Wentong tower

Wentong tower

Wentong tower is located in Shaohu Park in the northwest corner of the ancient city of Huai'an District, Huai'an City, Jiangsu Province. Originally known as Zunsheng tower, it was built in the second year of Jinglong (708) of emperor Zhongzong of Tang Dynasty, with a height of 44 meters and 13 floors. In 1629, when it was rebuilt, it was renamed Wentong pagoda because there was Wentong Temple beside it. Since then, it has been rebuilt many times. In 1668 (the eighth year of the reign of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty), there were only two storeys left in the Wencheng earthquake. Later, only seven storeys were built in the reconstruction. The tower is brick structure, without beam and column, 23 meters high, seven story octagonal, yellow body and green eaves. In 1982, it was listed as a cultural relic protection unit in Jiangsu Province. In 2013, it was listed as a national key cultural relics protection unit.

brief introduction

Wentong tower is one of the buildings of Longxing Temple. At that time, the pagoda was built mainly for worshiping Buddha statues.

Wentong tower was built in 708, the second year of Jinglong reign of emperor Zhongzong of Tang Dynasty. It has been more than 1280 years. At that time, it was called Zunsheng tower, commonly known as Dunhuang tower. One thousand mu of land was given to the Buddhas for incense and the monks for solar eclipse. (the origin of Longxing Temple Pagoda) in 1240, the fourth year of the reign of emperor Jiaxi of the Song Dynasty, the pagoda was rebuilt, and the inscription was Wang Yu (the same as "Gui") in Huai'an Prefecture. During the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, when the water was flowing over, it was rebuilt. In the second year of Chongzhen (1629), the sacred pagoda was rebuilt. Because there is Wentong Temple beside it, it is renamed Wentong tower. It corresponds to the Longguang pavilion built in the southeast of the city (now Huai'an District) by Cao Fu Zhu Dadian of the Ming Dynasty.

Wentong tower is a brick and tile structure, without beams and columns. It's thirteen feet high, three feet high, seven stories and octagons. The shape is yellow body and green eaves, which are painted after renovation.

"Chayu Hakka Hua" says: Dunhuang tower is the place where Buddhist statues are provided. As soon as the tower is built, it is dedicated to the Buddha statue of Sakyamuni, also known as zhantan Buddha statue. At the bottom of the tower, sitting in the south, quite solemn. This statue has been worshipped in Huaihe for 319 years since Emperor Taizong of Tang Dynasty came to Huaihe from the left side of the Yangtze River and Emperor Taizu of Song Dynasty from the right side of the Yangtze River to the south of the Yangtze River!

Although zhantan Buddha was transported back to the south of the Yangtze River, the statues of Buddha were often worshipped in Wentong pagoda. To this day, four statues of Sakyamuni are still worshipped at the bottom of the pagoda, all of which are quite elegant. On the top of the pagoda, Guanyin sits on the lotus platform with beads hanging around her neck, and has a kind manner.

During the reign of emperor Shunzhi of the Qing Dynasty, there were several groups of sea storks on the top of their nests. At the beginning of Kangxi's return to the nest, he Ming was like before. When Ma Xiaolian lived near Xiqiao, he wrote a poem: "looking up at Minghe, I vaguely feel sorry for my old friend. It's hard to live in heaven. I love you, Cao Qin.

Due to the war, the furnishings of Wentong tower were demolished and empty. However, the whole structure of the tower is strong, and fortunately it has been preserved to this day. After liberation, the people's government allocated funds for repair four times in the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and 1990s. The title of the courtyard was "wentongta garden", which was written by Wuzhong Qi.

legend

It is said that during the reign of Daoguang in the Qing Dynasty, a governor passed by Huai'an. He had long heard that Huai'an was an ancient cultural city. All the young and the old could recite poems. So he decided to stay for a few days to see the places of interest and explore the local cultural level.

Who knows, after a few days in a row, all the villagers can answer him like a stream. But he was still unconvinced. When he left, many people came to see him off. Standing in the bow of the boat, he looked up and saw the Wentong tower. He thought that he would not try again and show off his talent, so he said casually: "one tower is towering, seven stories in all directions." Seeing off people know that he wants everyone to answer correctly, but frequently shake their heads and hands. When he saw this, he was elated. When he returned to the capital, he told Wang Tingzhen about it and said, "Huai'an style is just like this.". Wang Tingzhen burst out laughing, and the governor was baffled. Wang said: "seeing off people shaking their heads does not mean they want to answer correctly. To give you face, waving their hands means they have already answered correctly." Governor minister asked: "how can I see it?" Wang Tingzhen raised a hand and said: "you see, the solitary palm shakes, the fingers are long and short." The Minister of the governor suddenly realized this and repeatedly said, "wonderful! Wonderful! Huai'an is really a place of great culture, and the tower of great culture really deserves its reputation."

Address: 68 Ximen street, Huai'an City (in Shaohu Park)

Longitude: 119.138417

Latitude: 33.509605

Chinese PinYin : Wen Tong Ta