East West Tower

Quanzhou East West pagoda, a combination of Zhenguo pagoda and Renshou pagoda, is the tallest pair of existing stone pagodas in China. It is located in Quanzhou Kaiyuan Temple, West Street, Quanzhou City. Zhenguo tower was built in the sixth year of Xiantong (865 AD), Renshou tower was built in the second year of Liang Zhenming (916 AD). The East and West pagodas are still standing upright after being attacked by wind and rain and shaken by earthquake, which shows the high achievements of Quanzhou stone architecture and stone carving art in Song Dynasty. They are the gems of ancient Chinese stone architecture.

East West Tower

Quanzhou East West pagoda is a combination of Zhenguo pagoda and Renshou pagoda. It is the tallest pair of stone pagodas in China. It is located in Quanzhou Kaiyuan Temple, West Street of Quanzhou City.

Kaiyuan Temple was first built in the second year of Tang Dynasty (686 AD), and has a long history of more than 1300 years. The temple has a grand scale and covers an area of more than 78000 square meters. The majestic main hall of Daxiong, Ganlu altar, sutra Pavilion and East West pagoda are famous for their ancient exquisite architectural art and unique charm. It is a national key cultural relic protection unit. The two towers on both sides of Kaiyuan Temple are "Zhenguo tower" in the East, with a height of 48.27 meters, and "Renshou tower" in the west, with a height of 45.06 meters. The East and West towers are the tallest and largest pair of stone towers in China.

Zhenguo tower was built in the sixth year of Xiantong (865 AD), Renshou tower was built in the second year of Liang Zhenming (916 AD). The East and West pagodas are still standing upright after being attacked by wind and rain and shaken by earthquake, which shows the high achievements of Quanzhou stone architecture and stone carving art in Song Dynasty. They are the gems of ancient Chinese stone architecture.

Historical evolution

Zhenguo pagoda was built in the sixth year of Xiantong in Tang Dynasty (865 A.D.), and it was a wooden pagoda at the beginning; it was a brick Pagoda in the third year of Baoqing in Southern Song Dynasty (1227 A.D.); from the second year of Jiaxi to the tenth year of Chunyou (1238-1250 A.D.), it was changed into an existing octagonal five storey Pavilion style granite pagoda. Renshou tower was built in 916 A.D. in the second year of Liang Zhenming in the Five Dynasties. It was originally a wooden tower; it was changed into a brick tower in the Chunxi period of the Southern Song Dynasty (1174-1189 A.D.); from the first year of shaoding to the first year of Jiaxi period (1228-1237 A.D.), it was changed into an existing octagonal five storey Pavilion style granite tower with wood like structure. The two towers are in xumizhuang shape, with four doors on each floor and four niches on each floor. Outside there is a flat balustrade, visitors can look around the tower. There is a brake on the top of the tower. The top of the brake is high enough to hold the steel calabash, shining in the sun. Eight iron chains are obliquely tied to eight corner ridges from the upper plate of the tower brake, and small copper bells are hung under each corner ridge. There are forty iron chains in the whole tower. The center of the tower is octagonal solid body, and each floor is equipped with stairs for tourists to go up and down. On both sides of the door niche on each floor of the tower are 80 relief statues of samurai, heavenly king, Vajra, arhat, etc., with different and lifelike expressions. There are thirty-nine blue stone relief Buddha biographies around the waist of tasumizuo. Most of the stories are based on Buddhist scriptures and ancient Indian myths and legends, and then expressed by painting and carving techniques, which is more vivid, delicate and precious.

architectural composition

East Tower (Zhenguo tower): it is located on the east side of the main hall of Kaiyuan Temple. In the sixth year of Xiantong in Tang Dynasty (865), a five storey wooden tower was built. During the reign of emperor Tianxi of Song Dynasty (1017-1021), it was changed to 13 storeys. In 1155, Shaoxing was burned. In 1186, Chunxi was rebuilt. In 1227, it was rebuilt into a 7-story brick tower. In the second year of Jiaxi reign (1238), Seng benhong was rebuilt into a stone pagoda with only one floor built. Later, the monk's legal power was extended to the fourth floor, and Tianzhu monk Tianxi continued to build the fifth floor and the spire, which lasted for 12 years. The tower is a granite octagonal building with a top Pavilion. There are iron censer and copper cover on the top of the tower. The octagonal eaves angle iron chain on the top of the tower is connected with the tower brake. The top of the tower brake is equipped with wojin gourd. The tower is composed of outer wall, outer corridor, inner corridor and core column. The central part of the tower is an octagonal stone core column, and the outer part is an ambulatory. The core of the tower is connected with the outer wall of the tower by beams and brackets. There are four doors on the front of the outer wall and four niches on the side. The positions of the niches are exchanged layer by layer to reduce the pressure on the upper layer. On both sides of the door, there are relief statues of samurai, King Kong, arhat, God and Buddha disciples, which are 2 meters high and 1 meter wide, respectively. On both sides of the niches, there are costumes There are 80 statues on five floors with different decorations, postures, weapons and facial expressions. There is an eaves Gallery around the tower, and there are flat balustrades outside the gallery. On the base of the pagoda is xumizuo, 18.5 meters in diameter, 60 meters in circumference and 1.50 meters in height. The waist part of the pagoda is carved with diabase relief. There are 40 images of Buddha biography, and the carving is exquisite. The height of the whole tower is 48.27 meters (the bottom layer is 7.37 meters high, the second layer is 7.19 meters high, the third layer is 6.73 meters high, the fourth layer is 6.22 meters high, the fifth layer is 8.05 meters high, the Tasha is 11.18 meters high, and the base diameter is 1.50 meters).

West Tower (Renshou tower): located on the west side of the front of the main hall, it is called Renshou tower. During the reign of Liang Zhenming in the Five Dynasties (915-920 A.D.), a 7-level wooden pagoda was built, named wuliangshou pagoda. It was renamed Renshou in the fourth year of Zhenghe in the Song Dynasty (1114 A.D.). 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 45.06m (6.63m for the first floor, 6.79m for the second floor, 5.80m for the third floor, 5.65m for the fourth floor, 8.59m for the fifth floor, 8.29m for the Tasha, and 2.31M 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.

Related information

The stone pagoda of Kaiyuan Temple in Quanzhou is a gem of ancient Chinese stone architecture. From the construction scale, shape and skill of the stone pagoda, it can be said that it is exquisite. It is not only a symbol of the unprecedented prosperity of Quanzhou in the middle ages, but also a unique symbol of the famous historical and cultural city of Quanzhou. The shadow sculptures of the East and West pagodas have become precious gifts from the top leaders of our city.

Address: West Street, Licheng District, Quanzhou City, Fujian Province

Longitude: 118.58547734401

Latitude: 24.913470431507

Tel: 0595-22383285

Chinese PinYin : Dong Xi Ta