Baolunsi pagoda

Baolun Temple Pagoda is located in Shanzhou scenic area in the west of Sanmenxia City, Henan Province. It was originally the pagoda of Baolun temple in Shanzhou city. It was first built by monk Daoxiu of Tang Dynasty. It was rebuilt by monk Zhixiu in 1177 A.D., more than 800 years ago. The temple has been destroyed long ago, only the pagoda can survive alone. The gate of the tower faces south, and the plane is square. It is a 13 level brick tower with dense eaves. The height of the tower is 26.5 meters, and the circumference of the tower is 21.6 meters. There is a base and pedestal at the bottom of the tower. The front of the pagoda is engraved with the inscription of "Sansheng relic pagoda". The body of the pagoda converges layer by layer from bottom to top, and the height of each layer decreases evenly. The outer contour is parabolic. The eaves of the pagoda are built with water chestnut teeth brick and stacked astringent brick layers, which is beautiful. There are semicircular arches, niches and window openings on each layer of the tower. Under the wing corner, there are Fengduo (iron bells), which are ringing when the wind blows. There are tower chambers and terraces in the tower. You can view the magnificent scenery of "the Yellow River is far above the white clouds".

Baolunsi pagoda

Baolunsi pagoda is located in Shanzhou scenic area, Sanmenxia City, Henan Province.

Baolun Temple Pagoda was built in the first year of Renshou (601), so it is called Renshou pagoda. In order to worship the relic, the nun Daoxiu presided over the building, and the tower body was a wooden tower.

In 1177, the monk Zhixiu rebuilt the pagoda of Baolun temple.

Because the echo inside the tower is similar to the sound of a toad, it is commonly known as "toad tower"

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Baolunsi pagoda is a 13 level brick Pagoda with dense eaves, 26.5 meters high and 21.6 meters in circumference. There is a base and pedestal at the bottom of the tower. The tower body converges layer by layer from bottom to top, and the height of each layer decreases evenly, so that the tower body is parabolic. There are semicircular arches, niches and windows in each layer of the tower, and there are chambers and stairways in the tower.

The pagoda of Baolun temple is shaped like a Tang pagoda, and its internal structure inherits the construction method of song pagoda, and integrates the artistic characteristics and structural methods of the bridge style pagoda and pavilion style pagoda of Tang and Song dynasties

It has important research value.

On June 25, 2001, baolunsi pagoda was announced as the fifth batch of national key cultural relics protection units by the State Council of the people's Republic of China.

Historical evolution

Baolun Temple Pagoda was built in the first year of Renshou (601), so it is called Renshou pagoda. In order to worship the relic, the nun Daoxiu presided over the building. The tower is a wooden tower, with a height of 180 feet.

In the 17th year of Jin Dading (1177), monk Zhixiu rebuilt the pagoda (brick pagoda) of Baolun temple, which was destroyed early.

The tower is still in good condition after 16 earthquakes.

From July to November 1991, the cultural relic Department restored the pagoda of Baolun temple. The pagoda of Qinyang Tianning Temple, which was built in 1181, was taken as a reference. Except that the pagoda could not be righted, the rest of the pagodas were restored to their original shape.

At the end of 1990s, Sanmenxia City repaired the pagoda of Baolun temple again, and corrected the pagoda which was inclined because of the activity of the base of the pagoda.

Architectural features

structure

Baolunsi pagoda is a 13 level brick Pagoda with dense eaves. It is 26.5 meters high and 21.6 meters long. The front of the pagoda is engraved with the inscription of "three saints' relic pagoda", also known as "three saints' relic pagoda". There is a base and pedestal at the bottom of the tower. The tower body converges layer by layer from bottom to top, and the height of each layer decreases evenly. There are semicircular arches, niches and windows in each layer of the tower, and there are chambers and stairways in the tower.

The gate of the pagoda of Baolun Temple faces south, and the plane is square. It is made of 36 × 17 × 5.5cm blue and gray bricks one by one. The bricks are bonded with white ash, and the mortar joint is fine. The south wall of the first floor of the tower is equipped with a semi-circular arch gate with a height of 0.91 meters. The two meter long corridor is connected with the slightly square chamber of the tower, and the top of the chamber is built into a sharp corner with stacked bricks. There are small niches on the north wall of the room, one outside the east wall and one outside the west wall of the tower. In the West niches, there is a remnant stone Sutra building of the Tang Dynasty, carved with a statue of Buddha and two Bodhisattvas. In the East niches, the original stone statue has disappeared. In the north wall, the door is opened, and inside the door is a small square room. On the second floor, the central chamber is 1.17 meters long, 1.14 meters wide and 2.06 meters high. There is a semicircular arch door on the four walls of the central chamber. Inside the door, there is a square chamber, the interior and the tower. At the top of the central chamber, there is a sharp caisson made of water chestnut brick and stacked brick. From the tenth floor to the top, the tower is made of solid masonry. Except for the third floor, there is a central chamber and a small square room for climbing to the next level, the rest of the central chamber is made of solid masonry The plane layout of each floor is the same as that of the second floor.

There are no flat seats on the eaves of each layer of Baolun Temple Pagoda, but only stacked bricks are used to pick them out layer by layer. On the first to fourth floors, there is a layer of eaves brick under the eaves of the tower, two layers of water chestnut brick and seven layers of folded brick on the top, and five layers of inverted brick on the eaves. The number of layers of water caltrop teeth brick and stacked astringent brick under the eaves of the tower with five to eight floors increased slightly. Under the eaves of the tower above the ninth floor, there are one layer of eaves pulling brick and one layer of water caltrop tooth brick, five layers of overlapping astringent brick, and five layers of inverted astringent brick on the upper part of the eaves. Under the eaves of each tower, there are Fengduo (Tieling is the original), and the section of the corner eaves is triangular.

characteristic

The pagoda of Baolun temple is shaped like a Tang pagoda. Its internal structure inherits the construction method of song pagoda, and integrates the artistic characteristics and structural method of Tang and song miqiao pagoda and pavilion pagoda. It is a special pagoda shape with parabolic shape, elegant style and solid structure.

Cultural relics

A 40 × 30 cm stone inscription is embedded in the front of the second level of baolunsi pagoda. In the center of the pagoda, the inscription "Sansheng relic pagoda" is engraved. In the upper right, the inscription "the pagoda started on April 5, the 16th year of Dading and finished on May 8, the 17th year of Dading" is written in regular script. It can be seen that the pagoda was built in the year of jindading.

History and culture

Legends and anecdotes

According to folklore, there was a pair of golden toads in the tower with loud calls. Later, someone stole the male toad, leaving only one female toad, whose sound was not as loud as before. In fact, the sound of frogs comes from the echo principle.

Standing around the pagoda of Baolun temple for several feet, visitors can hear the sound of "quack quack" like a toad by knocking on the stone and clapping their hands. The louder and faster the percussion or clapping, the more vivid and loud the sound of the toad's cry, so it is commonly known as "toad tower".

Research value

Baolun Temple Pagoda is one of the buildings with a long history in echo architecture. Its structure and construction method are different from those in other places. It has important architectural history, cultural relics and Buddhist research value.

Cultural relics protection

On June 25, 2001, baolunsi pagoda was announced as the fifth batch of national key cultural relics protection units by the State Council of the people's Republic of China.

Tourism information

geographical position

Baolunsi pagoda is located in Shanzhou scenic area, Sanmenxia City, Henan Province.

Opening Hours

8:00-18:30 in summer and 8:00-18:00 in autumn

Ticket Price

Free Admission

Traffic information

Take bus No.1 or No.2 in Sanmenxia City to Shanzhou scenic spot station, then walk to it.

Address: Shanzhou Road, Hubin District, Sanmenxia City, Henan Province

Longitude: 111.15583679315

Latitude: 34.789742733233

Chinese PinYin : Bao Lun Si Ta