HongJue Temple Pagoda

HongJue Temple Pagoda

HongJue Temple Pagoda is located on the south slope of Niushou mountain, Jiangning District, Nanjing City, with an elevation of 180.50 meters. It was first built in the ninth year of Dali (774 A.D.) in the Tang Dynasty. It is said that it was built by Emperor Li Yu in the Tang Dynasty to "feel the dream" and later destroyed. Now the pagoda is rebuilt in the early Ming Dynasty. The tower is about 40 meters high, with seven floors and eight sides of brick. Each side has a pot door, two small windows and a carved wooden cornice. It is elegant in shape and simple in style.

In 1958, gold-plated Lama pagoda, golden Reclining Buddha and blue and white porcelain pot were found under the stone cover at the bottom of the pagoda. On the third to seventh floors of the tower, there are more than 70 inscriptions, the earliest of which is in 1440. After the war, the pagoda was rebuilt in the Ming Dynasty. Now it is basically in good condition. The lower part of the pagoda is more than 10 meters buried in the soil. It is the oldest existing brick Pagoda in Nanjing. HongJue Temple Pagoda is the most magnificent existing brick imitation wood structure Pavilion style ancient pagoda in Nanjing. When you climb on the pagoda, you can have a panoramic view of the nearby scenery.

Historical evolution

HongJue Temple Pagoda is made of brick on the south slope of Niushou mountain. During the Southern Dynasties, there was an eminent monk named Bizhi who had been cultivating himself in a cave under the two peaks of Niushou mountain. This cave was later called "Bizhi cave". It is said that Pizhi "became a Buddha and ascended to heaven" here, so this cave is called "immortal cave".

HongJue temple was originally named foku temple. It was founded by Sikong Xudu in the second year of Liang Tianjian (503). After the Southern Tang Dynasty, it was renamed HongJue temple. In 977, the second year of Taiping's rejuvenation of the state of Song Dynasty, chongjiao temple was changed. In the early Ming Dynasty, it was renamed foku temple, and in the orthodox years, it was renamed HongJue temple. In Qing Dynasty, it was renamed HongJue Temple because of taboo.

The pagoda was first built in 744, the ninth year of Dali in the Tang Dynasty. It is a seven level pagoda built by Emperor Li yuganmeng of the Tang Dynasty. The temple was rebuilt in the Zhengtong period of the Ming Dynasty, and now the pagoda has been destroyed. Tower seven, brick and wood structure, from the ground floor to the top of the tower basin height of 36.65 meters, plus the original Tasha, about 45 meters high.

At the bottom of the tower, there is xumizuo, which is made of red granite. It is made in the early Ming Dynasty. There are 80cm wide steps on all sides, 2.18M wide attached steps (corridors) around, and doors are opened on all sides. The flat seats on the second to seventh floors (i.e. the outer cloister) protrude about 60 cm. The arches on each floor are four solid and four empty, in the form of a pot door. There are lamp niches on both sides of each arch. There are 96 lamp niches on the second to seventh floor. The tower body is built with green brick, and the bonding material of mortar joint is white lime, which is very hard. There are bucket arches under the flat seat, lower eaves and inner floor of the tower. The tower core wood is fixed on the beam of the sixth floor, and the upper part goes through the roof to form the tower brake. Now the wood in the center of the tower has been destroyed, but the hole in the top of the tower is still there. The ridge of the top roof is still clear.

HongJue Temple Pagoda is a very typical brick and wood pagoda of Jiangnan Pavilion style. The base of the pagoda is located on the rock. For hundreds of years, the main body of the pagoda has not been tilted and is well preserved. This kind of hollow tube structure with octagonal outside, square inside and staggered interlayer is popular in Jiangsu ancient pagodas. It overcomes the weakness of the early empty simple structure, and is more rigorous in design composition and precise in construction.

On July 14, 1956, visitors found an underground palace at the bottom of the pagoda. After excavation by the Nanjing Museum, a Tangjin Lama pagoda was unearthed. The tower is 0.35 meters high and xumizuo is 0.16 meters high. At the bottom of the tower, there are inscriptions on "eternal support of HongJue Chan temple in Niushou mountain of Jinling" and "Li Fushan, the eunuch of Buddhist disciples, worships and gives". There are four pot doors in the tower. There are statues of Sakyamuni and Veda in the niches. On the Tasha, there are thirteen days of Xianglun, Baogai and Hulu Baoding. At the same time, there are Buddhist statues, jade bottles and other cultural relics unearthed. Since then, the cultural relics department has investigated the inscriptions on the wall of the brick pagoda, and found more than 70 inscriptions of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. They are all painted on the lime layer of the wall of the gate with knives or porcelain pieces, distributed in three to seven layers, from the fifth year of Zhengde in the Ming Dynasty (1501) to the thirty second year of Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty (1767). Among them, Jiajing of Ming Dynasty, Wanli of Qing Dynasty and Kangxi of Qing Dynasty are the most popular temples with the most visitors.

By the 1990s, the main masonry structure of the tower was still well preserved except that the wood structure in the tower was destroyed and the upper wall brick of the tower was partly weathered and peeled off. In 1997, it was restored according to the original style, and the Millennium pagoda was restored to its majestic appearance. The tower is about 45 meters high. It is made of brick and wood. It has seven floors and eight sides. There are two small windows and a pot door in the middle of each side. Each floor is carved with flying wood. Its shape is elegant and simple, with a distinctive Jiangnan style. In 1957, the tower was listed as a cultural relic protection unit in Jiangsu Province.

On July 14, 1956, visitors found the underground palace at the bottom of HongJue temple tower. Under the upper garden of the underground palace, there are cultural relics. After being excavated by Nanjing Museum, a gold-plated Lama tower with a height of 0.35 meters and Xumi tower with a height of 0.16 meters was cleared up. At the bottom of the tower, there are inscriptions of "the HongJue temple in Niushou mountain of Jinling is forever provided for" and "Li Fushan, the imperial eunuch of Buddhist disciples, worships". There are four doors in the tower, and there are Buddha statues of Sakyamuni and Veda in the niches. On the Tasha, there are thirteen days of Xianglun, Baogai and Hulu Baoding. At the same time, there are also Buddha statues, jade bottles and other cultural relics unearthed. Later, Nanjing Cultural Relics Preservation Committee sent people to investigate the inscriptions on the wall of the brick pagoda, and found more than 70 inscriptions of the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

After more than 30 years, in September 1991, the Municipal Council of cultural administration set up a tower for building, surveying, mapping and investigating the tower. These inscriptions are still well preserved. They are all carved by Ming knives or porcelain pieces on the lime plaster layer on the wall of the gate. They are distributed in 3-7 floors, ranging from the fifth year of Zhengde in the Ming Dynasty (1501) to the thirty second year of Qianlong (1767). Most of them were in Jiajing, Wanli and Kangxi of Ming Dynasty. It shows that during this period, the temple incense is the most popular and the tourists are the most. At the same time, it also tells us that HongJue temple was rebuilt or rebuilt before the fifth year of Zhengde in Ming Dynasty (1510), and was finally destroyed during the reign of Qianlong in Qing Dynasty. Judging from the damage of the wooden structure, the HongJue temple tower seems to have been struck by lightning. The fire burned from the top of the tower to the bottom floor. The floor and core wood of the tower, the flat seat railings outside the tower, the waist eaves, the inner and outer brackets, and all the wooden structures attached to the bottom steps do not exist. Its masonry structure is still intact.

building structure

height

The height of HongJue Temple Pagoda, measured by Nanjing Institute of construction and engineering, is 36.65 meters from the ground floor to the top of the pagoda. If the original peicha is added, the height is about 45 meters. The bottom layer of the tower is 7.10 meters high, and the height of each layer above the second layer decreases from 4.30 meters to 4.13 meters. The outside of the tower is an octagonal plane. The side length of the bottom layer is 3.35 meters, that of the second layer is 3.17 meters, that of the third layer is 3.00 meters, that of the fourth layer is 2.80 meters, that of the fifth layer is 2.64 meters, that of the sixth layer is 2.46 meters, and that of the seventh layer is 2.22 meters. The inner wall of the tower is a square hollow tube, the inner diameter of the bottom layer is 3.85 meters, the second layer is 3.60 meters, the third layer is 3.44 meters, the fourth layer is 3.299 meters, the fifth layer is 3.04 meters, the sixth layer is 2.87 meters, and the seventh layer is 2.58 meters.

Tower bottom

At the bottom of the tower is xumizuo, which is 77 cm high and 3.85 m long. It is made of red granite. It has a Guijiao, a corset waist, and the upper and lower owl mixed curve. It is made in the early Ming Dynasty. There are 80 cm wide steps on all sides, 2.18 m wide attached steps (cloisters) around, and doors are opened on all sides. The flat seats on the 2nd to 7th floors (i.e. the outer cloister) are about 60cm long and are paved with red granite stones of 68cm long, 68cm wide and 9cm thick, with one end embedded in the wall. Under the eaves of the outer wall of the tower and the brackets of the flat seat, there is a layer of 8-9cm thick stone Fang with the same texture as xumizuo and the flat seat, which is equivalent to the ring beam of the tower.

Outer wall

There are leaning columns at the corner of the outer wall of HongJue Temple Pagoda. It is fixed in the corner wall by a special brick. Each layer of the arch, four solid four virtual, for the pot door form, with brick embedded in the surface of the arch, grinding joint assembly. There are lamp niches on both sides of each arch, in which there is a niche room connected with the ticket door, which can be oiled from the inside; there are 96 lamp niches on the 2nd to 7th floor. The body of the tower is built with green bricks. There are many kinds of bricks, including 33.5 cm, 34 cm, 35 cm and 35.5 cm in length, 16.5 cm, 17 cm and 17.5 cm in width, and 7-8 cm in thickness. The masonry method is one top and one top. The binding material of mortar joint is white lime, which is very hard. It is estimated that glutinous rice juice is added. Each floor of the tower has a flat seat and a lower eaves, and there are two kinds of bucket arches under the inner floor, i.e. corner and patching bucket arches. The width of the mouth is about 3cm, and it is 2.5 inches (according to Qing 1's ruler = 32cm), which is equivalent to the eighth class mouth made in Qing Dynasty. The total height of the bucket arch is 70 to 80 cm, and the platform has 9 to 10 bucket openings, which is equal to the height of the bucket arch (9.2 bucket openings) stepped on by Qing Wu. The inside and outside eaves of each floor are the same, and the jumping is five steps. At the top of the tower, there is a compound basin made of bricks. The inside is made of bricks. The core wood of the tower is fixed on the beam of the sixth floor, and the upper part goes through the roof to form a tower brake. Now the wood in the center of the tower has been destroyed, but the hole in the top of the tower is still there. The ridge of the top roof is still clear.

Tower base

The foundation of HongJue temple tower is located on the rock, which is very solid. For hundreds of years, the main body of the tower has not been inclined, but the upper outer wall brick has been partly weathered and fallen off. Except for the wood structure, the main structure of brick and stone is well preserved.

HongJue Temple Pagoda is a very typical brick and wood pagoda of Jiangnan pavilion type. This kind of star anise. The hollow tube structure with square inside and staggered interlayer is popular in gupei of Jiangsu Province. It was first seen in the double pagoda of Luohan temple in Suzhou built in the Song Dynasty, with seven octagonal storeys; Wenfeng Pagoda in Yangzhou, built in the 10th year of Wanli (1582) of Ming Dynasty, with seven octagonal storeys; Longshan Pagoda in Jintan County rebuilt in the 40th year of Kangxi (1701) of Qing Dynasty, and Dabaoen Temple Pagoda in Nanjing of Ming Dynasty in historical records There are two structures. It overcame the early emptiness

Chinese PinYin : Hong Jiao Si Ta