The Iron Pagoda () of

Youguo Temple Youguo Temple () is a Buddhism, Buddhist monastery complex located northeast of Kaifeng, in Henan province, China. It was built during the Song dynasty (960–1279 CE). The design features the Iron Pagoda towering in the center of the complex, in a ...

(),

Kaifeng Kaifeng () is a prefecture-level city in east-central Henan province, China. It is one of the Eight Ancient Capitals of China, having been the capital eight times in history, and is best known for having been the Chinese capital during the Nort ...

City,

Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is a ...

province, is a

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

Chinese pagoda built in 1049 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 res ...

(960–1279) of

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

. The pagoda is so-named not because it is made of

iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in ...

, but because its color resembles that of iron. It is a

brick A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured cons ...

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, ...

tower built on the location of a previous wooden one that had been burnt down by lightning fire in 1044. Along with the Liuhe, Lingxiao, Liaodi, Pizhi, and Beisi pagodas, it is seen as a masterpiece of Song dynasty architecture.

Architecture

This

octagon In geometry, an octagon (from the Greek ὀκτάγωνον ''oktágōnon'', "eight angles") is an eight-sided polygon or 8-gon. A '' regular octagon'' has Schläfli symbol and can also be constructed as a quasiregular truncated square, t, w ...

al-base structure stands at a current height of 56.88 meters (186.56 feet), with a total of 13 stories. It is a solid-core brick tower with an inner spiral stone staircase and outside openings to allow light and air flow. The architectural style features densely positioned,

articulated An articulated vehicle is a vehicle which has a permanent or semi-permanent pivot joint in its construction, allowing it to turn more sharply. There are many kinds, from heavy equipment to buses, trams and trains. Steam locomotives were sometim ...

dougong ''Dougong'' () is a structural element of interlocking wooden brackets, one of the most important in traditional Chinese architecture. The use of dougong first appeared in buildings of the late centuries BC and evolved into a structural net ...

'' in the eaves (''miyan'') and multiple stories (''louge''). The exterior features more than fifty different varieties of glazed brick and 1,600 intricate and richly detailed carvings, including those of standing and sitting

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 ...

, standing monks, singers and flying dancers, flowers, lions, dragons and other legendary beasts as well as many fine engravings. Under the eaves are 104

bells Bells may refer to: * Bell, a musical instrument Places * Bells, North Carolina * Bells, Tennessee * Bells, Texas * Bells Beach, Victoria, an internationally famous surf beach in Australia * Bells Corners, Ontario Music * Bells, directly st ...

that ring in the wind. The foundation rests in the

silt Silt is granular material of a size between sand and clay and composed mostly of broken grains of quartz. Silt may occur as a soil (often mixed with sand or clay) or as sediment mixed in suspension with water. Silt usually has a floury feel ...

of the

Yellow River The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the sixth-longest river system in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan Ha ...

. Inside the Iron Pagoda are

fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plast ...

s of the classical Chinese tales, such as '' The Journey to the West''.

History

In the

Northern Song Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a r ...

(960–1127) dynasty's capital city of

, the famous architect

Yu Hao Yu Hao (, 970) was a Chinese architect, structural engineer, and writer during the Song Dynasty. Legacy Yu Hao was given the title of Master-Carpenter (Du Liao Jiang) for his architectural skill.Needham, Volume 4, Part 3, 81. He wrote the ''Mu J ...

built a magnificent wooden

as part of

(between 965 and 995 CE.) that was considered by many of his contemporaries to be a marvel of art. Unfortunately, the widely admired structure burned down in 1044 after a

lightning Lightning is a naturally occurring electrostatic discharge during which two electrically charged regions, both in the atmosphere or with one on the ground, temporarily neutralize themselves, causing the instantaneous release of an average ...

strike. Under the order of Emperor Renzong (1022–1063), a new pagoda was built in its place by 1049. The new tower was built of nonflammable brick and stone and was dubbed the 'Iron Pagoda' due its iron-grey color when viewed from afar (its bricks are in fact glazed red, brown, blue, and green). In 1847 the Yellow River overflowed its banks and the Youguo Temple collapsed, but the Iron Pagoda survived. Historically, the pagoda has experienced 38 earthquakes, six floods and many other disasters, but it remains intact after almost 1,000 years. In 1994, the Iron Pagoda was featured on a two- yuan Chinese postage stamp.

Gallery

File:1049 AD Iron Pagoda, Northern Song Dynasty, Kaifeng 03.jpg Image:Iron Pagoda f.JPG File:Iron_Pagoda_g.JPG, detail File:Iron_Pagoda_h.JPG, detail File:开封铁塔琉璃瓦.jpg, glazed tiles of Iron Pagoda

References

External links

Iron Pagoda at Ctrip
{{DEFAULTSORT:Iron Pagoda Buddhist temples in Kaifeng Pagodas in China Buildings and structures in Kaifeng Religion in Kaifeng Song dynasty architecture Major National Historical and Cultural Sites in Henan 11th-century Buddhist temples 11th-century establishments in China Religious buildings and structures completed in 1049 Tourist attractions in Henan

Architecture

History

Gallery

See also

References

External links