Ancient Pagodas and Temples

3 min read

Yin ruins are not the only ancient memory of Anyang. Among the most famous areXiuding Temple Pagoda, Lingquan Temple and Grottoes as well as Wenfeng Pagoda.

Pagoda of Xiuding Temple

Commonly known as Tang Pagoda, Pagoda of Xiuding Temple is a Buddhist construction situated at the south foot of Qingliang Mountain 35 kilometers northwest from the Anyang city. The pagoda was first built in Northern and Southern Dynasties and later rebuilt in the Tang dynasty.

The style of the pagoda is rare in the history of architecture. With the body built in a square shape, the pagoda looks like a square bridge from the distance.

Since it used to be painted jacinth, it was also known as “the Red Pagoda”.

Consisting of the pedestal, the body, and the roof, Pagoda of Xiuding Temple is covered by bricks carved in the shape of a rhombus,a rectangle,a triangle a pentagon, or simply lines and curves. Altogether, there are 3,775 such bricks of 76 types of design decorating more than 300 square meters. One kilometer north of the pagoda there are other sites for people to enjoy: the Golden Water Pond, the Chicken Crowing and Dog Barking Stone, the Ingot-shape Stone, etc.

Lingquan Temple and Grottoes

Situated in the Baoshan Valley, which is in the southwest of Anyang city, Lingquan Temple was first built in the Eastern Wei dynasty. Originally named Baoshan Temple, it began to have its present name in the Sui dynasty. Facing south, the temple had series of Buddhist halls along its axis. Starting from the entrance, theyare in succession the Gate, the Hall of the Four Heavenly Guardians, the Hall of theJade Emperor, the Hall of Giant Buddha, the Hall of Bodhisattvas and the Hall of the 1000-Armed-and-1000-Eyed Buddha. Most famous in the temple is a pair of 6-meter-high stone pagodas of the Tang dynasty, which have astonished the world for the vivid carvings on the pagodas.

In the Ten-Thousand-Buddha Gully, there are two grottos,245 stupa niches, over 100 Buddhist scriptures and hundreds of statues of Buddhas. To the east and to the west of the temple there is a saint grotto respectively. With the two grottoes as the center, the mountain which extends more than 1,000 meters from east to west is decorated with 247 shallow niches and statues carved from the Northern and Southern Dynasties to the Northern Song dynasty. They are important cultural treasures for the study of ancient architecture, stone carving and development of Buddhism.

In the Northern Song dynasty, due to years of wars and the southward move of the economic and cultural centers, Lingquan Temple said goodbye to its heydays. The original temple was almost destroyed in a war.

In recent years, the local government has given the centuries old temple a second life by building the temple into a holy land of Buddhism and by establishing a forest park with the temple as the center.

Wenfeng Pagoda

Situated in the northwest of Anyang city, Wenfeng Pagoda (Literature Peak Pagoda) was originally named Pagoda of Tianning Temple as it was built in the Tianning Temple. Built in the Later Zhou dynasty (951-960), the pagoda has survived numerous natural and man-made disasters.

Wenfeng Pagoda is famous for its unique umbrella shape, which is seldom seen among the ancient pagodas in China. Situated on a 2-meter-high stone lotus-shaped pedestal, the octagonal tower which is built mainly with brick and stone has a dragon pole on each of its eight angles. Between the eight dragon poles there are eight sculptures of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas: in the south corner lies the sculptureof the three representations of Buddha, in the southwest the preaching of Sakyamuni,the west the picture of Prince Siddhartha’s birthday, the northwest the Sakyamuni’ sascetic life in the snowy mountain, the north Bodhisattva and Sudhana, the northeast the preaching of the Buddha, the east the nirvana-form of Sakyamuni, the southeast Prasenajit and his queen serving and listening to his teaching. So lifelike are the sculptures that they may well be called art treasures. On the first floor of the temple, there are four doors decorated with the carving depicting two dragons play with a ball, but only one of the four doors is real. The eight sides of the temple are carved with windows, doors, and Buddhist stories.