Jingzhou tower

Jingzhou tower

Jingzhou pagoda is an ancient building with a long history and relatively complete preservation. It is located in Jingxian County, Hengshui City, Hebei Province. It was originally named "Sakyamuni pagoda", which is abbreviated as relic pagoda. Because Jingxian county was originally the location of Jingzhou, people usually call it Jingzhou pagoda. Jingzhou tower enjoys a high reputation in China. On November 20, 1996, it was designated as the fourth batch of key cultural relics protection units by the State Council.

brief introduction

Jingzhou pagoda is an ancient building with a long history and relatively complete preservation. It is located in Chengguan town of Jingxian county. It was formerly known as "Sakyamuni relic pagoda", or "relic pagoda" for short. Because Jingxian was originally the location of Jingzhou, people usually call it Jingzhou pagoda.

Relic, Buddhism said that after the body of Sakyamuni was burned, it became a bead like thing. Later, it also referred to the bones left after the death of a monk with higher virtue, also known as the relic.

It is said that after the cremation of Sakyamuni, the kings of some countries took the relic and built pagodas to worship.

This pagoda is known as "the pagoda of Sakyamuni relic". It must be related to the worship of Buddha relic, but there is no text to study.

The tower is 13 stories high, octahedral pyramid shaped, 63.85 meters high and 50.5 meters long at the bottom. It is an ancient pagoda with dense eaves and pavilions made of brick and stone structure.

The base of the pagoda is made of solid huge clear stone. Under the base of the pagoda is a deep well, which is actually an underground palace for the collection of Buddha bones, Buddhist scriptures, Buddha statues, gold, silver and jewelry.

The body of the tower is made of green bricks. Inside the tower, hundreds of spiral steps are built from bottom to top. Climbing up the steps, you can reach the top.

In the tower, there are cave dwellers in the East, West, North and south, and there are arched corridors, which can be seen from the cave dwellers.

The top of the tower is shaped like a gourd, made of bronze, 2.05 meters high, and there is a wire mesh cover under the gourd, 3.3 meters high. Every time there is wind, the barbed wire fence and the cave house are blown by the sky wind, such as the sound of surging waves, so it is called "wind wave of ancient pagoda".

On a sunny day, when you climb to the top of the tower and look around, you can see the full picture of the county town near your feet and the countryside villages thirty or forty miles away. There was a poem written by predecessors that said, "you can see the true scene from the top, but you are also suspicious of pengying.".

The author once had the honor to climb on it, and the result is that his eyes are poor and his heart is wide.

History of Jingzhou tower

When Jingzhou tower was founded, there is no exact text to test.

There is such a record and analysis in Jing county annals, which was revised in 1931. It is said that there was an iron plaque hanging on the ancient pagoda, on which the words "Qi and Sui rebuilt" were cast. The rebuilt was in Qi and Sui dynasties, and its founding time should be earlier than here, when it was in the Northern Wei Dynasty.

Buddhism was introduced into China during the reign of emperor AI of the Han Dynasty (6-1 B.C.), and flourished in the early Northern Wei Dynasty. However, during the reign of emperor Tai Wu of the Wei Dynasty, the first event of the extinction of Buddhism occurred in the history of China.

If the Jingzhou pagoda was built before the destruction of Buddhism by Emperor Taiwu of Wei Dynasty, it will also be destroyed. After the restoration of Buddhism by Emperor Gao Zongwen of Northern Wei Dynasty, it will also be restored. However, the iron plaque on the top of the pagoda does not have the word "Northern Wei Dynasty rebuilt".

Therefore, according to local chronicle historians' analysis, Jingzhou tower was built according to the imperial edict of emperor Gao Zongwen of the Northern Wei Dynasty to restore Buddhism. It was first built in the Xing'an period of the Northern Wei Dynasty, that is, 452-453 A.D., and has a history of more than 1500 years.

Some analysts believe that during the Yongping reign of emperor Xuanwu of the Northern Wei Dynasty, when he was a good Buddha, he rewarded the buildings with floating pictures of temples. At that time, more than 13000 temples were built by prefectures and counties across the country. Jingzhou tower is so majestic that there is no match for it in the world. Therefore, this large building must have been built in the Yongping period of the Northern Wei Dynasty, i.e. 508-512 A.D., nearly 1500 years ago.

After thousands of years, the ancient Jingzhou pagoda was seriously damaged by wind and rain erosion, and has been rebuilt several times in the past dynasties. In 845 A.D., Emperor Wuzong of the Tang Dynasty destroyed Buddhism for the third time in Chinese history. In 1079 A.D., Emperor Shenzong of the Song Dynasty rebuilt the existing Jingzhou pagoda, which laid the foundation for many subsequent renovations.

It was rebuilt in Jin, yuan, Ming, Qing and the Republic of China. After the founding of the people's Republic of China in 1949, it has been repaired four times, the last time in the spring of 1973.

Since then, the tower has been rebuilt for many times, which shows the importance of its historical location and the high value of its cultural relics. Due to the many times of reconstruction, today's towering tower is no longer what it looked like.

From the analysis of the existing architectural features, artistic modeling and masonry structure, the tower should also be built in the Northern Song Dynasty.

Jingzhou tower enjoys a high reputation in China. It is as famous as iron lion in Cangzhou, Dashiqiao in Zhaozhou and bronze Bodhisattva in Longxing Temple in Zhengding County. It is known as one of the four ancient treasures in Hebei Province and listed as a national key cultural relic protection unit by the State Council.

Geography and climate

Jingzhou tower is located in a place with convenient transportation and communication. The Beijing Shanghai railway and Beijing Fuzhou Expressway run through the East, while the Dezhou Shijiazhuang railway and Shide Expressway run across the south. The soil layer here is deep and varied, but mainly light loam, some of which are sandy and clayey.

The soil is rich in mineral nutrients, but lack of organic matter, available nitrogen and phosphorus, which is vulnerable to drought, waterlogging and salinization.

Jingzhou tower is located in a warm temperate semi humid continental climate, which is characterized by four distinct seasons, sufficient light, and great difference between cold, warm, dry and wet.

In summer, it is affected by the southerly air flow on the edge of the Pacific subtropical high. The temperature is muggy and the precipitation is concentrated. In winter, it is affected by the northwest monsoon. The climate is dry and cold, with few rain and snow. In spring, it is dry and rainy, with more wind and faster warming. In autumn, it is sunny and cool, sometimes with continuous rain.

The annual average temperature is 12.5 ℃, and the annual average precipitation is 554 mm.

Historical evolution

When Jingzhou tower was founded, there is no exact text to test. There is such a record and analysis in Jing county annals, which was revised in 1931. It is said that there was an iron plaque hanging on the ancient pagoda, on which the words "Qi and Sui rebuilt" were cast. The rebuilt was in Qi and Sui dynasties, and its founding time should be earlier than here, when it was in the Northern Wei Dynasty.

Buddhism was introduced into China during the reign of emperor AI of the Han Dynasty (6-1 B.C.), and flourished in the early Northern Wei Dynasty. However, during the reign of emperor Tai Wu of the Wei Dynasty, there was the first extinction of Buddhism in Chinese history.

If the Jingzhou pagoda was built before the destruction of Buddhism by Emperor Taiwu of Wei Dynasty, it will also be destroyed. After the restoration of Buddhism by Emperor Gao Zongwen of Northern Wei Dynasty, it will also be restored. However, the iron plaque on the top of the pagoda does not have the word "Northern Wei Dynasty rebuilt".

Therefore, according to local chronicle historians' analysis, Jingzhou tower was built according to the imperial edict of emperor Gao Zongwen of the Northern Wei Dynasty to restore Buddhism. It was first built in the Xing'an period of the Northern Wei Dynasty, that is, 452-453 A.D., and has a history of more than 1500 years.

Some analysts believe that in the Yongping reign of emperor Xuanwu of the Northern Wei Dynasty, when he was a good Buddha, he rewarded the buildings with floating pictures of temples. At that time, more than 13000 temples were built by Chinese prefectures and counties.

Jingzhou tower is so majestic that there is no match for it in the world. Therefore, this large building must have been built in the Yongping period of the Northern Wei Dynasty, i.e. 508-512 A.D., nearly 1500 years ago.

After thousands of years, the ancient Jingzhou pagoda was seriously damaged by wind and rain erosion, and has been rebuilt several times in the past dynasties. It was first rebuilt in the Qi and Sui dynasties. After the third extinction of Buddhism in the fifth year of emperor Wuzong of Tang Dynasty (845 AD), it was rebuilt in the second year of emperor Shenzong of Song Dynasty (1079 AD), which laid the foundation for the existing Jingzhou tower. It was rebuilt in Jin, yuan, Ming, Qing and the Republic of China. After the founding of the people's Republic of China in 1949, it has been repaired four times, the last time in the spring of 1973. Since then, the tower has been rebuilt for many times, which shows the importance of its historical location and the high value of its cultural relics. Because of the many times of reconstruction, this towering tower is no longer what it looked like. From the analysis of the existing architectural features, artistic modeling and masonry structure, this tower should also be a building in the Northern Wei Dynasty.

building structure

The ancients used to describe the tall and magnificent Jingzhou tower as "a pillar of heaven alone". Jingzhou tower is of brick pavilion type. It has 13 octagonal stories, 63.85 meters in height and 6.3 meters in length on each side of the ground floor. The inner part of the tower is a through center structure. It passes through the center of the tower from the center of the first floor. After climbing two floors, it turns back to the right side and continues to climb through the center. Each floor changes the direction of the through center, so that the structure of the tower does not crack up and down. The tower is surrounded by doors, and the external eaves are arched. The interior is surrounded by a corridor. The top of the corridor is decorated with bricks, and the ceiling is made of bricks supported by a T-shaped arch. It is said that when the tower was built, the tuntu method was used. The height of the tower base and the height of the mound were determined. After the tower was built, the tuntu was transported away.

Jingzhou pagoda is 13 stories high, octahedral pyramid shaped, 63.85 meters high and 50.5 meters long. It is an ancient pagoda with dense eaves and pavilions made of brick and stone structure. The base of the pagoda is made of solid huge clear stone. Under the base of the pagoda is a deep well, which is actually an underground palace for the collection of Buddha bones, Buddhist scriptures, Buddha statues, gold, silver and jewelry. The body of the tower is made of green bricks. Inside the tower, hundreds of spiral steps are built from bottom to top. Climbing up the steps, you can reach the top. In the tower, there are cave dwellers in the East, West, North and south, and there are arched corridors, which can be seen from the cave dwellers.

The lower part of the tower is a brick Xumi seat, which supports the brake body with an inverted lotus. The brake body is alternately stacked with iron plates instead of a phase wheel, like a conical iron frame. The top of the brake is made of five copper gourds of different sizes. This kind of iron brake with conical iron frame as brake body instead of phase wheel is rare. top of a tower

Chinese PinYin : Jing Zhou Ta