Yuanying tower

Yuanying tower

Yuanying pagoda is also known as chongen pagoda and Xilin pagoda. It's in Xita lane, Zhongshan West Road, Songjiang District, Shanghai. The tower was built in the Xianchun period of Song Dynasty (1265-1274). At that time, the reception hall was built in the north of Qingyun bridge, and a tower was built in front of the hall. It was named chongen pagoda, commonly known as Xilin pagoda.

Development history

Yuanying pagoda was built during the reign of Xianchun in the Southern Song Dynasty (1265-1274). Ming Hongwu 20 years (1387) reconstruction, the name "Yuanying tower.". In the early Ming Dynasty, the tower was tilted and rebuilt in the 20th year of Hongwu (1387 A.D.) and renamed Yuanying tower. Brick and wood structure, octagonal plane, seven stories, 46.5 meters high, has been measured in the suburbs of Shanghai, the highest tower. Pavilion style. The shape of the tower is basically similar to that of Shanghai Longhua tower, but the internal structure is different. In the thick brick wall of Xilin tower, there are brick and stone steps. The entrance and exit of Xilin tower are on the brick walls on both sides of the passageway of the pot door on each floor. Each floor has cornices, warped corners and zigzag railings. There is a gallery at the bottom and a pedestal at the bottom. In the ninth year of Zhengtong (1444), the pagoda was moved and built behind the Buddha Hall. The pagoda is of brick and wood structure, octagonal in shape, with seven stories and a height of 46.50 meters. In 1965, it was demolished because of its disrepair. There are only corridors and brick bodies left. The ladder inside the tower is a stone step, which is hidden in the brick body. There are pot doors on all sides of each layer, which can transform each other. On the bottom floor, a gallery is added, and the brick body is 3.05 meters on each side, shrinking layer by layer. Some of the wall tiles have the words "Ren Mianzhi and his wife donate" and so on. Ren Mianzhi was born in Hongwu to Zhengtong period of Ming Dynasty. He once served as a political councilor in Fujian and a magistrate in Huizhou. It can be seen that the brick body was made in Ming Dynasty (1368-1436).

Excavation of cultural relics

Yuanying pagoda was listed as a cultural relic protection unit in Shanghai in 1982. In 1990, when the relevant departments prepared to rebuild, they found that the brick body was still the original of the Song Dynasty, and the outer eaves of each layer, such as Dougong, luohanfang and tiaoyianfang, were all Ming style, which indicated that they were rebuilt in the Ming Dynasty. It has the architectural features of Ming and Qing Dynasties, but because of the disrepair, only the temple and brick body are preserved, and the rest are incomplete. All of them have been restored and a number of important cultural relics have been found.

In May 1992, Shanghai Municipal Administration of cultural relics, together with Songjiang County Government, formed the Songjiang Xilin tower repair leading group and tower repair office. In October 1993, the repair project started. First, the damaged Tasha was demolished, and more than 50 cultural relics such as gold and silver Buddha statues and jade figures were found in the vase. In January 1994, a collection of gold, silver and copper Buddha statues, jade walls and jade rings was found in the brick "heavenly palace" under the basin of Tasha. More than 500 pieces of cultural relics were unearthed in the underground palace, including gold, silver and copper Buddha statues, Silver Tower models, jade, crystal, agate, coral and other ornaments and ornaments.

Restoration works

There are two stone tablets in the underground palace, one of which was built by monk Chunhou in March, 1388, and the other was built behind the main hall in the ninth year of Zhengtong. The stone tablet in the "heavenly palace" contains the Buddha statue in the 13th year of Zhengtong (1488). After the tower was rebuilt, the original style of song tower was restored. Completed and accepted on November 15, 1994. In the process of renovation, a large number of cultural relics were found and unearthed, and there are many kinds of them. The discovery of a large number of jades in the yuan and Ming Dynasties is the first in China.

Design structure

Yuanying tower is composed of main tower and subsidiary tower, all of which are built with bricks. The four corners of the bottom layer of the main tower are respectively attached with a fan hexagonal pavilion shaped small tower. The small tower encircles the main tower, with staggered height, primary and secondary dependence, exquisite, gorgeous and spectacular. The main tower is a pavilion type building, with a height of 31.5 meters, which is divided into four layers. Under the eaves of each layer, there are gorgeous brick and wood like brackets. The first to third floors are octagonal in plane, with brick brackets in the middle of the bottom floor and a gate in the north. Flat seats are set on the second and third floors. In addition to the arched gate on each front, there are also inclined lattice false windows and square niches carved on each side. On the third floor, the flat seat is very large, and the body of the tower is significantly reduced. On the corner of the eaves, there are carved statues of Rex to support the fourth floor of the tower.

The plane of the fourth layer is slightly circular and looks like a cone. This is the main part of the tower, and also the essence of the tower. Its height is about 1/3 of the tower's height. Two stone Buddhas are worshipped in the tower room with cone-shaped inner eaves. The outer eaves are centered on octagonal vertical lines on eight sides, crisscrossed with painted images of Bodhisattva, Hercules, beasts, lions, elephants, pavilions and pavilions. The themes are extensive, the composition is novel, the arrangement is orderly, and the workmanship is exquisite. Among them, the animal models are the most vivid. The fierce lion, the fierce elephant and the leaping frog are all vivid and vivid. The fourth layer is like a group of sculpture art group, colorful and dazzling. The upper end of this layer is carved with brick acorns and ponies, covered with octagonal pavilion style eaves, and then crowned with octagonal zanjian shaped Tasha. Stairs are set on the first to third floors of the tower. In the hot season, visitors can feel the cool wind when they climb the third floor flat seat. The tower is composed of the main tower and the auxiliary tower. It sits on the same square abutment. The overall plane is octagonal. The width of the four front faces is 6.2 meters, and the width of the four inclined planes is 3.5 meters. The main tower is in the center, and the auxiliary towers are built on each of the four inclined planes. Between the main tower and the auxiliary towers is an inner corridor with a width of 1.36 meters. Attached to the top of the pagoda was originally decorated with a small pagoda, which has disappeared. Below it is a single-layer flat hexagonal pavilion shaped suite. Each slope of the suite has carved broken lattice windows. There are brick columns at the corners of each side, and the columns are equipped with appendix and bucket. The main tower is composed of four inclined walls with circular arches in the middle and single eaves. The main tower is an octagonal, 4-story Pavilion style, with a residual height of 33 meters. The north wall of the first floor opens to the door, and there is a stone step in the middle to the South Gate of the second floor. Under the eaves, there is a bucket. Outside the second floor, there is a secondary step circle (flat seat), with three bays on each side. The form of expression is that the careful Bay is a square door, and the secondary Bay is a square lattice or hexagonal lattice window. There is a ground under it. There is a round column foundation, and the window is carved with barrier plate and column core. The eaves and columns support the double roof, and the five pavilions are used to support the rafters and fly to the roof. The top of the tower chamber is a cross shaped covered caisson. There is no secondary step on the third floor, and the roof on the second floor supports the large petal and lotus octagonal flat seat. There are eight corner columns on eight sides, with land and circular column foundation. The front side is built with square gate made of bluestone, and the rest are set with false gate and inclined square lattice ridge window. On the column, there are also five paving buckets, each with an inclination of 60 degrees. Only one layer of appendix is used between the first and third layers of the column. The pagoda is connected with an octagonal pyramid on eight sides and carved with tiger, lion, elephant, dragon, Buddha, Bodhisattva and other images. The method is to build the inner tube with bricks, carve it slightly, and then mold it with clay. The top layer is a steep octagonal zanjian. Under the eaves, a Pu Bai Fang is used above the forehead. The Fang intersects at the top of the corner, and the angle is 45 degrees. The head is made into an inclined plane. Chacan, the existing eight petal Yang rosette. In front of the north wall of the three storey pagoda, there are two stone Buddha statues of Sakya Duobao, on which the inscription of Emperor Taizong's birthday in the second year of Zhenguan is engraved. On the frame of the South Gate on the third floor, there are lines carved in the Tang Dynasty, and inscriptions of visitors in the Song Dynasty on the surface.

Protection status

Yuanying tower is still in good condition after more than 900 years of wind and rain erosion, earthquake and war. In addition to its firm foundation and strict structure, the continuous maintenance of Yuanying tower is also an important reason. Especially after the founding of new China, it has been systematically repaired and managed. From 1974 to 1981, the state allocated a large amount of special funds and high-quality timber to carry out a comprehensive rush repair of the tower, making this ancient high-rise Yuanying tower, which is the most complete protection, the most ingenious structure and the most spectacular appearance in the world today, take on a new look and stand tall. And with its long history, unique artistic style and superb architectural technology, it attracts tourists at home and abroad. To some extent, it has become one of the landmarks of modern architecture. The structural design prototype of Yuanying tower comes from its outline. The guardrails on the second, third and fourth floors are of octagonal shape, and the octagonal shape is also used at the top for natural lighting. Yuanying tower is integrated with modern architectural art, showing the civilization of Yuanying tower for millions of years in front of the world.

Folklore

It is said that Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty, when he was going down to the south of the Yangtze River, once toured here with the title "Chang"

The river is like an inkstone pool wave, lifting gold coke as an ink mill. The tower can be used as a pen, and the sky can write a few lines of poetry. Emperor Qianlong's poems not only add some color to Beigu mountain, but also reflect the extraordinary atmosphere of Beigu mountain at that time. It is said that in the spring and Autumn period, Wu Zixu's family was suspected by the king of Chu, and only Wu Zixu escaped from the family. After he escaped from the state of Chu, there were pursuers behind him, and there was a moat in front of him, which made him feel so worried that even his hair became white. So there is still a allegorical saying that "Wu Zixu passed Zhaoguan - he turned white all night". Pagoda is a kind of Buddhist architectural art, but also a witness of historical and cultural development. Yuanying tower is rich in heritage, unique in charm, complete in variety and colorful. It not only adds infinite charm to the beautiful ancient city, but also leaves us a precious historical and cultural heritage today.

Main attractions

After the reconstruction of Yuanying tower, Xizhao scenic spot covers an area of 8 hectares. The main landscapes and facilities are: Yuanying tower, Xizhao Pavilion, miaoyintai, huiwenxuan, magnified Guangming Pavilion, ruyiyuan tourist center, ouxiangju restaurant, etc. as a scenic spot, Yuanying tower adds a unique style to the ancient city, which attracts people from all over the world to visit, and is admired and unforgettable. Yuanying tower is famous for its unique charm. The first and second levels of Yuanying tower were built in Song Dynasty

Chinese PinYin : Yuan Ying Ta