Small Wild Goose Pagodas in Xi'an look magnificent, huge bases were built under them. Large bases were also added to pavilion-style pagodas during the Tang Dynasty, for example, the Pagoda of Monk Fanzhou in Anyi of Shanxi Province and the Dragon and Tiger Pagoda at Shentong Temple in Licheng near Jinan.
After the Tang Dynasty the pagodas' substructure developed into two parts by adding a pedestal to the original base. The effect was a loftier and more majestic pagoda. The lower part of the substructure--the platform --is usually low and without much decoration. The pedestal, in contrast, became the most prominent part of the pagoda with gorgeous decorations. In the process of development the pedestal construction of the multi-eaved pagodas of the Liao and Kin dynasties was most out-standing.
This part of the substructure of pagodas from the Liao and Kin dynasties was called the Sumeru pedestal. According to Buddhist literature, Sumeru is the largest mountain in the world and the home of Buddha and bodhisattvas. To call the pedestal of a pagoda by the name of Sumeru meant that it was a most stable foundation. The supports of palaces, temples, statues of Buddha and other objects were also called Sumeru pedestals. At Tianning Temple in Beijing the pedestal of the pagoda is an octagonal structure on a platform of medium height. The pedestal is divided into two levels. On the first level there are six niches on each side with lion heads carved inside. Carved columns separate the niches. On the lower part of the second level there are five small niches, each with a statue of Buddha inside. On the columns between the niches are images of heavenly guardians in relief sculpture. The brackets on the upper part of the pedestal are decorated with finely carved brick banisters. The banisters are joined to the first storey of the pagoda by a lotus-petal capital. The whole Sumeru pedestal is about one fifth the height of the pagoda.
Later, huge and gorgeous pedestals became very common for other types of pagodas. For a Lamaist pagoda the pedestal, as a major part of the entire structure, often makes one third of its total height. The pedestals of pagodas on vajrasanas, the bulk of the structure, are much bigger than the small pagodas on top of them. Pagodas across streets also have pedestals higher than the pagodas they support. Adopting large pedestals in pagoda construction is closely connected with the traditional Chinese architecture, which always sets great store by the role of base platforms. A large base platform not only provides the building above with a solid and firm foundation but also makes it look majestic and powerful.
Body
The body, or main part, of a pagoda varies depending on the style of architecture. The classification of pagodas was based on the style of the body of the pagoda. Since we have already discussed the outer forms and structures of the pagoda, we are going to concentrate on the inner structure of the pagoda body.
A pagoda may be solid or hollow. Solid pagodas are filled with bricks, stones or rammed earth. Occasionally, a wooden framework is installed inside a solid pagoda to strengthen the bearing capacity of outreaching parts of the pagoda. On the whole, however, the inner structure of a solid pagoda is relatively simple. The following section will focus on hollow pagodas.
1. Wooden pagodas. Wooden pagodas of many storeys were popular during the later years of the Han Dynasty and the Wei, Jin and Northern and Southern dynasties. Most of them have four sides. From historical accounts and existing examples in Japan we have learned that wooden pagodas of this type were composed of the following parts--columns around each level of the pagoda, three rooms on each of the four sides on each level, beams and brackets on the capital of the columns to join with the upper storey, and verandas with banisters around each storey. Eaves stretch out above each of the storeys. As in other multistoreyed buildings, there are stairs for people to climb up and down.
The wooden pagoda in Yingxian County, Shanxi Province, is the best preserved of its kind in China today. It has five levels of eaves on the exterior and five levels of balconies, but there are also five mezzanines in between the main storeys, making it a ten-storey building. The pagoda is octagonal with three rooms and four columns on each side of each exterior storeyed, and the landing are quite spacious. The balconies have protecting banisters so that people can walk around the pagoda freely and enjoy the view. In the middle of the pagoda a huge statue of Buddha was installed. In order to strengthen the structure, double-layer walls were built with post trusses and struts in between to prop up the framework. Spiral stairs lead to each level. Since the pagoda is such a huge and complex structure, the components vary greatly in size and form. For instance, there are more than sixty different kinds of brackets. However, the method of construction was the same as for other wooden buildings.
2. Pagodas with brick exteriors and wooden interiors. The brick walls form the body of the pagoda like a hollow tube, so it is also called a tube-style structure. This structure was used in the construction of both multistoreyed and multi-eaved pagodas during early periods. According to the design for the height of each storey and the positions of doors and windows, holes were left when the brick walls were built for placing the floor slabs and putting up door and window frames. Sometimes pillars were erected at the corners to support the floor above. In most cases spiral stairs were built along the walls.
The number of storeys in a pagoda of this type usually corresponded to the positions of doors and windows and levels of eaves on the outside, and people could ascend them to enjoy the view around. The Big Wild Goose Pagoda in Xi'an, Gongchen Pagoda at Lin'an near Hangzhou and the Twin Pagodas at Luohanyuan Temple in Suzhou are examples of this category. The actual number of storeys in a multi-eaved pagoda, however, usually did not correspond to the positions of doors, windows and eaves, because the eaves were built so close to each other above ground level that there was not enough space for a complete storey in the interior. The pagoda at Songyue Temple, the Small Wild Goose Pagoda and Qianxun Pagoda at Dali's Chongsheng Temple are typical of this category.
3. Pagodas with a central wooden pillar. Most early wooden pagodas had a central pillar as the mainstay of the structure. A huge pillar, erected right in the middle of the pagoda, propped up the frame from the ground to the top. Descriptions of this construction have been found in historical accounts. A five-storeyed pagoda at Falong Temple in Japan is an existing example of this type. The central pillar helps stabilize the structure. The only extant example of this type in China is the wooden pagoda at Tianning Temple in Zhengding. Since the pagoda is a mixture of wood and brick, the pillar was erected in the upper half of the pagoda, not on the bottom floor, but the central-pillar structure is quite obvious. It is a valuable example in the study of this type of pagoda.
4. Pagodas made of both wood and brick. This type of pagoda was a transition from wooden pagodas to pagodas made of bricks and stones. The body of the pagoda was made of bricks; the eaves, verandas and banisters were made of timber. Wooden columns, beams and eaves were joined to the brick walls for interior framework. This structure was popular during the Song Dynasty. The square pagoda at Songjiang in Shanghai, the Pagoda of Six Harmonies in Hangzhou, Ruiguang Pagoda and Beisi Pagoda in Suzhou are typical of this type.
5. Pagodas with a brick pillar as the mainstay. These were products of China's traditional brick and stone architecture at its highest development. The main body of the pagoda is completely brick. The stairs, floors, verandas and eaves are all built of brick or stone as integral parts of a complex whole. In the middle of the pagoda a huge brick pillar props up the roof. Every floor level is connected to the central pillar and the walls to form an integrated whole. The floors are built by means of arch bonding and stacking bricks around the central pillar. There are two forms of stairs: One is built along the walls of the central pillar in a "z' shape; the other winds through the hollow space in the central pillar. In the former case there is a landing around the pillar on every level. Examples of the first structure include the pagoda at Youguo Temple in Kaifeng, Henan Province, the pagoda at Lingyun Temple in Leshan, Sichuan Province, and the one at Famen Temple in Fufeng, Shaanxi Province. The second form is represented by Baodingshan Pagoda in Dazu, Sichuan Province, Liaodi Pagoda at Kaiyuan Temple in Dingzhou and the sarira pagoda in Jingxian County, Hebei Province. Most were built during the Song and Ming dynasties and reached advanced levels in brick and stone architecture.
6. Pagodas build on high platforms. The vajrasanastyle pagodas are pagodas with a huge platform as the main body. Brick or stone staircases were built inside the hollow platform for people to ascend the building. In the pedestal under the pagoda at Zhenjue Temple in Beijing there is a central pillar, and the room around it has a vault roof that serves as the exterior terrace on which small pagodas were erected. The pagodas at Beijing's Biyun Temple and Hohhot's Cideng Temple were both built in this style. Some other pagodas have staircases on the outside of the platforms, such as Qingjinhuayu Pagoda in Beijing's Xihuang Temple and the pagoda at Yuanzhao Temple on Mount Wutai in Shanxi Province.
7. Other types of pagodas. The Lamaist pagoda, for instance, has a round, inverted-bowl-shaped body. During the Ming and Qing dynasties a recess called the yanguang gate was built on the front of the round structure. Sometimes a wooden framework was installed inside the inverted-bowl body to strengthen its stability. Sometimes the inverted-bowl style was combined with a multistoreyed pagoda, such as building a multistoreyed pagoda on top of an inverted-bowl structure, or with a tube-shaped pagoda, or others.
Steeple
Every pagoda is surmounted by a steeple, sometimes pointed and sometimes ball-shaped. They vary greatly in style and building materials. The most commonly used building materials for steeples are bricks, stones and metals.
The steeple, as the tallest part of the pagoda, is extremely important. In Chinese it is called cha, meaning land or territory representing "the country of Buddha." Therefore, a Buddhist temple is also called cha in China. The lake to the north of Beihai Park in Beijing is called Shi Cha Hai, meaning the Lake of Ten Temples, because there used to be ten great Buddhist temples by the lake.
The steeple is also very important in the architectural structure, because it is the tip of the building. No matter whether the pagoda's roof is square, hexagonal, octagonal or round, the rafters, sheathing and tile ridges all come to one point, where a component should be fixed to stabilize the roof structure and prevent rain from leaking into the building. The steeple performs these functions.
From the aesthetic point of view, the steeple, surmounting the whole structure of the pagoda, was the crowning image of the building. Therefore, great efforts were made to create a steeple that was exquisite, lofty and graceful.
Early stupas in India also had steeples, but they were not so tall and complex. For instance, a famous Indian stupa built around the first century has only a spire and three layers of umbrella-shaped decorations. After stupas were introduced to China, however, and combined with traditional architectural styles, the steeple of the pagoda, as the emblem of Buddhism, became more and more important and conspicuous. In Stories About Buddhist Temples in Luoyang the steeple of the pagoda at Yongning Temple was said to be as tall as "ten zhang" (33 meters), which may be an exaggeration, but it must have been quite tall. The decorative precious bottle on top of the steeple allegedly could hold 25 dan (2,500 liters) of grain. We can imagine how big it was. Below the precious golden bottle there were thirty tiers of gilded dew basins and many golden bells hanging around them. Since the steeple was very tall, four iron chains linked the steeple with the four comers of the pagoda roof to stabilize the structure. The iron chains were also ornamented with little golden bells.
Many pagoda steeples were built like small Lamaist dagobas. A typical example is the pagoda at Tianning Temple in Anyang, Henan Province. The five-storeyed pagoda is surmounted by a smaller Lamaist dagoba. In Miaoying Temple in Beijing the White Dagoba is composed of a small Lamaist dagoba on top of a larger dagoba. Some Buddhist scriptures say that Buddhist relics are placed in the tip of a pagoda steeple, but no such case has ever been discovered. Researchers believe this was a mistake and that the bottom of the steeple was intended.
The steeple of a pagoda is itself a small dagoba, composed of bottom, body and top with a pole in the middle. Sometimes there is a small cabinet at the bottom of the steeple to hold Buddhist relics, Buddhist sutras or gold, silver, jade and other valuable objects. Such hiding places were found in recent years when repairing old pagodas. At Qianxun Pagoda at Chongsheng Temple in Dali, Yunnan Province, Buddhist relics, scriptures and statues of Buddha were found in a hiding place at the bottom of the pagoda's steeple, while nothing was found in the underground palace of the pagoda. Whether the underground palace had been robbed of its treasure or it was a mere symbolic form when the real relics and funerary objects had been hidden in the steeple remains an open question.
The base of the steeple was built on the roof of the pagoda, pressing on the rafters, sheathing, corner columns and tile ridges, with the steeple pole planted right in the middle. Steeple bases varied from one another; most were shaped like the Sumeru pedestal, or blooming lotus petals. Some were just plain square platforms. Many had carved patterns of lotus petals or honeysuckle leaves.
The most outstanding characteristic of the steeple was the discs around the pole of the steeple. They were called xianglun (wheel or disc) or golden basins or dew basins, as a symbol of honor or respect for the Buddha. Generally, the bigger the pagoda, the more and bigger the discs. In the early period there were no regulations as to the number of such discs on a particular pagoda. Some had as many as several dozen; others had three or five. Originally, the great wooden pagoda at Yongning Temple ha Luoyang, for instance, had thirty tiers of discs. The Four-Door Pagoda has five and Songyue Temple Pagoda has seven. In later times pagodas were built with one, three, five, seven, nine, eleven or thirteen discs. Most Lamaist dagobas have thirteen discs, which are therefore called "thirteen skies." An umbrellalike canopy is usually built above the discs as part of the pagoda's ornaments.
The top of the steeple is also the top of the pagoda. It was usually put above the canopy and consisted of a crescent moon and a precious bead. Sometimes the bead was put above or in the middle of a flame ornament. To avoid any indication of fire, the flame-shaped ornament was called "water smoke."
The pole of the steeple was the central axle. All the components of a metal steeple were fastened to the pole, which supported the different parts of the steeple. Even small brick pagodas had a wooden or metal pole in the middle of the steeple. According to Buddhist literature, the pole was also called chazhu (steeple pillar) or jincha (golden steeple) or biaocha (symbolic steeple). It was usually made of wood or iron and placed on the roof of the pagoda.
These were the most representative steeple structures. Changes were made in different eras, areas and on different types of pagodas built of different materials. For instance, sometimes three, five, seven or nine metal balls were part of the spire of a pagoda, as in the Twin Pagodas of Chongxing Temple in Beizhen, Liaoning Province. Sometimes a huge canopy was put on top of the pagoda's steeple, as in the Tianning Temple Pagoda in Beijing. The canopies had different shapes--round, square or octagonal. The spire of Haibao Pagoda in Yinchuan consisted of an onion-shaped ornament, possibly influenced by Islamic architecture. Guang Pagoda at Huaisheng Temple in Guangzhou is unique, since the steeple is a weather vane, completely different from an ordinary Buddhist pagoda.
Iron Pagodas of the Song Dynasty and Bronze Pagodas of the Ming and Qing Dynasties
Since metals were strong but expensive, they were rarely used in ancient buildings. During the Tang Dynasty, Empress Wu Zetian built a 50-metre pagoda of cast bronze and iron, called a tianshu, a symbol of state power, in Luoyang. No other metal pagodas of any height, however, appear to have been built before the Tang Dynasty. The oldest extant iron pagodas are the Fast and West Iron Pagodas at Guangxiao Temple in Guangzhou. They are both square structures made during the Southern Han Dynasty (947-950). Another early iron pagoda was the one at Yiwu in Zhejiang Province. Though it is now dilapidated, its refined structure and beautiful sculptures and castings can still be seen. Judging from its statue of Buddha and the style of the decorative patterns, it was built during the early Northern Song Dynasty. After the middle period of the Northern Song Dynasty it became the fashion to build pagodas of cast iron, and the technology of casting reached a new level. Architects and builders could work out almost any complicated structures and decorative patterns they liked if they could make the right kind of casting. The iron pagoda at Jade Spring Temple in Dangyang, Hubei Province, the one at Ganlu Temple (Sweet Dew Temple) in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu Province, and the one at Jining in Shandong Province all represent the most refined architectural works of that time. By the Ming and Qing dynasties a new fashion of building bronze pagodas, more exquisite than iron ones had developed. The bronze pagoda now standing on Mount Emei in Sichuan Province is regarded as representative of the highest level of casting and moulding. The twin bronze pagodas at Xiantong Temple on Mount Wutai, Shanxi Province, are unique in shape.
Because metal is more expensive and heavier than most other building materials, iron and bronze pagodas were usually not so large and tall as brick and wooden pagodas. Generally, metal pagodas averaged 10 to 20 meters high. The best-preserved iron pagoda in China, the one at Jade Spring Temple in Dangyang, is 17.9 meters tall. The iron pagoda at Jining, though said to be 23.8 meters in height, is actually no more than 20 meters if the stone platform at the bottom is not included. The Thousand Buddha Iron Pagoda at Xianyang, Shaanxi Province, built during the Ming Dynasty, is 33 meters tall, perhaps the tallest of its kind in China.
There are also pagodas made of gold, silver, pearls, ivory, enamel, and other materials, which are more expensive. Pagodas made of such valuable materials are usually small and used only for enshrining Buddhist relics or as ornaments in the underground palace or body of a pagoda or in temple halls and royal palaces. A Lamaist pagoda made of gold was once unearthed while repairing the Qianxun Pagoda at Dali. Inside the gold pagoda were silver alms bowls, agate and a smaller gold pagoda. These relics from the Southern Zhao period are exquisitely made and extremely valuable. The Buddhist pagoda of pure gold kept in the Palace Museum of Beijing and the relic pagodas of gold, silver and precious stones kept in many Lamaist temples in Tibet, Qinghai, Gansu and other parts of the country are all priceless works of art from the Ming and Qing dynasties.
Since pagodas made of bronze, iron and other matels are strong and durable, they can last for ages, even though exposed to the air, provided people have not tried to destroy them on purpose. Though a great number of bronze and iron pagodas were built following the Song Dynasty, not many have been preserved. No more than a few dozens bronze or iron pagodas exist today in the whole country. Most pagodas made of such expensive materials were melted down during transition periods in history for one reason or another.
Glazed Pagodas of the Ming and Qing Dynasties
Glazed tiles were important building materials that added a special luster to China's classical architecture. Though they appeared more than a thousand years ago as building materials, glazed tiles were not used very often until after the Tang Dynasty. Even during the Song and Yuan dynasties their use was not extensive. Not until the Ming and Qing dynasties were glazed tiles and other ornaments in general use in the construction of imperial palaces, altars, temples and gardens. Then magnificent buildings appeared one after another in Beijing and other parts of the country.
The most famous pagoda made of glazed tiles and bricks is now located at Youguo Temple in Kaifeng, Henan Province. Because it is the color of rusted iron, people call it an iron pagoda, though in fact no iron was used in its construction. Built during the reign of Emperor Qingli (1041-48) of the Northern Song Dynasty, it is the earliest and biggest glazed pagoda now existing in China. Many small glazed pagodas have been unearthed from ancient tombs. For instance, a tiny glazed pagoda of bright colors was excavated in Henan. It was believed to be a work of 999 during the Northern Song Dynasty. Since during the Song and Yuan periods the production of glazed ware was still very limited and glazed tiles were not usually used in building pagodas, the so-called iron pagoda in Kaifeng may be the only one remaining from that period.
During the Ming and Qing dynasties the production of glazed ware as building materials began to develop in Beijing and other parts of the country. The number of glazed pagodas, thus, also increased. More than a hundred have been preserved. The glazed pagoda at the Grand Bao'en Temple (Temple for Paying a Debt of Gratitude) in Nanjing, built at the order of Emperor Yongle of the Ming Dynasty, was once considered one of the great miracles of the world. Unfortunately, only some separate glazed parts of the pagoda remain. Other glazed pagodas built during the Ming and Qing dynasties are also priceless works of art in human history. The Feihong (Flying Rainbow) Pagoda at Guangsheng Temple in Hongtong County, Shanxi Province, was built during the Ming Dynasty and has been kept in good state. It has gorgeous sculptures and ornaments and a unique style of structure. The glazed pagodas at Beijing's Fragrant Hills, Jade Spring Hill, and Summer Palace and Chengde's Sumeru Fushou Temple are all beautiful architectural creations.
Like other buildings, pagodas underwent great changes in structure and style as new building materials and technologies developed. According to historical accounts and extant examples of ancient pagodas, the history of pagoda construction can be divided into four stages.
Eastern Han (25-220) to the Southern and Northern Dynasties (420-589) -- Domination of Wooden Pagodas
Historical records indicate that the oldest pagodas in China were mostly wooden. This is not strange, since most ancient buildings were made of wood; pagodas were no exception. The first Buddhist pagoda--White Horse Pagoda--built during the Eastern Hah Dynasty, and Futuci Pagoda in Xuzhou, built during the Three Kingdoms Period (220-265), both made of wood. Many pagodas described in the book Stories About Buddhist Temples in Luoyang were also wooden structures. The pagoda at Yongning Temple is regarded as representative of the highest level of wooden pagodas in China. A great poet of the Tang Dynasty, Du Mu, wrote in one of his poems: "Four hundred eighty Buddhist temples of the Southern Dynasties, countless towers and pagodas stand in the misty rain." The pagodas in those temples that inspired the sentimental lines were also made of wood, but the good times of wooden pagodas did not last long--most soon disappeared from the scene.
Tang (618-907) Through Song, Liao and Kin (1115-1234) Dynasties -- High Level of Brick and Stone Pagodas
Though it was the fashion to build Buddhist pagodas during the period from the Northern Wei to Sui dynasties, as recorded in historical documents, few have survived. Most were made of wood. Construction of brick and stone pagodas was in a trial period, and few of these have survived either. According to historical records, Emperor Wendi (601-604) of the Sui Dynasty issued decrees to all counties and prefectures, ordering them to build pagodas. Sample designs were distributed so that the pagodas would be constructed according to the standard style and in great numbers. Unfortunately, all the pagodas built at that time were wooden structures and none has survived over the years.
Wooden pagodas had many advantages, such as being easy to climb and earthquakeproof, but they also suffered many shortcomings. For instance, timber easily became rotten and insect infected; wooden buildings were susceptible to fire. This last, in particular, was a fatal weakness. In fact, many magnificent wooden pagodas burned to ashes, the years of hard work wiped out in no time. The famous Yongning Temple Pagoda had been a lofty building decorated with a gilded bottle-shaped top, thirty tiers of gilded dew basins, and red lacquered doors with gold nails and rings. Unfortunately, this grand building with all its gorgeous ornaments burned to the ground less than twenty years after its construction. People began to think of ways to make their pagodas last longer. Great changes were made first in the building materials; instead of wood, bricks and stones, which were fireproof, were used. Most of the ancient pagodas still existing today were made of brick and stone; a few were bronze, iron, ceramic or glazed.
Both pagodas, Renshou Pagoda and Zhen'guo Pagoda, erected on the east and west sides of Kaiyuan Temple in Quanzhou, originally made of wood, burned to the ground, were reconstructed, then burned again. Zhen'guo Pagoda caught fire twice between 1155 ad 1227 and was finally replaced by a brick-and-stone structure.
One of the earliest pagodas made of brick and stone was the three-storeyed futu at Taikang Temple described in Stories About Buddhist Temples in Luoyang. Built in 285 during the Jin Dynasty by Wang Jun, marquis of Xiang-yang, it had only three levels. The earliest extant brick pagoda is the one at Songyue Temple in Dengfeng County, Henan Province, built in 520 during the Northern Wei Dynasty. By then great progress had been made in the structural techniques for brick and stone buildings. It is a 40-metre, exquisitely shaped building that has survived more than a thousand years. The earliest extant large-scale stone pagoda is a four-door pagoda at Licheng, Shandong Province, built in 611 during the Sui Dynasty. It is not a very big building, probably because stones were heavier than bricks and therefore not so convenient for construction.
During the Tang Dynasty techniques for building brick pagodas developed to a high level. Architects succeeded in creating both multistoreyed and multi-eaved pagodas modeled after wooden pagodas. Although various changes were made in different parts of the country over the years, the two styles have been passed down from generation to generation as the basic architectural forms for pagodas. Construction of pavilion-style brick and stone pagodas, either single-or multistoreyed, reached its height during the Tang Dynasty. The pagoda with relief sculptures on bricks at Xiuding Temple in Anyang and the Dragon and Tiger Pagoda with stone sculptures at Shentong Temple in Licheng are both good representatives of achievements at that time. The art of single-storey pavilion-style pagodas began to decline afterwards, however; during the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties it reached a low ebb, not to be compared to the Tang Dynasty.
In contrast, multistoreyed brick and stone pagodas reached their highest levels during the Song, Liao and Kin dynasties. The 84-metre Liaodi Pagoda, the exquisitely shaped Small Wild Goose Pagoda, Qianxun Pagoda at Chongsheng Temple, the Fawang Temple Pagoda, and the many multi-eaved pagodas with their gorgeous sculptures and ornaments built during the Song, Liao and Kin dynasties were superior not only to those of the Sui and Tang dynasties, but also to most of the brick and stone pagodas of the later Ming and Qing dynasties. An outstanding feature of brick and stone pagodas during the Song, Liao and Kin dynasties was the general transformation from square to hexagonal and octagonal styles. It was an improvement of great importance, in at least two aspects. First, it strengthened the antiseismic property of pagodas. The fundamentals of mechanics and statistics obtained from actual investigation have proved that under the same conditions the degree of destruction of a square building after an earthquake is more serious than that of a polygonal building. Second, it broadened the field of vision on the pagodas. Since the eaves of a brick or stone pagoda do not usually protrude too much and the balustrades around each storey are mostly decorative in function, it is not convenient for viewers to come out of the building to look around. Therefore, a hexagonal or octagonal pagoda can provide a broader view than a square pagoda because people can look from six or eight directions instead of four.
As architectural levels rose, pagoda builders during the Song, Liao and Kin dynasties combined the strong points of brick and wood, which was more elastic and easier to work with, and created a new structure using both bricks and wood. For instance, while building a brick pagoda, they placed a number of wood blocks between the bricks to strengthen the antiseismic capability of the building. They also used timber to make the eaves, verandas and banisters, so people could come out of the buildings and look around at the scenery.
Pagodas Taken over by Taoism
Taoism, the oldest religion in China, originally did not think that people's remains should be buried after death. They believed that a Taoist would finally ascend to heaven and become an immortal. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, however, as a result of combining the doctrines of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism advocated by the ruling class, Taoists adopted the method of burying the ashes of the departed in pagodas. The structure of a Taoist pagoda was not much different from that of a Buddhist pagoda. In fact, Buddhist pagodas were transplanted to Taoism with little change, but few Taoist pagodas exist in China today.
For Beautifying the Scenery
Exquisite pagodas of various styles embellish the landscape of their surrounding areas. Some have become the symbols of cities and districts. For instance, the elegant Buddhist pagoda at Yan'an has become the symbol of the revolutionary shrine. Baochu Pagoda on top of Precious Stone Hill is the landmark of the scenic city of Hangzhou with its beautiful West Lake. Jade Peak Pagoda on Jade Spring Hill in the suburbs of Beijing forms a charming background for the Summer Palace, At sight of the pagoda of Yunyan Temple on Huqiu Hill people know they will soon arrive at Suzhou, the most picturesque city on water in southeast China. The Big Wild Goose Pagoda in Xi'an, the Iron Pagoda in Kaifeng, the Twin Pagodas in Taiyuan and the Twin Stone Pagodas in Quanzhou have all become symbols of the cities where they are located.
During the Ming and Qing dynasties many pagodas were built simply to decorate the landscape. Even their names were no longer connected with Buddhism. Pagodas symbolizing good geomancy, prosperity and good fortune were built in great numbers. In Hancheng County, Shaanxi Province, Wenxing Pagoda dates back to the Ming Dynasty. Leng Chong, a scholar of the Ming Dynasty, told of the purpose for building the pagoda in an article written to commemorate its construction. He said that natural landscapes and manmade buildings had both contributed to the beauty of scenic spots and historical sites ever since ancient times. Mr. Yang, after being made the county magistrate, had immediately toured the scenic spots and historical sites in that area and showed great admiration for the beauty of the scenery of Hancheng. However, he felt that the mountain peaks in the northeast were not lofty enough, so he consulted with the local gentry and decided to build a pagoda in that direction to make up for the shortcomings of the landscape. On top of the pagoda a statue of the god in charge of the four stars in the bowl of the Big Dipper was erected, and to the north of the pagoda a temple symbolic of prosperity was built. The scenery was perfected when construction was finished. The project began in 1484 and was completed in 1486.
This record shows that except for the use of the term futu or Buddhist pagoda, nothing about the building was related to Buddhism. The purpose of construction was purely to embellish the landscape and make up for a defect in the scenery.
Ancient pagodas built as part of the landscape are found everywhere in the country. In fact, pagodas have become an inseparable part of scenic spots in China.
For Piloting Ships in Navigation
As most pagodas were tall and stood erect and visible, they were used to pilot ships to harbors or mark ferry crossings on rivers. In ancient times pagodas were often located on river-banks, by sea harbors or near ferry crossings or bridges. These towering buildings could be seen from far away. Some pagodas have become symbolic marks for certain harbors or wharves. Luoxing Pagoda at Mawei Harbour in Fuzhou, Fujian Province, has long been recorded as an important navigation mark on world navigation maps. The famous Liuhe Pagoda (Pagoda of Six Harmonies) in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, is located on a turn of the Qiantang River near its outlet to the sea. When ships and boats come down the river during the daytime, sailors see the pagoda from a long distance and know they are approaching the turn near the river's mouth. At night it serves as an important mark to guide ships in the right direction. An ancient document says that "when ships wanted to anchor at night alongside the shore, they looked for beacon towers as guidance." Zishengsi Pagoda (Pagoda of the Holy Temple) at Haiyan, Zhejiang Province, served as a beacon tower. "Every storey of the pagoda was lit with square lamps; sailors on the East China Sea all looked for it as a guide in navigation." The pagoda at Jingtu Temple (Temple of the Pure Land) also "lit lamps all the night through for travelers to see as landmarks," as recorded in an ancient document. The purpose for building a pagoda at Futian Temple in Shanghai's Qingpu was simple and clear "as a beacon tower for travelers." Gusao Pagoda (Pagoda of Sisters-in-law) and Liusheng Pagoda (Pagoda of Six Victories) along the coast of Quanzhou Harbor in Fujian Province were both important navigation marks. Yingjiang Temple Pagoda at Anqing, Anhui Province, stood at a turn of the Yangtze River. It could be seen from a long distance during the daytime because it was such a tall building. At night several hundred lanterns on the pagoda illuminated the rolling waves of the river. A poem describing the scene reads, "Lighting up eight hundred lanterns on the pagoda, guiding a thousand ships on the river." Pagodas were also built near dangerous rapids and shoals in rivers and lakes, for in old times superstitious people believed pagodas could suppress the evils that might create dangers for travelers. Pagodas not only provided a sense of security, however, they also reminded people of the dangers at hand and helped them maintain vigilance.
Ancient pagodas marked ferry crossings and roads. In open country or wilderness a lofty pagoda could indicate the exact position of a bridge so that travelers did not have to go the long way round. A single pagoda or a pair of pagodas were sometimes built at a bridgehead, designed as an ornamental part of the bridge. Quite a few famous bridges built in old times, such as Luoyang Bridge at Quanzhou in Fujian Province, Anping Bridge at Jinjiang and Precious Belt Bridge at Suzhou in Jiangsu Province, were decorated with beautiful pagodas.
Researchers can consult the locations of ancient pagodas in their studies of geographic and topographic changes in history. For instance, at a place called Zhakou in Hangzhou stands a white stone pagoda believed to have been built between 907 and 960. Its present position is on top of a small hill in an environment of no particular significance, but eight to nine hundred years ago the Grand Canal ran into the Qiantang River at this spot. The pagoda is an important object of reference for study of the historic geography of the Hangzhou area.
