Show the way tower

Show the way tower

Xiudaozhe tower is also known as Yueying tower and congdaoren tower. At the waist of Sheshan mountain, Songjiang District, Shanghai. The tower was built during the period of Taiping and Xingguo in the Northern Song Dynasty (976-983 A.D.). There is Chaoyin nunnery on the mountain. There is a Taoist named "Xiu" in the nunnery. He personally participated in the construction of the tower. The tower is of brick and wood structure, octagonal in plane, seven stories, pavilion style, with waist eaves, flat seats and railings.

Quick navigation

Panorama

geographical environment

At the waist of Sheshan mountain, Songjiang District, Shanghai. Sheshan is the top of the nine peaks among the clouds and the third peak.

Development history

Xiudaozhe tower was built in the Northern Song Dynasty (976-984).

At that time, there was an nunnery in the mountain, named Chaoyin nunnery. Those who live together in the nunnery are called "Xiu". He personally took part in the construction of the tower and set it on fire. There are corridors around the tower base, and each floor of the tower has a small north-south gate. With a height of 29 meters, brick and wood structure, seven levels and eight sides, the tower is beautiful in shape, slender and graceful. It is still upright and dignified after thousands of years of wind and rain. It is one of the most famous historic sites in Yushan. As a result of years of disrepair, the original tower ladder has been destroyed, and the tower eaves and tower base no longer exist.

In 1997, Songjiang County Government renovated the tower and completed it in December 1998.

There are many temples and pagodas on the mountain. There is also the legend of Shaolin monk Yushan killing the enemy. During the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, there was a wave of Japanese pirates harassing the coastal areas, and all the counties in Songjiang Prefecture suffered from it. There was a temple called "she Temple" on the hillside. Abbot Shuiqing, who was originally the legitimate sect of Shaolin Temple in Henan Province, was upright and benevolent. He was deeply loved by the people nearby. In order to resist the attack of pirates, protect the Temple Buddha. That year, he specially invited Mukong, think tank, Tianchi, Yutian and other monks from Shandong Province to lead more than 100 monks to fight against the enemy and win many victories. Once, he took advantage of the victory to pursue the Japanese pirates and killed many people because he had no backup. To commemorate their merits, the local people buried their bones on the top of Sheshan mountain and built a stone pagoda on it, which was named "xiudaozhe pagoda".

The ancient temples in Sheshan and the village houses at the foot of the mountain were destroyed in the Yuan Dynasty, the early Qing Dynasty and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. In the middle and late Qing Dynasty, Sheshan was already a barren mountain with many trees. In the late Qing Dynasty, when the Catholic Church bought the top and south slope of Sheshan mountain, the tower was already in disrepair. In 2002, it was announced as a cultural relic protection unit in Shanghai.

It was shot in the late Qing Dynasty

It was shot in the early 1990s

Main attractions

This tower is of brick and wood structure, octagonal in plane, seven stories, pavilion style, with waist eaves, flat seats and railings. With a height of 29 meters, brick and wood structure, seven levels and eight sides, the tower is beautiful in shape, slender and graceful. It is still upright and dignified after thousands of years of wind and rain. It is one of the most famous historic sites in Yushan. The pagoda was overhauled in the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty. In 1864, the French Catholic Church bought Sheshan, demolished temples and pavilions, and rebuilt the holy hall. There is no trace of the original ancient buildings in Sheshan, only this tower exists. In 1998, the government overhauled the monastic tower. Now the pagoda is listed as a cultural relic protection unit in Shanghai. Now West Sheshan is completely free of charge. For thousands of years, the tower of Taoists still stands on the Sheshan mountain, witnessing the great changes in Songjiang and even Shanghai

Xiudaozhe tower is attracting more and more tourists, which has played a positive role in promoting the socio-economic and cultural development of Shanghai. Since 1994, there has been an endless stream of tourists who come here every day to study Buddhism or to travel. They have received countless Dharma learners from many countries in Asia, America and Europe, as well as from all provinces, cities and regions in China, and tourists are even more numerous.

Flower tower modeling

From the modeling point of view, it belongs to the type of flower tower. The important feature is that the upper part of the tower is decorated with various complicated flowers, which looks like a huge bouquet. This kind of pagoda was formed in the song, Liao and Jin Dynasties, and almost disappeared after the Yuan Dynasty. The total number of existing Chinese pagodas in China is only a dozen, which is the most peculiar shape and the most beautiful decoration among the few existing pagodas. Xiudaozhe tower is an octagonal pavilion style flower tower, which is composed of two parts. The main tower is a four story tower, standing in the middle, about 40.5 meters high. A small hexagonal pavilion shaped tower is built in each corner of the bottom floor to encircle the first and second floors of the main tower, with the main and secondary nestling. This shape also has the meaning of King Kong throne tower, which gives people the feeling that the shape of the whole tower is full of changes. Confused with errors and omission, the main body of the main tower is the essence of the whole tower. The flower shaped tower occupies about 1/3 of the whole. It engraving lions, elephants, Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, animal heads and heavenly kings and so on, with eight octagonal vertical lines. Today, xiudaozhe tower stands in the ancient historical and Cultural District of the ancient city, hidden in the uneven dwellings. It is graceful, graceful, full of vicissitudes and gorgeous. It is like a three-dimensional poem, which not only interprets the calm and exquisite of the ancient times, but also describes the present life of the historical and cultural district.

Golden Falun

Above Falun are eight big red characters of "Amitabha Buddha in the South"; below Falun are "Ruyi wheel Vajra Fazu court" written by master Shi Haikong in seal script; there are two big characters on the left and right of Falun, one is "Xianmi" and the other is "Yuantong", which indicates that the temple is a Taoist temple with both Xianmi and Yuantong. On the back of the screen wall, there is a big word "Fu" in the center. Men, women, old and young who come here will never forget to touch the word "Fu" with their eyes closed. They all hope that the five blessings will come to the door from now on. The first hall in front of xiudaozhe tower is Tianwang hall. In front of the hall, there are four flower beds, eight green tasong trees and two rows of flourishing Fargesia. There are two powerful and kind stone lions more than two meters high, which give people a special sense of solemnity and quietness. Up the twelve steps, the twelve Chinese zodiac signs on the stone railings on both sides are vivid. Children like the living treasure in the mouth of little lion most. They vie with each other to make it smooth and round. The ingenious layout in front of the heavenly king hall is amazing, and the Buddha statues in the heavenly king hall make you feel more excited. Maitreya, who laughs heartily, makes you feel more cordial; Weituo Bodhisattva, who is powerful, makes you feel awe struck; the four heavenly kings, who are more than Zhang tall, some hold pipa, some carry sword, some catch earthworm, some catch silver rat, and all step on demons and ghosts. The Buddha statues here, regardless of proportion, shape, color and manner, are exquisite and impeccable. You will be full of praise when you look at them.

Surrounding scenery

The tower of xiudao is a beautiful place with beautiful scenery. Tang and song poets Wang Bo, Du Fu, Fan Chengda and Qing Dynasty writer Li Diaoyuan all yearn for this place, leaving many famous works for later generations. Tongshan site, the north and South ancient pagodas are well-known, Wanliu kuilong, Xijiang night tune and other eight scenic spots. Today, there are charming charm everywhere; Longhua villa, Jiguang reservoir, Liangmei Pinghu Lake, peach blossom Wonderland, and even more fascinating scenery. The ancient pagoda is close to mountains and rivers: at the foot of the temple, the long and graceful Kaijiang River gushes away; behind, on the towering top of the mountain, a fourteen level ancient pagoda of the Song dynasty built of rubble plunges into the sky. Along the 186 steps of two meters wide stone terraces to the top of the mountain, you can have a panoramic view of the rich and vast fields and the prosperous and beautiful Zhongjiang City, as well as the cool wind on the mountain, which is enough to make people feel relaxed and happy and forget to return. Enter the mountain gate, the milky white open-air Buddha in the temple. An antique street with a width of 18 meters and a length of 400 meters leads directly to the colorful screen wall of Baita temple. On the front of the screen wall, four golden dragons hold the four corners of the sea in relief. In the sea, two powerful golden unicorns protect the sea

Address: Sheshan, Songjiang District, Shanghai

Longitude: 121.19647812569

Latitude: 31.0953292377

Opening hours: 8:00-16:30

Chinese PinYin : Xiu Dao Zhe Ta