Lingxiao tower of Tianning Temple

Lingxiao pagoda of Tianning Temple is located in the former Tianning Temple, Dazhong street, Zhengding County. It is named for its towering height and its wooden structure, so it is called wooden pagoda. It was first built in the Xiantong period of Tang Dynasty (860-874). It has been repaired in all dynasties. The existing buildings are in song and Jin Dynasties. The tower is a 9-story pavilion type tower of brick and wood structure, with a height of 41 meters. It is octagonal in plane and stands on the octagonal platform. The first to fourth floors of the pagoda were rebuilt in the Song Dynasty on the remains of the Tang pagoda, with a brick structure. The upper floors were rebuilt in the Jin Dynasty, with brick and wood structure. On the front of each floor, there are arched openings or straight lattice windows. From the fourth floor to the ninth floor, the half arches and eaves are all made of wood. Starting from the fifth layer, the height of each layer shrinks layer by layer, giving people a sense of lightness and straightness. The most important feature of this tower is that a wooden pillar is erected in the center of the fourth floor of the tower, which reaches directly to the top of the tower, and eight grilled beams are connected with the outer eaves according to the layer position. The Tasha was originally made of iron, and the nine floor phase wheel is in the shape of jujube stone. There is only one such structure in China, which is extremely valuable.

Lingxiao tower of Tianning Temple

Lingxiao tower of Tianning Temple

In the former Tianning Temple on the north side of Dazhong street to the west of Longxing Temple in Zhengding, it is named for its towering height. Because the body of the tower is mostly of wood structure, it is commonly known as the wooden tower.

Structural features

According to Zhengding County annals written by Guangxu of Qing Dynasty, Tianning Temple and Lingxiao tower were built in the Weitong period of Yizong of Tang Dynasty (860-874 AD). Temple rules at that time

The memorial archway, chongmen, Tianwang hall, front hall, back hall, Lingxiao tower and other main buildings are arranged from south to north. The evening drum and the morning bell are full of fragrance. In the early years of the Republic of China, the temples suffered many misfortunes, and the halls were destroyed one by one. Lingxiao tower is a nine story Pavilion tower of brick and wood structure. It is octagonal in plane and 41 meters high. It stands on the octagonal platform. The first to fourth floors of the pagoda were rebuilt on the remains of the Tang Pagoda in the Song Dynasty. They are of brick structure, and the upper floors are rebuilt in the Jin Dynasty. The front of each floor is provided with arched openings or straight skid windows. From the fourth floor to the ninth floor, the brackets and cornices are all made of wood. Starting from the fifth layer, the height of each layer decreases layer by layer, and the outer contour shrinks layer by layer, giving people a sense of lightness and straightness. The biggest feature of Lingxiao tower is to erect a wooden pillar to the top of the tower in the center of the fourth layer of the tower, and connect it with the outer lining with eight radial grilling beams according to the layer. There is only one such structure in China, which is extremely valuable. The tower structure is not only different from the general wooden tower, but also different from the general brick and wood structure tower.

history

Lingxiao tower has been damaged for thousands of years. On March 22, 1866, the iron hollow jujube shaped pagoda was destroyed by the earthquake. Since then, due to the wind and rain, the eighth and ninth floors of the tower collapsed one after another. In order to protect this ancient pagoda, which occupies an important position in the history of ancient architecture, the people's government organized forces to carry out a comprehensive survey, and on the premise of striving to maintain its original appearance, the pagoda was removed and rebuilt in 1981. In February 1982, the underground palace was discovered under the tower base during the survey. After cleaning up, a number of valuable cultural relics were unearthed, including the stone relic letters with inscriptions in the second year of Suining (1103) of Song Dynasty and the sixth year of Huangtong (1146) of Jin Dynasty, which provided a reliable basis for determining the exact age of the tower. According to the two stone inscriptions, the pagoda, formerly known as Huiguang pagoda, was built in the Tang Dynasty (762-799 A.D.), and was overhauled in the fifth year of Qingli (1045 A.D.) of the Song Dynasty and rebuilt in the fifth year of Huangtong (1145 A.D.). The records of county annals should be revised, supplemented and corrected according to the cultural relics. The tower is a national key cultural relic protection unit.

Address: Dazhong street, Zhengding County, Shijiazhuang, Hebei

Longitude: 114.5751855

Latitude: 38.1423461

Chinese PinYin : Tian Ning Si Ling Xiao Ta