Sizhou tower

Sizhou tower

There are two existing Sizhou pagodas in China. One is located in Tanghe, Henan Province. It is an octagonal cone-shaped Pagoda with spiral steps inside. It has nine floors and is about 315 meters high. There are many stone Buddha statues on the inside and outside walls. It was first built in 1905 of the Song Dynasty. It has been rebuilt many times in history. Lingyan, an ancient pagoda, is one of the Eight Sights of Tanghe

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The other is located in Xishan, Huizhou, Guangdong, which is the oldest building on the lake. It was built in the reign of emperor Zhongzong of Tang Dynasty to commemorate the great sage Sangha of Sizhou. Su Shi, a writer of the Northern Song Dynasty, called it the great sage tower when he was banished to Huizhou. The pagoda was destroyed in 1584 A.D. in the 42nd year of Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty and rebuilt into a pavilion in the early Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty. Wanli 46 years (AD 1618) and rebuilt as Sizhou tower.

summary

When the bright moon rises, the cool wind blows the lake, and the light of the lake is shining. The Sizhou tower standing in the West Mountain reflects into the lake, which induces Po Xian to sing the good sentence: "the moon blows out of the mountain, and the Jade Pagoda lies in the ripples", which constitutes the scene of "the ripples of the Jade Pagoda" praised by tourists in the West Lake.

After thousands of years of evolution, I don't know how many Sizhou pagodas can survive in the four seas, but Huizhou Sizhou pagoda still stands tall and straight on the top of the west mountain of the West Lake, showing a solemn and quiet "tower spirit" like life. From a certain point of view, the Sizhou Pagoda in Huizhou has evolved into a kind of culture, which is not only for people to study and appreciate, but also a symbol of their homeland, maintaining the deep feelings of Huizhou people for their homeland

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history

It is said that during the longshuo period of the Tang Dynasty, the famous monk Sangha from the western regions came to China and died in Chang'an. Emperor Zhongzong of the Tang dynasty built a pagoda for him in Sizhou. As a result, all over the country imitated Sizhou to build Sangha pagoda, so it was called Sizhou pagoda. When Su Dongpo was relegated to Huizhou in the Song Dynasty, he called this pagoda the great saint pagoda, also known as the Jade Pagoda. There is a poem that "when the mountain is on the verge of the moon, the Jade Pagoda lies on the waves". The moon rises to the East, the smoke is thin and narrow at night, the breeze is gentle, and the shadow of the pagoda lies in it. Whenever the setting sun goes down, "the shadow of the pagoda is long, the light of the lake is curling, and the setting sun is moving. I don't know that since the beginning of the picture day, the clouds are flying again several times." it's called "the setting light of the wild goose Pagoda".

The pagoda has 7 floors outside and 13 floors inside. It is of brick and wood structure and is a pavilion style pagoda. The pagoda was destroyed in 1564, rebuilt in the early years of Wanli, and rebuilt in 1618. In the early years of the reign of Emperor Guangxu, a banyan tree grew at the top of the pagoda. Qiu Fengjia wrote: "if a pedestrian wants to ask about the tomb of Chaoyun, he can see the banyan tree at the top of the pagoda." After the founding of the people's Republic of China, the escalator was restored and added. The mountains are covered with trees, pavilions and corridors. The scenery is beautiful. You can have a panoramic view of Huizhou from the tower.

It has been rebuilt for more than 390 years and is one of the oldest buildings in Huizhou. During the reign of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty, the top of the tower was struck by lightning and a corner was damaged. It was not until 1955 that it was repaired. Later, after several repairs, strengthening the external wall, painting the tower, repairing the top of the tower, and paving the floor, the ancient building was rejuvenated. Climbing the tower and enjoying the scenery, the artistic conception is fresh. Every time you climb the tower, you can have a wider view. The scenery is different in the East, South, West and North. On the top of the mountain, Huizhou has a beautiful panoramic view, "a bird's-eye view of the Jade Pagoda" can be regarded as a view of the West Lake.

Sizhou great sage Sangha

The great sage of Sizhou was Senga, a native of he in the early Tang Dynasty. In the first year of longshuo, Emperor Gaozong of Tang Dynasty (AD 661), he went to linhuai County of Sizhou, China (now in Jiangsu Province, the original Sizhou city was sunk into Hongze Lake in the Kangxi period of Qing Dynasty) to build the puzhaowang temple and preach. Although he was not a Buddha, he was treated like a Buddha. People even built temples to worship him. In 708 ad, Sangha was called to Chang'an. He died on March 2, 710 ad. he was 83 years old. At that time, Emperor Tang Zhongzong paid homage to his body and sent it back to the pagoda of linhuai in Sizhou to support him. After the Temple Pagoda was destroyed by fire, the body of the Sangha was damaged, so it was cremated, and then there was a relic. Sangha is regarded as the incarnation of Guanyin Bodhisattva in Buddhist classics. In the Tang Dynasty, the statue of Guanyin was based on the appearance of Sangha, so it was mostly male and later evolved into female.

The "Sizhou great sage" relic was found in the tower base site of Wukong temple, Qingyang Town, Jiangyin City. On November 28, 2003, archaeologists excavated a stone box in the base of the tower. Inside the stone box was a shadow celadon bowl with a shadow celadon stippling bottle lying horizontally. Dozens of Sari were found in the bottle. These relics are colorful, mainly white, crystal clear and smooth in appearance. The inscriptions on the stone letters were verified by archaeologists and identified as the relic of the great sage of Sizhou.

Address: Xihu Xishan, No.2 Huancheng West Road, Huicheng District, Huizhou City

Longitude: 114.397147

Latitude: 23.092468

Chinese PinYin : Si Zhou Ta