The Stone Pagoda Temple () of
Qionglai City
Qionglai () is a county-level city of Sichuan Province, Southwest China, it is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Chengdu. It is located around from downtown Chengdu. The city is located on the western edge of the Sichuan Ba ...
,
Sichuan
Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...
province,
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 ...
, is a temple first built during the
Song dynasty
The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...
that features a stone pagoda.
History
The temple was originally called the ‘Temple of Great Mercy’, but its name was later changed to reflect to pagoda within. The temple and pagoda were both first constructed during the Southern Song dynasty between the years 1165–1173. The temple has been rebuilt many times since then, but the relics within the pagoda still date from its period of construction.
Pagoda
The pagoda has 13 floors, is 17 meters tall and is built using red sandstone. The pagoda is built on a large base, with the first floor being considerably taller than the upper floors. Encircling the first floor is an arcade consisting of twelve support columns. The second floor and above are all very short. The pagoda's style closely resembles that of a
Tang dynasty
The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdom ...
pagoda, but also has some Song characteristics as well. In 2001 the pagoda was put under protection by the government.
[Xu (2007), 170.]
Notes
References
*Xu Xiaoying, ed. ''Zhongguo Guta Zaoxing''. Beijing: Chinese Forest Press, 2007.
{{coord, 30.3117, N, 103.1222, E, source:wikidata, display=title
Buddhist temples in Chengdu
Architecture in China
Pagodas in China
Buddhist buildings in Chengdu