The Three Pagodas of the Chongsheng Temple () are an ensemble of three independent

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, ...

s arranged on the corners of an

equilateral triangle In geometry, an equilateral triangle is a triangle in which all three sides have the same length. In the familiar Euclidean geometry, an equilateral triangle is also equiangular; that is, all three internal angles are also congruent to each oth ...

, near the old town of Dali,

Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked province in the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the C ...

province, China, dating from the time of the

Kingdom of Nanzhao Nanzhao (, also spelled Nanchao, ) was a dynastic kingdom that flourished in what is now southern China and northern Southeast Asia during the 8th and 9th centuries. It was centered on present-day Yunnan in China. History Origins Nanzha ...

and

Kingdom of Dali The Dali Kingdom, also known as the Dali State (; Bai: Dablit Guaif), was a state situated in modern Yunnan province, China from 937 until 1253. In 1253, it was conquered by the Mongols but members of its former ruling dynasty continued to a ...

in the 9th and 10th centuries. The Three Pagodas are located about north of Dali old town. They are at the east foot of the tenth peak of the massive Cangshan Mountains and face the west shore of the

Erhai Lake Erhai or Er Lake (), is an alpine fault lake in Yunnan province, China. Erhai was also known as Yeyuze () or Kunming Lake () in ancient times. Etymology The character "洱" (er) does not have the same meaning as ear (耳). During the Han to Tan ...

of ancient Dali.

Description

The Three Pagodas are made of brick and covered with white mud. As its name implies, the Three Pagodas is composed of three independent pagodas forming a symmetric triangle. The elegant, balanced and stately style is unique in China's ancient Buddhist architectures, which makes it a must-see in the tour of Dali. The Three Pagodas, visible from miles away, has been a landmark of Dali City and selected as a national treasure meriting preservation in China. The main pagoda, known as Qianxun Pagoda (), reportedly built during 823-840 CE by king Quan Fengyou (劝丰佑) of the

, is 69.6 meters (227 feet) high and is one of the tallest pagodas in China's history.Three Pagodas
From TravelChinaGuide.com. Retrieved on 2008-02-12. The central pagoda is square shaped and composed of sixteen stories; each story has multiple tiers of upturned eaves. There is a carved shrine containing a white

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphose ...

sitting Buddha statue at the center of each façade of every story. The body of the pagoda is hollow from the first to the eighth story, surrounded with 3.3 meters (10 feet) thick walls. In 1978, more than 700 Buddhist antiques, including sculptures made of gold, silver, wood or crystal and documents, were found in the body during a major repairing work. The designers of the pagoda are supposed to have come from

Chang'an Chang'an (; ) is the traditional name of Xi'an. The site had been settled since Neolithic times, during which the Yangshao culture was established in Banpo, in the city's suburbs. Furthermore, in the northern vicinity of modern Xi'an, Qin S ...

(present-day

Xi’an Xi'an ( , ; ; Chinese: ), frequently spelled as Xian and also known by other names, is the capital of Shaanxi Province. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong Plain, the city is the third most populous city in Western China, after Chongqin ...

), the capital of the Tang dynasty at that time and the location of another pagoda,

Small Wild Goose Pagoda The Small Wild Goose Pagoda, sometimes Little Wild Goose Pagoda (), is one of two significant pagodas in Xi'an, Shaanxi, China, the site of the old Han and Tang capital Chang'an. The other notable pagoda is the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda, origin ...

, which shares the similar style but is one hundred years older. The other two sibling pagodas, built about one hundred years later, stand to the northwest and southwest of Qianxun Pagoda. They are 42.19 meters (140 feet) high. Different from Qianxun Pagoda, they are solid and octagonal with ten stories. The center of each side of every story is decorated with a shrine containing a Buddha statue. A lake is located behind the pagodas. Named Reflection Pond (), the pond is known to be able to reflect images of the Three Pagodas.

History

Three Pagodas of Chongsheng Temple front view from entrance

The Three Pagodas were initially built for auspicious reasons. According to local legends, Dali was once a swamp inhabited by breeding dragons before the humans arrived. As the dragons, which were believed to deliberately create natural disasters to dispel human intruders, revered pagodas, the Three Pagodas were built to deter the dragons. The Three Pagodas are well known for their resilience; they have endured several man-made and natural catastrophes over more than one thousand years. Their mother building was known as Chongsheng Temple () and was once the royal temple of the

. It was originally built at the same time as the first pagoda, but was destroyed in a fire during the rule of the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-spea ...

. The temple was later rebuilt in 2005. It was recorded that Qianxun Pagoda had been split in an earthquake on May 6, 1515, AD (

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peo ...

). However, it miraculously recovered ten days later in an aftershock. The most recent record of severe earthquake in the Dali area occurred in 1925. Only one in one hundred buildings in Dali survived, but the Three Pagodas were undamaged. The central Qianxun Pagoda was built sometime in the latter half of the 9th century (after the Kaicheng period, 836–840).Qianxun Pagoda at Chongsheng Temple in Dali of Yunnan Province
From China.org.cn. Retrieved on 2008-02-11. During repairs in 1979, three copper plates were found at the bottom of the steeple which recorded the exact years of previous repairs, those being 1000, 1142, and 1145.

Gallery

Image:Three Pagodas Entrance.JPG, The entrance to the Three Pagodas Image:Ju Ying Reflection Lake Sign.JPG, Juying Reflection lake's sign () Image:Buddha carvings on middle Pagoda.JPG, Buddha carvings on the middle Pagoda. Image:Left leaning Pagoda.JPG, The left Pagoda, which leans to one side due to inadequate strength of foundation. File:崇圣寺三塔 - panoramio (1).jpg File:The American Museum journal (c1900-(1918)) (17540872873).jpg, The Three Pagodas in 1918

Notes

{{Yunnan Buddhist temples in Yunnan Pagodas in China Major National Historical and Cultural Sites in Yunnan 9th-century Buddhist temples 9th-century establishments in China Buildings and structures in Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture

Description

History

Gallery

See also

Notes