Apagoda is a tiered tower with multiple eaves common to Thailand, Cambodia, Nepal, 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, and were often located in or near viharas. The pagoda traces its origins to the stupa, while its design was developed in ancient India.[1] Chinese pagodas (Chinese: 塔; pinyin: Tǎ) are a traditional part of Chinese architecture. In addition to religious use, since ancient times Chinese pagodas have been praised for the spectacular views they offer, and many classical poems attest to the joy of scaling pagodas.
The oldest and tallest pagodas were built of wood, but most that survived were built of brick or stone. Some pagodas are solid with no interior. Hollow pagodas have no higher floors or rooms, but the interior often contains an altar or a smaller pagoda, as well as a series of staircases for the visitor to climb to see the view from an opening on one side of each tier. Most have between three and 13 tiers (almost always an odd number) and the classic gradual tiered eaves.[2][3]
In some countries, the term may refer to other religious structures. In Vietnam and Cambodia, due to French translation, the English term pagoda is a more generic term referring to a place of worship, although pagoda is not an accurate word to describe a Buddhist vihara. The architectural structure of the stupa has spread across Asia, taking on many diverse forms specific to each region. Many Philippine bell towers are highly influenced by pagodas through Chinese workers hired by the Spaniards.
One proposed etymology is from a South Chinese pronunciation of the term for an eight-cornered tower, Chinese: 八角塔, and reinforced by the name of a famous pagoda encountered by many early European visitors to China, the "Pázhōu tǎ" (Chinese: 琶洲塔), standing just south of GuangzhouatWhampoa Anchorage.[4] Another proposed etymology is Persianbutkada, from but, "idol" and kada, "temple, dwelling."[5]
Yet another etymology is from the Sinhala word dāgaba, derived from Sanskrit dhātugarbha or Pali dhātugabbha: "relic womb/chamber" or "reliquary shrine", i.e. a stupa, by way of Portuguese.[6]
Kek Lok Si pagoda tiers labelled with their architectural styles
The origin of the pagoda can be traced to the stupa (3rd century BCE).[7] The stupa, a dome shaped monument, was used as a commemorative monument to house sacred relics and writings.[7][8] In East Asia, the architecture of Chinese towers and Chinese pavilions blended into pagoda architecture, eventually also spreading to Southeast Asia. Their construction was popularized by the efforts of Buddhist missionaries, pilgrims, rulers, and ordinary devotees to honor Buddhist relics.[9]
Japan has a total of 22 five-storied timber pagodas constructed before 1850.[10]
The earliest styles of Chinese pagodas were square-base and circular-base, with octagonal-base towers emerging in the 5th–10th centuries. The highest Chinese pagoda from the pre-modern age is the Liaodi Pagoda of Kaiyuan Monastery, Dingxian, Hebei, completed in the year 1055 AD under Emperor Renzong of Song and standing at a total height of 84 m (275 ft). Although it no longer stands, the tallest pre-modern pagoda in Chinese history was the 100-metre-tall wooden pagoda (330 ft) of Chang'an, built by Emperor Yang of Sui,[11] and possibly the short-lived 6th century Yongning Pagoda (永宁宝塔) of Luoyang at roughly 137 metres. The tallest pre-modern pagoda still standing is the Liaodi Pagoda. In April 2007 a new wooden pagoda Tianning TempleofChangzhou was opened to the public, the tallest in China, standing 154 m (505 ft).
Some believed reverence at pagodas could bring luck to students taking the Chinese civil service examinations.[15] When a pagoda of Yihuang County in Fuzhou collapsed in 1210, local inhabitants believed the disaster correlated with the recent failure of many exam candidates in the prefectural examinations[16] The pagoda was rebuilt in 1223 and had a list inscribed on it of the recently successful examination candidates, in hopes that it would reverse the trend and win the county supernatural favor.[16]
Floor-support structure in a corner of the Horyuji temple.
Pagodas come in many different sizes,[17] with taller ones often attracting lightning strikes, inspiring a tradition that the finial decoration of the top of the structure can seize demons.[18] Today many pagodas have been fitted with wires making the finial into a lightning rod.[19]
Wooden pagodas possess certain characteristics thought to resist earthquake damage. These include the friction damping and
sliding effect of the complex wooden dougong joints,[20] the structural isolation of floors, the effects of wide eaves analogous to a balancing toy, and the Shinbashira phenomenon that the center column is bolted to the rest of the superstructure.[21]
The 40-metre-tall (130 ft) Songyue Pagoda of 523 AD, the oldest extant stone pagoda in China
During the Southern and Northern dynasties, pagodas were mostly built of wood, as were other ancient Chinese structures. Wooden pagodas are resistant to earthquakes, and no Japanese pagoda has been destroyed by an earthquake,[21] but they are prone to fire, natural rot, and insect infestation.
The literature of subsequent eras also provides evidence of the domination of wooden pagoda construction. The famous Tang dynasty poet, Du Mu, once wrote:
480 Buddhist temples of the Southern Dynasties,
uncountable towers and pagodas stand in the misty rain.[clarification needed]
During the Northern Wei and Sui dynasties (386–618) experiments began with the construction of brick and stone pagodas. Even at the end of the Sui, however, wood was still the most common material. For example, Emperor Wen of the Sui dynasty (reigned 581–604) once issued a decree for all counties and prefectures to build pagodas to a set of standard designs, however since they were all built of wood none have survived. Only the Songyue Pagoda has survived, a circular-based pagoda built out of brick in 523 AD.
The earliest extant brick pagoda is the 40-metre-tall Songyue Pagoda in Dengfeng Country, Henan.[23] This curved, circle-based pagoda was built in 523 during the Northern Wei dynasty, and has survived for 15 centuries.[23] Much like the later pagodas found during the following Tang dynasty, this temple featured tiers of eaves encircling its frame, as well as a spire crowning the top. Its walls are 2.5 m thick, with a ground floor diameter of 10.6 m. Another early brick pagoda is the Sui dynastyGuoqing Pagoda built in 597.
The earliest large-scale stone pagoda is a Four Gates PagodaatLicheng, Shandong, built in 611 during the Sui dynasty. Like the Songyue Pagoda, it also features a spire at its top, and is built in the pavilion style.
One of the earliest brick and stone pagodas was a three-storey construction built in the (first) Jin dynasty (266–420), by Wang JunofXiangyang. However, it is now destroyed.
Brick and stone went on to dominate Tang, Song, Liao and Jin dynasty pagoda construction. An example is the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda (652 AD), built during the early Tang dynasty. The Porcelain Pagoda of Nanjing has been one of the most famous brick and stone pagoda in China throughout history.
The Zhou dynasty started making the ancient pagodas about 3,500 years ago.
Jade Buddha Temple in Shanghai follows the Song dynasty multi-courtyard design, and does not feature a pagoda. The main hall is at the center.
Pagodas, in keeping with the tradition of the White Horse Temple, were generally placed in the center of temples until the Sui and Tang dynasties. During the Tang, the importance of the main hall was elevated and the pagoda was moved beside the hall, or out of the temple compound altogether. In the early Tang, Daoxuan wrote a Standard Design for Buddhist Temple Construction in which the main hall replaced the pagoda as the center of the temple.
The design of temples was also influenced by the use of traditional Chinese residences as shrines, after they were philanthropically donated by the wealthy or the pious. In such pre-configured spaces, building a central pagoda might not have been either desirable or possible.
In the Song dynasty (960–1279), the Chan (Zen) sect developed a new 'seven part structure' for temples. The seven parts—the Buddha hall, dharma hall, monks' quarters, depository, gate, pure land hall and toilet facilities—completely exclude pagodas, and can be seen to represent the final triumph of the traditional Chinese palace/courtyard system over the original central-pagoda tradition established 1000 years earlier by the White Horse Temple in 67. Although they were built outside of the main temple itself, large pagodas in the tradition of the past were still built. This includes the two Ming dynasty pagodas of Famen Temple and the Chongwen Pagoda in JingyangofShaanxi.
A prominent, later example of converting a palace to a temple is Beijing's Yonghe Temple, which was the residence of Yongzheng Emperor before he ascended the throne. It was donated for use as a lamasery after his death in 1735.
Examples of Han dynasty era tower architecture predating Buddhist influence and the full-fledged Chinese pagoda can be seen in the four pictures below. Michael Loewe writes that during the Han dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD) period, multi-storied towers were erected for religious purposes, as astronomical observatories, as watchtowers, or as ornate buildings that were believed to attract the favor of spirits, deities, and immortals.[24]
Ancient Chinese model of two residential towers, made of earthenware during the Han dynasty, 2nd century BC to 2nd century AD, excavated by archaeologists in 1993.
Side view of a Han pottery tower model with a mid-floor balcony and a courtyard gatehouse flanked by smaller towers; the dougong support brackets are clearly visible.
A Western-Han model of a watchtower with human figures on its balconies (including crossbowmen) and a gatehouse and courtyard on the first floor.
Among a large set of architectural models, three Eastern Han dynasty watchtowers stand in the rear of this display.
Pagodas of the Five Dynasties, Northern and Southern Song, Liao, Jin, and Yuan dynasties incorporated many new styles, with a greater emphasis on hexagonal and octagonal bases for pagodas:
Prashar Lake temple, dedicated to the Rishi Prashar, the patron of the Mandi region in India. The temple was constructed by Raja Ban Sen in the 14th century, with the rishi being present in the form of a pindi stone.
Pagoda Avalokitesvara, Indonesia, tallest pagoda in Indonesia, stands at 45 meters, built in 2004.
Sun and Moon PagodasinGuilin, Guangxi, China, twin pagodas on Shan Lake, originally built in the 10th century and reconstructed using historical description on the original foundation in 2001
Shwedagon Pagoda, a 98-metre (322 ft) gilded pagoda and stupa located in Yangon, Myanmar. It is the most sacred Buddhist pagoda for the Burmese with relics of the past four Buddhas enshrined within.
The Dragon House of Sanssouci Park, an eighteenth-century German attempt at imitating Chinese architecture
The Panasonic Pagoda, or Pagoda Tower, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This 13-story pagoda, used as the control tower for races such as the Indy 500, has been transformed several times since it was first built in 1913.[25]
Jin Mao Tower in Shanghai, built between 1994 and 1999
Wooden three-story pagoda of Ichijō-ji in Japan, built in 1171
Yingde pagoda, Qingyuan, Guangdong Province, China, from Johan Nieuhof (1618–1672); Jean-Baptiste Le Carpentier (1606 – c. 1670): L'ambassade de la Compagnie Orientale des Provinces Unies vers l'Empereur de la Chine, 1665
^Chinese Origin of the Term Pagoda: Liang Sicheng's Proposed Etymology
Authors: David Robbins Tien
Publication: Acta Orientalia, volume 77 (2016), pp 133–144
David Robbins Tien, Gerald Leonard Cohen
Publication: Arts, Languages and Philosophy Faculty Research & Creative Works
DownloadTien, D. R., & Cohen, G. L. (2017) http://scholarsmine.mst.edu/artlan_phil_facwork. David Robbins Tien. Comments on Etymology, October 2014, Vol.44, no. 1, pp. 2–6.
^Hobson-Jobson: The Anglo-Indian Dictionary by Henry Yule & Arthur Coke Burnell, first printed 1896, reprinted by Wordsworth Editions, 1996, p. 291. Online Etymology Dictionary by Douglas Harper, s.v. pagoda, at http://www.etymonline.com/ (Accessed 29 April 2016)
Fu, Xinian. (2002). "The Three Kingdoms, Western and Eastern Jin, and Northern and Southern Dynasties," in Chinese Architecture, 61–90. Edited by Nancy S. Steinhardt. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN0-300-09559-7.
Govinda, A. B. Psycho-cosmic symbolism of the Buddhist stupa. 1976, Emeryville, California. Dharma Publications.
Hymes, Robert P. (1986). Statesmen and Gentlemen: The Elite of Fu-Chou, Chiang-Hsi, in Northern and Southern Sung. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN0-521-30631-0.
Kieschnick, John. The Impact of Buddhism on Chinese Material Culture. Published 2003. Princeton University Press . ISBN0-691-09676-7.
Loewe, Michael. (1968). Everyday Life in Early Imperial China during the Han Period 202 BC–AD 220. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd.; New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons.
Steinhardt, Nancy Shatzman (1997). Liao Architecture. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.
