Renshou tower

Renshou pagoda is located in the west of the front of Daxiong hall. It is the West Pagoda in the East and West pagodas. During the reign of Liang Zhenming (915-920) of the Five Dynasties, it was built as a 7-level Wooden Pagoda, named wuliangshou pagoda. It was renamed Renshou in the fourth year of Zhenghe (1114) of the Song Dynasty. Shaoxing suffered a fire in 1155 and was rebuilt into a brick tower in 1174-1189. In the first year of shaoding (1228), it was rebuilt into a stone pagoda and completed in the first year of Jiaxi (1237). It was built ten years ago. Its height is 44.06 meters (6.63 meters for the bottom floor, 6.79 meters for the second floor, 5.80 meters for the third floor, 5.65 meters for the fourth floor, 8.59 meters for the fifth floor, 8.29 meters for the Tasha, and 2.31 meters for the base). The stone carving process is simpler than that of the East Tower. There are 80 statues on both sides of the doors and niches of each floor. They have different shapes, rough lines, simple costumes (mostly monk's clothes), and some stone carvings on the waist of xumizuo are flowers, plants, animals and so on.

Renshou tower

Renshou pagoda is located in the west of the front of Daxiong hall. It is the West Pagoda in the East and West pagodas. During the reign of Liang Zhenming (915-920) of the Five Dynasties, it was built as a 7-level Wooden Pagoda, named wuliangshou pagoda. It was renamed Renshou in the fourth year of Zhenghe (1114) of the Song Dynasty. Shaoxing suffered a fire in 1155 and was rebuilt into a brick tower in 1174-1189. In the first year of shaoding (1228), it was rebuilt into a stone pagoda and completed in the first year of Jiaxi (1237). It was built ten years ago. Its height is 44.06 meters (6.63 meters for the bottom floor, 6.79 meters for the second floor, 5.80 meters for the third floor, 5.65 meters for the fourth floor, 8.59 meters for the fifth floor, 8.29 meters for the Tasha, and 2.31 meters for the base). The stone carving process is simpler than that of the East Tower. There are 80 statues on both sides of the doors and niches of each floor. They have different shapes, rough lines, simple costumes (mostly monk's clothes), and some stone carvings on the waist of xumizuo are flowers, plants, animals and so on.

survey

Renshou tower of Kaiyuan Temple in Quanzhou, Fujian Province was built in 916, the second year of Liang Zhenming in the Five Dynasties. Originally a wooden tower, it was destroyed by two fires during the reign of Yihai (1155) and Chunxi (1174-1189) in Shaoxing. So they changed materials, first brick, and soon stone. Its architectural form is basically the same as that of Zhenguo tower, but its height is only 44.06 meters, 4.18 meters lower than that of Zhenguo tower. Renshou tower was built 10 years earlier than Zhenguo tower. According to the system of one temple with two towers, the planning and design of the two towers may be decided at the same time, but the construction has priority.

There are a pair of stone pagodas on the East and west sides in front of Ziyun Hall of Kaiyuan Temple. East Tower is a famous town. The West pagoda is named Renshou pagoda. The distance between the two pagodas is about 200 meters. All the pagodas are made of imitation wood structure. It is the tallest pair of stone pagodas in China. The twin towers are the most exquisite of the same type of stone towers that can be visited. The architectural details faithfully reflect the style of wood architecture in Fujian during the Southern Song Dynasty.

Construction history

Kaiyuan Temple in Quanzhou is a famous temple in Southern Fujian and an ancient temple in southern China. It was founded in the Tang Dynasty (685-688). By the Song Dynasty, temples had developed greatly. This pair of stone pagodas were left over from the Song Dynasty.

Renshou tower was built in 916, the second year of Liang Zhenming in the Five Dynasties. It is a 7-story wooden tower called wuliangshou tower. In the reign of Zhenghe of Song Dynasty (1111-1117), it was renamed Renshou tower. Shaoxing Yihai (1155) was destroyed by fire and rebuilt into a brick tower. The stone pagoda was rebuilt in the first year of shaoding (1228) and completed in the first year of Jiaxi (1237).

Zhenguo pagoda was first built in 865, the sixth year of Xiantong in Tang Dynasty. It was a wooden pagoda. In the Southern Song Dynasty, it was easily built with bricks. From 1238 to 1250, it was changed into an existing granite Pagoda with octagonal five storey Pavilion style imitation wood structure. The tower is 48.24 meters high, 18.5 meters in diameter and 7.8 meters in side length. There is a low base under the first tower, which is in the form of xumizuo. On the top and bottom of the seat, there are two layers of lotus and rolling grass. At eight corners, there is a statue of a strong man bearing the seat. The waist part of the pot door is carved with 39 stories of Buddha and animal images such as lion and dragon. There are stone railings around the base of the tower. There are five steps on the four front faces of the base.

Artistic treatment

The tower is composed of outer wall, outer corridor, inner corridor and core column. The outer wall has four front doors, and the other four slopes have niches. On both sides of the niche are carved Manjusri, Puxian and other Bodhisattvas, gods and Buddhists. The corner of each layer of the tower is carved with round chair columns, which are rare in ancient buildings. Outside the tower body of each floor, there are flat balustrades, which form the surrounding veranda. People can walk out of the tower body and look around the balustrade.

Quanzhou's twin towers are magnificent, with far-reaching eaves, palisades and open doors. They look like wooden structures from a distance, which fully shows the level of ancient stonework in Southern Fujian.

Address: Xinhua North Road, Licheng District, Quanzhou

Longitude: 118.58492068642

Latitude: 24.914886321724

Traffic information: bus stop near Renshou Tower:

Jiadi Xiangkou, Mengya Xiangkou, xinfukou, Quanzhou theater, Nanjun intersection, Xihu community, north section of Chengxi Road, Xinmen vegetable market, Second Hospital, West bus station, vegetable company, Huaqiao new village, Beimen street, quanshanmen parking lot, and Wujian.

Buses near Renshou Tower:

No. 24, No. 47, No. 14, No. 41, No. 45, No. 201, No. 10, No. 18, No. 9, No. 40, No. 2, No. 601, No. 22, No. 208, No. 3, No. 17, No. 33, No. 37, No. 602, No. 39, No. 21, No. 48, No. 26, etc.

Chinese PinYin : Ren Shou Ta