Statue of Xuanzang in front of Giant Wild Goose Pagoda

Giant Wild Goose Pagoda or Big Wild Goose Pagoda (, literally "big

swan goose The swan goose (''Anser cygnoides'') is a large goose with a natural breeding range in inland Mongolia, northernmost China, and the Russian Far East. It is migratory and winters mainly in central and eastern China. Vagrant birds are encounter ...

pagoda"), is a monumental Buddhist pagoda located in southern

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 Chongqi ...

Shaanxi Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see § Name) is a landlocked province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichuan (SW), Gansu (W), N ...

, China. It was built in 648/649(?) 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 ...

and originally had five stories. It was rebuilt in 704 during the reign of Empress

Wu Zetian Wu Zetian (17 February 624 – 16 December 705), personal name Wu Zhao, was the ''de facto'' ruler of the Tang dynasty from 665 to 705, ruling first through others and then (from 690) in her own right. From 665 to 690, she was first empres ...

and its exterior brick facade was renovated during the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

. One of the

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 many functions was to hold

sutra ''Sutra'' ( sa, सूत्र, translit=sūtra, translit-std=IAST, translation=string, thread)Monier Williams, ''Sanskrit English Dictionary'', Oxford University Press, Entry fo''sutra'' page 1241 in Indian literary traditions refers to an ap ...

s and

figurine A figurine (a diminutive form of the word ''figure'') or statuette is a small, three-dimensional sculpture that represents a human, deity or animal, or, in practice, a pair or small group of them. Figurines have been made in many media, with clay ...

s of

Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a 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 born in L ...

that were brought to China from

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

by the seventh-century Buddhist monk, scholar, traveller, and translator

Xuanzang Xuanzang (, ; 602–664), born Chen Hui / Chen Yi (), also known as Hiuen Tsang, was a 7th-century Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveler, and translator. He is known for the epoch-making contributions to Chinese Buddhism, the travelogue of ...

. Today, the interior walls of the pagoda feature engraved statues of Buddha by the renowned 7th-century artist

Yan Liben Yan may refer to: Chinese states * Yan (state) (11th century – 222 BC), a major state in northern China during the Zhou dynasty * Yan (Han dynasty kingdom), first appearing in 206 BC * Yan (Three Kingdoms kingdom), officially claimed indep ...

. This pagoda was added to the

World Heritage List A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

, along with many other sites along the

Silk Road The Silk Road () was a network of Eurasian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over 6,400 kilometers (4,000 miles), it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and rel ...

, as part of the " Silk Roads: the Routes Network of Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor" site in 2014.

Surroundings and history

The original pagoda was built during the reign of

Emperor Gaozong of Tang Emperor Gaozong of Tang (21 July 628 – 27 December 683), personal name Li Zhi, was the third emperor of the Tang dynasty in China, ruling from 649 to 683; after January 665, he handed power over the empire to his second wife Empress Wu (the f ...

(r. 649–683), then standing at a height of 60 m (198 ft).Watson, 185. This construction of

rammed earth Rammed earth is a technique for constructing foundations, floors, and walls using compacted natural raw materials such as earth, chalk, lime, or gravel. It is an ancient method that has been revived recently as a sustainable building method. ...

with a stone exterior facade collapsed five decades later. The ruling Empress

had the pagoda rebuilt and added five new stories by the year 704. A massive earthquake in 1556 heavily damaged the pagoda and reduced it by three stories, to its current height of seven stories.Ingles (1982), 144. The structure leans very perceptibly (several degrees) to the west. Its related structure, the 8th century

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 ...

in Xi'an, only suffered minor damage in the 1556 earthquake (unrepaired to this day). The Giant Wild Goose Pagoda was extensively repaired during the

(1368–1644) and renovated again in 1964. The pagoda currently stands at a height of 64 m (210 ft) tall and from the top it offers views over the city of Xi'an. The tower sits inside the Daci'en Temple complex ("mercy and kindness"). The Daci'en Temple was built in 648 to honor the

Empress Zhangsun Empress Zhangsun (長孫皇后, personal name unknown, presumably Wugou (無垢) (15 March 601 – 28 July 636), formally Empress Wendeshunsheng (文德順聖皇后, literally "the civil, virtuous, serene, and holy empress") or, in short, Empre ...

. The temple complex is open to the public and it receives millions of tourists each year. It can be accessed from the Da Yan Ta station of line 3 of the

Xi'an Metro The Xi'an Metro, also known as the Xi'an Rail Transit, is a rapid transit system in the city of Xi'an and the neighbouring city of Xianyang, in Shaanxi province, China. The system has 8 lines in operation. Line 2 opened to the public on Septembe ...

. One entrance is located at the northeast corner of the north plaza. A new entrance has opened during the end of 2017.

Gallery

File:Giant Wild Goose Pagoda, Xi'an.jpg, Giant Wild Goose Pagoda, Xi'an File:Golden statue of Xuanzang. Giant Wild Goose Pagoda, Xi'an.jpg, Golden statue of Xuanzang. Giant Wild Goose Pagoda, Xi'an File:Gold Pagoda inside Wild Goose Pagoda, Xi'an.jpg, Gold Pagoda inside Wild Goose Pagoda, Xi'an File:Great wild goose pagoda by night.JPG, Giant Wild Goose Pagoda by night File:Statue of Xuanzang. Wild Goose Pagoda, Xi'an.jpg, Statue of

. Giant Wild Goose Pagoda, Xi'an. File:Giant Wild Goose 2.jpg, Close up view of the eaves and exterior bricks File:Grande pagode avalokiteshvara hall.png, Avalokiteshvara Hall File:Great wild goose pagoda by night from park.jpg, View from the park File:大雁塔-内部.jpg, Inside the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda File:View from Giant Wild Goose Pagoda in Xi'an (2014).jpg, View from the top, in 2014 File:Big wild goose pogoda.jpg, Night view of South Square of Dayan Pagoda in2020 File:Giant Wild Goose-Pagoda.jpg, Side view, below

References

*Benn, Charles (2002). ''China's Golden Age: Everyday Life in the Tang Dynasty''. Oxford: Oxford University Press. *Ingles, O.G. "Impressions of a Civil Engineer in China," ''The Australian Journal of Chinese Affairs'' (Number 7, 1982): 141–150. *Heng Chye Kiang. (1999). ''Cities of Aristocrats and Bureaucrats: The Development of Medieval Chinese Cityscapes''. Singapore: Singapore University Press. . *Watson, William. (2000). ''The Arts of China to A.D. 900''. New Haven: Yale University Press. . {{Xi'an Buddhist temples in China Buddhist temples in Shaanxi Buddhist temples in Xi'an Buildings and structures in Xi'an Pagodas in China Tang dynasty Buddhist temples 7th-century Buddhist temples Towers completed in the 7th century 8th-century Buddhist temples Major National Historical and Cultural Sites in Shaanxi Wu Zetian World Heritage Sites in China Tourist attractions in Xi'an Religious buildings and structures completed in 704 Religious buildings and structures completed in 652