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Shaanxi

Chinese ancient architecture and grottoes in Shaanxi: 4 entries, including Giant Wild Goose Pagoda, Small Wild Goose Pagoda, Xingjiao Temple Pagodas, and more.

001 Architecture Giant Wild Goose Pagoda The Giant Wild Goose Pagoda stands within the Da Ci'en Temple in Xi'an. According to the *You Chengnan Ji* (A Record of Travels South of the City), the monk Xuanzang began building the pagoda in the third year of Yonghui (652). It originally had only five stories, with a brick exterior and earthen core, modeled after the Indian stupa. During the Chang'an era it collapsed; Empress Wu and members of the nobility funded its reconstruction to ten stories. After subsequent wars, only seven stories survived. The east and west niches at the base of the pagoda preserve the Preface to the Holy Teachings of the Great Tang Tripitaka and the Record of the Holy Teachings, both inscribed by Chu Suiliang. Tang Dynasty · Shaanxi · Xi'an, Shaanxi Province
002 Architecture Small Wild Goose Pagoda The Small Wild Goose Pagoda stands within the Jianfu Temple in Xi'an. Built during the Jinglong era of the Tang dynasty with funds contributed by palace women, it originally had fifteen stories. According to the Shaanxi Tongzhi (Shaanxi Provincial Gazetteer), the Yimao earthquake of the Jiajing era split the pagoda in two, and the Guihai earthquake reunited it. During Wang Fuchen's rebellion the pagoda split again, and after the rebellion was quelled it returned to its former state. The temple buildings were completely destroyed during the Jurchen-era migration, leaving only the brick pagoda standing. Tang Dynasty · Shaanxi · Xi'an, Shaanxi Province
003 Architecture Xingjiao Temple Pagodas The Xingjiao Temple Pagodas stand within Xingjiao Temple on the Shaoling Plateau in Xi'an. They are the collective designation for the three relic-burial pagodas of Xuanzang, Kuiji, and Woncheuk. The Xuanzang Pagoda occupies the center and is somewhat larger, erected when the temple was founded in the 2nd year of Zongzhang (669 CE); the Kuiji and Woncheuk pagodas flank it on either side and are somewhat smaller. The pagoda inscriptions of Xuanzang and Kuiji are Tang originals carved in the 4th year of Kaicheng; the Woncheuk inscription stone was broken and what is now embedded on the pagoda is a later re-carving. Tang Dynasty · Shaanxi · Chang'an District, Xi'an, Shaanxi
004 Architecture Zhaoren Temple Zhaoren Temple stands in Changwu County, Xianyang, Shaanxi, on the former Qianshuiyuan battlefield in what was Yilu County, Binzhou, under the Tang. Li Shimin defeated Xue Rengao here in 618. An imperial order in the twelfth month of Zhenguan 3 called for temples on former battlefields to benefit the dead; this temple was completed in the first month of Zhenguan 4. Zhu Zishe composed the Stele of Zhaoren Temple in Binzhou of the Great Tang. Its unsigned regular-script calligraphy has been attributed to Yu Shinan, Ouyang Tong and Wang Zhijing. In 1988, Zhaoren Temple Main Hall was included in the third group of Major Historical and Cultural Sites Protected at the National Level, with its period recorded as Tang. Historical sources reproduced here include the Illustrated Gazetteer of the Prefectures and Counties of the Yuanhe Era, Sea of Jade, Colophons to the Collected Records of Antiquity, Treasured Inscriptions on Metal and Stone, Inscribed Splendors in Stone and Ink, and Collected Inscriptions on Metal and Stone. Images come from The Zhaoren Temple Stele (1927), Panorama of Asia (1932), and Cultural Monuments of China (1940). Tang dynasty · Shaanxi · Changwu County, Xianyang, Shaanxi

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