The Wuying Pagoda (), also known as the Xingfu Temple Pagoda () and The Thousand Year-Old Pagoda of Wuhan (), is a Buddhist

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, ...

Wuchang Wuchang forms part of the urban core of and is one of 13 urban districts of the prefecture-level city of Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province, China. It is the oldest of the three cities that merged into modern-day Wuhan, and stood on the ri ...

Wuhan Wuhan (, ; ; ) is the capital of Hubei, Hubei Province in the China, People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the List of cities in China ...

Hubei Province Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The prov ...

, China. Built of stone 750 years ago during the final years of the

Southern 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 ...

, it is the oldest standing architectural feature in Wuhan. Wuying Pagoda is a

Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level A Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National LevelEnglish translation for "全国重点文物保护单位" varies, it includes Major Site (to Be) Protected for Its Historical and Cultural Value at the National Level, Major Histo ...

History

Original Pagoda

The origin of Wuying Pagoda stretches back to the later part of the

Northern and Southern dynasties The Northern and Southern dynasties () was a period of political division in the history of China that lasted from 420 to 589, following the tumultuous era of the Sixteen Kingdoms and the Eastern Jin dynasty. It is sometimes considered as ...

period, it having been built during the reign of

Emperor Yuan of Liang Emperor Yuan of Liang () (16 September 508 – 27 January 555), personal name Xiao Yi (), courtesy name Shicheng (), childhood name Qifu (), was an emperor of the Chinese Liang Dynasty. After his father Emperor Wu and brother Emperor Jianwen we ...

as part of the Jin'an Temple (). Subsequently, during the reign of

Emperor Wen of Sui The Emperor Wen of Sui (; 21 July 541 – 13 August 604), personal name Yang Jian (), Xianbei name Puliuru Jian (), alias Narayana () deriving from Buddhist terms, was the founder and the first emperor of the Chinese Sui dynasty. The ''Book of ...

, the temple was renamed Xingfu Temple (). The pagoda then derived its name from its connection to this temple.

Repeated destruction and rebuilding

The original pagoda having been destroyed at some earlier time, it was rebuilt in 1270 () in the throes of the overthrow of the Southern Song during the reign of

Emperor Duzong Emperor Duzong of Song (2 May 1240 – 12 August 1274), personal name Zhao Qi, was the 15th emperor of the Song dynasty of China and the sixth emperor of the Southern Song dynasty. He was a nephew of his predecessor, Emperor Lizong, and reigne ...

. The pagoda bears inscriptions dating from the period. The pagoda was designed to incorporate Buddhist iconography through various symbolic features and figures including images of Buddha, bodhisattvas, heavenly kings and celestial guards. While of solid stone construction, it is modeled upon multi-storeyed wooden pagodas. Some of the original artistry has been damaged. Xingfu Temple was left in ruins in the 19th century, victim of the

Taiping Rebellion The Taiping Rebellion, also known as the Taiping Civil War or the Taiping Revolution, was a massive rebellion and civil war that was waged in China between the Manchu-led Qing dynasty and the Han, Hakka-led Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. It lasted fr ...

. In 1953, Wuying Pagoda was located in a courtyard next to a kitchen in a residential area to the east of Mount Hong within the grounds of

South Central University for Nationalities South-Central Minzu University (SCMZU; ; colloquially 中南民大, Pinyin: Zhōngnán mínDà) is a national university located in Hubei province's capital Wuhan, directly under the State Ethnic Affairs Commission of PRC. It is a comprehensiv ...

, and was tilting severely. On November 15, 1956, the pagoda was among the first 101 locations in Hubei province declared a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the Provincial Level. In the winter of 1962/1963, it was moved to its current site at the western foot of Mount Hong adjoining a new tomb for

Shi Yang Shi Yang (; June 13, 1889 - February 15, 1923), born Shi Jichao (), courtesy name Bogao (). Shi Yang was from the small village of Yangjiahe () in Zhushan County, Hubei. He was a lawyer by trade, as well as a member of the Chinese Communist Party ...

that was erected in Hongshan Park by the local

Ministry of Culture Ministry of Culture may refer to: *Ministry of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Sports (Albania) *Ministry of Culture (Algeria) *Ministry of Culture (Argentina) * Minister for the Arts (Australia) *Ministry of Culture (Azerbaijan) * Ministry of ...

Current status

The pagoda has eight sides and seven storeys, with four of the storeys including carvings of Buddhist figures carved in small niches. It is 11.25 meters tall, with a diameter of 4.25 meters at the "Sumeru Throne" ( xūmízuò) style base. On December 18, 2001, the Cultural Department of Wuchang completed repairs to the pagoda. In the seventh listing of major historical sites in China published on March 5, 2013, the pagoda was listed as a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level from the Song Dynasty, with historical site number 7-1213-3-511.

Legend

Dragon Vein

According to one tradition, there is a 'dragon vein' () under the mountains in this area, including

Mount She Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, C ...

(Snake Mountain). The head of the dragon is said to be beneath the

Yellow Crane Tower Yellow Crane Tower () is a traditional Chinese tower located in Wuhan. The current structure was built in 1981, but the tower has existed in various forms from as early as AD 223. The current Yellow Crane Tower is high and covers an area of . ...

and the area beneath Wuying Pagoda the tail of the dragon. The pagoda was built to block the dragon vein. According to another, related in the Annals of

Huguang Province Huguang was a province of China during the Yuan and Ming dynasties. It was founded by the Yuan dynasty in 1274. During the Yuan dynasty it included the areas of modern Hubei south of the Yangtze river, Hunan, Guizhou, and Guangxi. During the Ming ...

(), it was built on a vein of water which was connected to the

Yangtze River The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest list of rivers of Asia, river in Asia, the list of rivers by length, third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in th ...

'Shadowless'

There are multiple and varied claims made about the pagoda's lack of a shadow. The claim is made that the pagoda casts no shadow at noon on the

summer solstice The summer solstice, also called the estival solstice or midsummer, occurs when one of Earth's poles has its maximum tilt toward the Sun. It happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere ( Northern and Southern). For that hemisphere, the summer ...

, or at noon on the

winter solstice The winter solstice, also called the hibernal solstice, occurs when either of Earth's poles reaches its maximum tilt away from the Sun. This happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere ( Northern and Southern). For that hemisphere, the winte ...

. More sensationally, the claim is made that the pagoda never casts a shadow. An explanation given for the modern appearance of a shadow is the change in the pagoda's location. The name is often used as the focus of puns and other jokes.

Gallery

File:Wuhan Wuying Ta 2012.11.21 10-44-59.jpg, Perspective from Northeast with former monument in foreground File:Wuhan Wuying Ta 2012.11.21 10-47-42.jpg, Perspective from Southeast File:Wuhan Wuying Ta 2012.11.21 10-46-50.jpg, Sumeru Throne (須彌座 xūmízuò), common feature of the base of Buddhist pagodas File:Wuhan Wuying Ta 2012.11.21 10-45-51.jpg File:Wuhan Wuying Ta 2012.11.21 10-46-05.jpg File:Wuhan Wuying Ta 2012.11.21 10-46-28.jpg File:Wuhan Wuying Ta 2012.11.21 10-46-34.jpg, Damaged artistry in a niche on the first storey File:Wuhan Wuying Ta 2012.11.21 10-46-58.jpg, Eaves and

corbel In architecture, a corbel is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal jutting from a wall to carry a superincumbent weight, a type of bracket. A corbel is a solid piece of material in the wall, whereas a console is a piece applied to the s ...

brackets made to imitate wooden structure () File:Wuhan Wuying Ta 2012.11.21 10-45-29.jpg, Lower Storeys File:Wuhan Wuying Ta 2012.11.21 10-45-26.jpg, Storeys one through four with intact niche sculpture visible File:Wuhan Wuying Ta 2012.11.21 10-45-25.jpg, Storeys three through seven File:Wuhan Wuying Ta 2012.11.21 10-47-15.jpg File:Wuhan Wuying Ta 2012.11.21 10-45-22.jpg, Upper story ornamentation visible File:Wuhan Wuying Ta 2012.11.21 10-44-12.jpg, Text:
湖北省文物保护单位
無影塔
興福寺塔南宋
湖北省人民委员会
一九五六年十一月十五日公布
武汉市人民政府立
Former monument recognizing the inclusion of the pagoda in the November 15, 1956 declaration of Major Historical and Cultural Sites at the Provincial Level for Hubei Province

References

External links

Hong Hill, Wuhan听张良皋教授讲述武汉最老古建筑——无影塔的前世今身

{{Hubei topics Buddhist temples in Hubei Buildings and structures completed in the 13th century Religious buildings and structures in Wuhan Architecture in China Pagodas in China History of Hubei Major National Historical and Cultural Sites in Hubei Military history of the Song dynasty Octagonal buildings in China Rebuilt buildings and structures in China Religion in Hubei Song dynasty architecture