Pagoda the Ancient Buildings Reaching for the Sky — Origin, History, Facts, and Famous Examples of Chinese Pagodas
Pagodas, the majestic structures reaching for the sky, are integrated with local buildings and culture, evolving specialized Chinese pagoda architectural styles since their introduction during the Han Dynasty (202 BC — 220 AD).
In the heart of ancient landscapes, where history echoes through the air, rise these majestic structures reaching for the sky.
These architectural marvels have evolved into various styles, carrying rich symbolic meanings.
These towering Pagodas stand as luminous beacons, embodying not only exquisite architectural brilliance but also cradling within their walls the profound weight of cultural treasures and the storied echoes of history.
Pagoda of Fogong Temple in Shanxi, The Most Ancient and Tallest Extant Wooden Pagoda, Photo by Lu Junjiang.
Origin and History of Pagoda in China
Pagoda Localization — Structure, Material, and Design
Functions and Meanings of Pagodasin Ancient China
Architectural Styles of Chinese Pagoda
Guangsheng Temple and Feihong Pagoda in Hongtong County of Shanxi Province
Origin and History of Pagoda in China
Pagodas originated from ancient Indian Buddhist Stupa, a type of mound-shaped monument originally built to place sacred Buddha relics after his parinirvana.
With the dissemination of Buddhism, more and more Stupas were built to house holy scriptures, remains, and other valuable Buddhist relics.
The Great Stupa of Sanchi in Madhya Pradesh of India
During the Han Dynasty (202 BC — 220 AD), Buddhism was introduced to ancient China, and so was the Stupa.
Moreover, the Han Dynasty was a golden era that developed a rich culture, technology, and advanced architectural systems.
Hence, based on the sacred idea of the Stupa and rich Han culture, different types of Chinese Pagodas have been developed since then.
Painted Pottery Building of the Han Dynasty — Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (Photo by Dongmaiying)
Pagoda Localization — Structure, Material, and Design
In the process of localization in ancient China, besides architectural integrations, two other ideas significantly influenced Chinese pagodas:
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Deities and immortals live in tall buildings.
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The deceased should be laid underground to rest.
Therefore, traditional Chinese pagodas are usually tall, as if trying to reach the clouds, with underground palaces to place sacred Buddhist remains.
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Qingzhou pagoda of the Liao Dynasty (907 — 1125) in Inner Mongolia
Common Architectural Structure of Traditional Chinese Pagoda
A traditional Chinese pagoda, in general, consists of four parts:
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An underground palace (Di Gong) to place sacred Buddhist remains and treasures.
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A base (Ta Ji) on the ground serves as a solid foundation.
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The main body of the pagoda (Ta Shen), hollow ones, usually have Buddha statues enshrined inside; solid ones would have religious or other meaningful patterns carved outside the wall.
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A top named Ta Sha is believed to be the modified and condensed Stupa.
The shapes of the top Ta Sha are pretty diverse.
Religious pagodas contain necessary parts with Buddhist meanings, and others use tops with auspicious symbolizations based on local culture.
Liaodi Pagoda of Kaiyuan Monastery of Northern Song Dynasty (960 — 1127) in Hebei, Photo by Yang Hu.
Material
Another notable localization of pagodas is the brilliant use of wood in construction, an essential characteristic of Traditional Chinese Architecture.
Exquisite Wooden Structures of Pagoda of Fogong Temple in Shanxi, Picture From Huaxia Guibao.
Besides wood, with the development of technology, other materials are also used in building pagodas in China, including stone, brick, clay, iron, bronze, jade, gold, silver, glaze glass, etc.
Design
Moreover, besides Buddhism, other Chinese cultural elements have been applied.
Localized Sculptures and Patterns in Colored Glaze Feihong Pagoda of Shanxi, Picture from Xiaoya Daochukankan.
Functions and Meanings of Pagoda in China
Besides having been localized, pagodas also experienced the procedure of secularization in ancient China.
They maintained sacred Buddhist buildings throughout history and have evolved other functions.
Religion — Pagoda as Sacred Buddhist Building
Throughout history, the most significant purpose of building pagodas has been religious uses.
Unlike temples, religious pagodas in China are exclusively for Buddhism.
Accomplished monks and sincere believers, from royals to civilians, have been contributing to constructing pagodas to place holy Buddhists' remains, scriptures, statues, and other valuable relics.
These religious pagodas are holy Buddhas for sincere Buddhists to pray, worship, and cultivate.
Meanwhile, shorter and smaller ones are built as graves for accomplished monks, inheriting the original idea of stupas, as seen in the Pagoda Forest of Shaolin Temple.
Pagoda Forest of Shaolin Temple in Henan Province, Photo from Official Site of Mount Song.
Feng Shui or Geomancy — Pagoda used in Feng Shui Practices
In ancient Feng Shui Culture, Geomancy could play an important role in a region's prosperity and safety.
For people's well-being, many pagodas have been constructed to form good Feng Shui settings, mainly to:
Complete and Balance
In places with unsatisfied Geomancy, locals, if they could afford it, would build pagodas as completion and balance.
Tall and strong pagodas can be seen as magnificent mountains, and the completed and balanced surroundings are believed to bring and preserve luck and blessing and excellent weather for agricultural activities.
Pagoda in Mountains of Imperial Chengde Resort, Photo from Official Site of Chengde Mountain Resort.
Improve Academic Fortune
Wenfeng Pagoda, also named Wenchang or Wenbi Pagoda, was the type that people constructed to promote the accomplishments of locals in the Imperial Examination in ancient China.
It was believed that they could bring the region more talented scholars with eminent scores in the official election exams.
Today, Wenchang Pagoda ornaments are still widely used as Feng Shui decorations, believed to boost one's career and academic achievements.
Wenfeng Pagoda of Fenyang in Shanxi
Suppress Supernatural Beings
In ancient folklore and legends, pagodas have been used to suppress evil spirits, demons, and monsters, or those with supernatural power but used wrongly or broken certain rules.
Leifeng Pagoda in Zhejiang, In A Famous Folklore, Had Suppressed White Snake. Photo by Shiguangmingji.
Guidance — To Obtain Information and Guide for Boats
Some pagodas were built along rivers and lakes or on important borders to guide passing boats and obtain information about military opponents.
Respect — To Burn Paper with Written Characters
The ancient Chinese believed that characters are sacred and sublime, and paper with written words should be well preserved or burnt properly to avoid desecrating them.
Since no later than Song Dynasty (960 — 1279), Xizi Pagodas were built for people to burn the written paper with respect.
Xizi Pagoda in Hunan, Photo by Zhu Li.
Architectural Styles of Traditional Chinese Pagodas
Pagodas in ancient China can be classified into seven common styles based on architectural structures.
Pavilion Pagoda or Tingge Shi Ta
It looks like a single-story pavilion with a Stupa-style top, which can be shaped as a square, hexagon, octagon, or round.
Pavilion Pagodas could be built for religious purposes or as graves; therefore, they would have Buddha or the deceased's statues enshrined inside.
Four Gates Stone Pagoda in Shandong, The Oldest Extant Pavilion Pagoda or Tingge Shi Ta, Picture from Rolf Müller.
High-rise Pagoda or Louge Shi Ta
This is the most historical and typical style of Chinese pagodas, which evolved from Traditional Chinese Buildings.
Their roofs have exquisite flying eaves and brilliant Dougong structures, with enough inner spaces to enshrine sacred relics and to place valuable treasures.
High-rise Pagodas are generally climbable; some also have outer corridors on each story for people to gaze afar.
High-rise or Louge Style Puming Pagoda of Hanshan Temple in Jiangsu, Picture from Diyichuangzao Studio.
Dense-eaves Pagoda or Miyan Shi Ta
Evolved out of High-rise pagodas, Dense-eaves Pagodas are usually brick and stone made, with much denser eaves and shorter floor heights, except for a big and tall first floor.
Inside and outside the magnificent first floor, sacred statues and patterns are enshrined and carved, as well as doors, windows, and other artistic decorations.
Dense-eaves Pagodas can be hollow or solid, but most are not climbable.
Dense-eaves or Miyan Style Qianxun Pagoda in Yunnan, Picture from Yueyunnan.
Lama Pagoda or Fubo Shi Ta
Lama pagoda is the religious building that combined the Stupa with Tibetan Buddhism, mainly used as graves for renowned lamas and monks.
They are solid and white, and the top Ta Sha has sacred Buddhist meanings.
Pagoda of Miaoying Temple in Beijing, The Oldest and Biggest Extant Lama Pagoda or Fubo Shi Ta in China, Picture from IC.
Vajrasana Pagoda or Jingang Baozuo Ta
The Vajrasana Pagoda is characterized by its grand base, upon which five pagodas are built, each representing one of the Five Great Buddhas.
The layout of these five, with a big one in the middle and four smaller ones in four directions, has been stable.
However, the architectural styles of Vajrasana Pagodas in China are not regulated; some would have more than one style on the same base.
Pagodas of Zhenjue Temple in Beijing, The Oldest Surviving Vajrasana Pagoda or Jingang Baozuo Ta in China, Picture from Yan Xia.
Street Pagoda and Doorway Pagoda
Street Pagoda, Guojie Ta, Doorway Pagoda, or Ta Men are those built on top of doorways, sometimes on busy streets.
Every time a person passes through these doorways, it represents they worshiped the sacred pagodas once.
Shaoguan Pagoda in Jiangsu, The Only Well Preserved Ancient Street Pagoda or Guojie Ta in China. Photo by Li Wenbo.
Other Pagodas in China
Besides those traditional styles mentioned above, some notable pagodas have also been constructed.
The most common way is to combine more than one traditional style into something new and innovative.
Duobao Pagoda in Summer Palace, Combined High-rise and Dense-eaves Styles, Picture from Heipo.
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