The four gates pagoda

With a history of nearly 1400 years, the four gate tower is the treasure of Jinan culture.

The cliff wonders and the solemn tower forest are no more beautiful than the four gate pagoda. The body of the pagoda is majestic, solid and solemn. It is the oldest existing single-layer Pavilion style stone pagoda in China. There is a Buddha sitting on each side, which makes people feel awe inspiring. The towering bamboo forest is rare in the north.

The ancient brick pagodas are well preserved in the Pagoda Forest, with clear ornamentation and dignified body. Other ancient pagodas record the stories of the dead monks.

The four gates pagoda

The four gate tower is located 4 kilometers northeast of Liubu Town, Licheng District, Jinan City, Shandong Province. The whole body of the tower is made of huge bluestone. It is single-layer, square and has an arch on each side. Therefore, it is commonly known as the "four gate tower". Built in 611, it has a history of more than 1400 years.

Simen pagoda is the only existing stone pagoda of Sui Dynasty in China. It is also the earliest and best preserved single-layer Pavilion Pagoda in China. It is a model of early stone architecture in China. It is known as "the first stone pagoda in China" and "the first stone pagoda in China". Its shape is simple and has the style of Chinese Han Dynasty architecture. It is of great value to the study of the history of Chinese Buddhism and the characteristics of ancient architectural construction, and it is also one of the precious heritages of ancient Chinese architecture. The whole tower has no obvious decoration except the Tasha part, which is rich and simple, simple and simple. It occupies an important position in the history of Chinese architecture.

On March 4, 1961, the four gate pagoda was announced by the State Council of the people's Republic of China as the first batch of national key cultural relics protection units.

Historical evolution

The four gate pagoda was built in 611, the seventh year of Daye in Sui Dynasty, with a history of more than 1400 years.

In 1972, when the Department of cultural relics carried out a large-scale renovation on the body of the four gate pagoda, it was found that the inscription "Daye Qinian Zao" (611) was inscribed on the top of the pagoda, and it was determined that the first time the pagoda was built was in the Sui Dynasty.

In 1972, the State Administration of cultural relics strengthened and maintained the four gate tower.

On April 18, 2011, the State Administration of cultural relics approved the "maintenance and protection plan for Simen tower, Tang Dynasty platform base and other buildings", which marks the 1400th anniversary of the completion of Simen tower, which will be overhauled again. At the same time, the project application for the protection plan of simenta was also approved. This is also the first large-scale renovation of the four gate tower since 1973.

Architectural features

Simen pagoda is the oldest existing single storey Pavilion style stone pagoda in China.

The four gate pagoda is square in plane and built with local big Bluestone. It is hard and has not been weathered for more than 1000 years. It is composed of tower base, tower body, tower eaves and pagoda top. It is a square single story single eaves Pavilion style stone tower ancient building. Each side of the tower is 7.38m wide, 15.04m high and 0.8m thick. Its East, South, West, North four sides each have a half round arch.

The four door pagoda is built with stones. Five floors are used as the conical roof of the four corners of the pagoda, and a stone carved pagoda brake is set on it. In the middle of the pagoda, which is composed of a covering bowl, a wheel of quintuple phase and a pearl, are all stone carvings. The concave under the eaves and the beautiful concave curve on the roof add a soft and curved meaning to the square and rigid stone tower; the door of the tower is very small, which correctly shows the actual scale of the tower; the image of the Tasha is rich, and the whole tower presents a simple and simple style.

The walls of the four gate pagoda are all made of large blue stones with shallow mat patterns. The outer eaves of the pagoda are made of five layers of stones, and the stone layers are enlarged. The top of the tower is made of 23 rows of bluestone slabs, which are folded inward layer by layer to form a conical roof with four corners and a carved stone tower brake. In the middle of the top is a xumizuo (also known as the dew plate). Around xumizuo, there are stone seats in the shape of Shanhua and banana leaves. In the middle of xumizuo, there are five phase wheels, on which there are jewels to form the whole Tasha. The center of the inner room of the tower is built with a huge square shaped tower core column, surrounded by corridors. The top of the inner room of the tower is overlapped with 16 triangular stone beams on the core column and the outer wall of the tower. Stone arch plates are set on the triangular stone beams to form the tower room and support the roof of the upper layer.

There are four Buddha statues on the four sides of the four gate pagoda. Each of the four statues has its own name: wuliangshou Buddha in the west, Baosheng Buddha in the south, Ayi Buddha in the East and subtle sound Buddha in the north. The eaves of the pagoda have five layers. The top of the pagoda is a square conical top with 23 layers of stone slabs. On the top is a square xumizuo, on the four corners is a Shanhua banana leaf ornament, and in the center is a carved stone wheel.

Cultural relics

Buddha statue

Each of the four gates of the four gate pagoda has a Buddha statue. Each Buddha statue is carved from a whole block of marble. Each of the four Buddhas has its own name. In the west, the Buddha is called the limitless longevity Buddha of the paradise. In the south, the Buddha is called the Baosheng Buddha of the joyful world. In the East, the Buddha is called the Ayi Buddha. In the north, the Buddha is called the subtle voice Buddha of the lotus solemn world.

In the four door pagoda room, the Buddha statues sit on their knees in front of the door. All the carved buddhas are in Luoji, dignified and natural. They are roughly the same in shape in the north and the south. Their faces are oblong in shape. They have a clear face. They wear a cassock with their right shoulder bare. The belt of their clothes makes a small knot. There is a white Bo in the middle of their eyebrows, but the hands of Baosheng Buddha in the south are placed on their knees. In the north, the subtle voice Buddha holds one hand on his knee and raises the other hand, which seems to be preaching scriptures; in the East and West, the Buddha statues are roughly the same in shape, with square and round faces. They are "Zen" Buddha statues with hands overlapped in the middle of his waist, but in the East, the Aya Buddha is covered with a double shoulder cassock style coat, with a belt hanging down on his left elbow; in the west, the wuliangshou Buddha is covered with double shoulders Cassock style coat, with commendatory clothes inside for summary.

The "Aya Buddha" in the four gate pagoda was born in the Northern Wei Dynasty. Its hair camp was arranged in an orderly way, with a firm horizontal line. Its forehead was flat and full, its eyebrows were curved and long, and its eyes were slightly obscure and beautiful. The nose line is straight, the lip line is clear, the corners of the mouth are upturned, introverted and slightly smiling, the chin is round, the two legs are plump and moderate, and the earlobe is lower than the mouth.

Relic

In 1973, when the cultural relics department was repairing the four gate pagoda, a relic stone box was found above the inner part of the core column of the pagoda. The stone box was built with a painted copper box. All the relics were placed in bronze letters, including four crystal beads, seven yellow glass beads and nine green glass beads, all of which had a hole. There is a gall shaped vase with a green tinge. The vase is broken. It has a bone ring, a silver ring, a copper ring and a "five baht" copper coin of Emperor Wen of Sui Dynasty.

History and culture

Age of construction

There are different opinions about the date of the construction of Simen pagoda. Some think it was built in 351, the first year of the former Qin emperor, and some think it was built in 544, the second year of Wuding in the Eastern Wei Dynasty. In 1972, when the pagoda was renovated on a large scale, the inscription "Daye Qinian Zao" (611) was found on the top of the pagoda. It was determined that the date of the pagoda was the Sui Dynasty, which is also the earliest existing stone pagoda in China.

Legends and anecdotes

In the 1920s, the Buddha statues of simenta were included in the complete works of world art published in Japan. According to the records of Jinan Jinshi Zhi published in Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty, there are two inscriptions on the statues in the tower. One is the four body statue of Yang Xianshu in the second year of Wuding (544) of the Eastern Wei Dynasty; the other is the Buddhist statues of Wuwei, miaoha, GuanShiYin, amitabha in the third year of Jinglong (709), all of which have been lost. Among them, Yang Xianshu's inscription was stolen by duanfang, governor of Zhili in the late Qing Dynasty, and then flowed into Japan. Today, Yang Xianshu's inscription on the Buddha seat in the pagoda is only based on rubbings.

Cultural relic value

Built in 661, the seventh year of Daye of Sui Dynasty, Simen pagoda is an ancient square single-layer stone pagoda. It is the earliest and best preserved Pavilion style Pagoda in China. It has the reputation of "the first stone pagoda in China" and "the first stone pagoda in China". Its shape is simple and has the style of Chinese Han Dynasty architecture. It is of great value to the study of the history of Chinese Buddhism and the characteristics of ancient architectural construction, and it is also one of the precious heritages of ancient Chinese architecture. The whole tower has no obvious decoration except the Tasha part, which is rich and simple, simple and simple. It occupies an important position in the history of Chinese architecture.

"The complete works of world art" contains its construction method: "it is the aftereffect of the Han Dynasty system method. Although the structure of this tower is simple, it has the beauty of balance, which is unparalleled in the single-layer stone tower."

The Buddha statues in the four gate pagoda have excellent carving skills, delicate strokes, vivid lines, clear context and rich aesthetic skills of Chinese culture and art. They are precious works of Buddhist art architecture and treasures of Buddhist art in China.

Cultural relics protection

On March 4, 1961, the four gate pagoda was announced by the State Council of the people's Republic of China as the first batch of national key cultural relics protection units.

In 1963, the preservation Office of the cultural relics of the four gate pagoda was established to be responsible for the daily protection and management of cultural relics.

In 1973, the Department of cultural relics carried out renovation projects such as "strengthening the foundation and maintaining the top of the tower".

On March 7, 1997, the head of the precious stone carving "a Yi Buddha" in the east of the four gate pagoda was stolen. In September 1999, the case was solved, but the head of the Buddha had already left the country.

On December 17, 2002, a 25 person Escort Group led by Master Sheng Yan of Taiwan escorted "a Yi Buddha"

Chinese PinYin : Si Men Ta