The Nine Pinnacle Pagoda or Jiuding Pagoda (, sometimes translated as "Nine Roof Pagoda") is an 8th-century pavilion-style brick
pagoda
A pagoda is an Asian tiered tower with multiple eaves common to Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, Vietnam, and other parts of Asia. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most often Buddhist but sometimes Taoist, ...
located in central
Shandong
Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region.
Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...
Province
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...
,
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
. It is noted for its unique roof design featuring nine small pagodas.
Location
The Nine Pinnacle Pagoda is located near Qinjiazhuang Village, Liubu Town, in
Licheng District Licheng may refer to the following locations:
*Licheng County (), of Changzhi, Shanxi
*Licheng District, Jinan (), Shandong
*Licheng District, Putian (), Fujian
*Licheng District, Quanzhou (), Fujian
*Licheng Subdistrict, Xianyou County (), Fujian
* ...
, under the administration of
Jinan
Jinan (), Postal Map Romanization, alternately romanization of Chinese, romanized as Tsinan, is the Capital (political), capital of Shandong province in East China, Eastern China. With a population of 9.2 million, it is the second-largest city i ...
City, about 33 kilometers southeast of the city of Jinan proper.
History
The pagoda was erected during the
Tang Dynasty
The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...
between the years 742 and 756 AD. The pagoda is made entirely from bricks laid tightly with joint gaps of about one centimeter. The pagoda's floor plan is an equilateral octagon in which all of the eight side walls are curved inwards. These concave walls are another distinguishing feature not found in other pagodas of the period. The main body of the pagoda contains only a single storey and the most elaborate feature of the structure are nine small pagodas that decorate the roof. This design may have been chosen to reflect the Chinese saying derived from a story of the
Warring States period
The Warring States period () was an era in History of China#Ancient China, ancient Chinese history characterized by warfare, as well as bureaucratic and military reforms and consolidation. It followed the Spring and Autumn period and concluded ...
which reads: One word, nine
ding vessels (). The saying means that a promise given carries a lot of weight (like the literal weight of the nine heavy ding vessels).
The name of the pagoda () has the same pronunciation as the second half of the saying, although the characters for "ding" meaning "pinnacle" () and "ding" meaning "ding vessel" () are not the same. Each of the roof pagodas has a square cross-section, three eaved storeys, and features a small door. Eight of the nine roof pagodas are positioned over the eight corners of the main body's octagon with their doors oriented outwards.
The height of these roof pagodas is 2.84 meters each. The ninth pagoda occupies the center of the roof. It is almost twice as large as its peers (5.33 meters) and its single door faces south. Including these roof decorations, the total height of the pagoda is 13.36 meters. The eaves of the pagoda are made from 17 layers of brick as is characteristic for the period. The pagoda stands on the grounds of the Nine Pagoda () Temple. A change in the appearance of the walls of the pagoda near the middle of the main body (at 3.6 meters above ground) is seen as an indication that the lower half of the pagoda may have been formerly surrounded by another structure. The arched entrance door to the pagoda's main storey is located right above this transition. It leads to a chamber which houses a 1.2-meter tall
Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism.
According to Buddhist tradition, he was ...
statue made from stone and executed the style of the Tang Dynasty. There are also statues of two monks. On the wall of the chamber a few traces of Buddhist murals remain.
The Nine Pinnacle Pagoda has been integrated into the grounds of the "Jiuding Pagoda Park of Folk Customs" ({{zh, c={{linktext, 九, 顶, 塔, 民, 族, 风, 情, 园, p={{linktext, Jiŭ, dǐng, tǎ, Mín, zú, Fēng, qíng, Yuán ).
Image gallery
Image:Jiudingta 2008 07 15 2.jpg, 17-layer brick eaves
Image:Jiudingta 2008 07 15 3.jpg, Roof pagodas
See also
*
Four Gates Pagoda
The Four Gates Pagoda () is a Sui dynasty (581-618 AD) stone Chinese pagoda located in central Shandong Province, China. It is thought to be the oldest remaining pavilion-style stone pagoda in China. The oldest extant brick-built pagoda in China i ...
(nearby)
*
Dragon-and-Tiger Pagoda
The Dragon-and-Tiger Pagoda () is a Tang Dynasty brick and stone pagoda located in central Shandong Province, China. It is considered a characteristic example of the pagoda style of the period.
Location
The Dragon-and-Tiger Pagoda is located ...
(nearby)
*
Thousand-Buddha Cliff
The Thousand-Buddha Cliff () is a historical site of mostly Tang Dynasty rock carvings in central Shandong Province, China. Along a cliff face of 63 meters length, over 210 statues and 43 inscriptions have been reported. Most of the statues wer ...
(nearby)
*
List of sites in Jinan The following is a list of sites in Jinan. It contains sites of natural, cultural, economic, political, or historical significance in the City of Jinan, Shandong, China. The geographical area covered by this list includes all counties and districts ...
*
Chinese pagoda
A pagoda is an Asian tiered tower with multiple eaves common to Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, Vietnam, and other parts of Asia. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most often Buddhist but sometimes Taoist, ...
References and external links
online article from the China Internet Information CenterJiuding Pagoda Park of Minority Customs - Jinan Tourism Administration
Pagodas in China
Tang dynasty Buddhist temples
Major National Historical and Cultural Sites in Shandong
Tourist attractions in Jinan
Buddhist temples in Shandong
8th-century establishments in China
8th-century Buddhist temples