001 Architecture Taishi Que The Taishi Que (pillar-gates) stand some hundred paces south of the Zhongyue Temple in Dengfeng, Henan, serving as the spirit-road gates before the temple of Mount Taishi of the Central Peak. They were first built in the fifth year of Yuanchu under Emperor An of Han (118 CE) by Lü Chang, magistrate of Yangcheng. The lintel bears a raised-seal inscription reading “Central Peak Taishi Yangcheng.” The front inscription praises the mountain spirit: “the mound earth…, the purest qi of Dai, spring gives birth to all things, clouds rise from an inch of skin.” A rear inscription was added in the fourth year of Yanguang. Together with the Shaoshi Que and the Qimu Que, they are known as the Three Han-Dynasty Que of Mount Song. Eastern Han Dengfeng City, Henan Province Taishi Que · Han Dynasty · Stone Que →
002 Architecture Shaoshi Que The Shaoshi Que stand west of Xingjipu at the eastern foot of Mount Shaoshi in Dengfeng, Henan, serving as the spirit-road gates before the temple of Mount Shaoshi, with east and west pillars facing each other. The north face bears the six-character inscription “Spirit-Road Que of Shaoshi.” The pillar bodies are carved with images of cuju (football), hounds chasing hares, and unicorns. The Song Shu comments that their style is “especially archaic and unadorned.” The temple itself vanished long ago; the Jinshi Tu notes: “The Shaoshi temple can no longer be seen; only these que remain.” Eastern Han Dengfeng City, Henan Province Three Great Que of the Han Dynasty · Shaoshi Que · Han Dynasty Architecture →
003 Architecture Qimu Que The Qimu Que stand due south of the Qimu Stone beneath Mount Taishi on Mount Song in Dengfeng, Henan. They are spirit-road gates built in the second year of Yanguang under Emperor An of Han (123 CE) by Zhu Chong, Grand Administrator of Yingchuan. The Qimu Stone is said to be the transformation of Tushanshi, wife of the Great Yu—Yu turned into a bear while taming the floods; Tushanshi fled in shame and at the foot of Mount Songgao turned to stone, which cracked open on its north side and gave birth to Qi. The left side of the pillar body bears a large-seal inscription narrating Yu’s flood-control deeds. Eastern Han Dengfeng City, Henan Province Three Great Que of the Han Dynasty · Qimu Que · Han Dynasty Architecture →
004 Architecture Songyue Pagoda The Songyue Temple Pagoda stands at the southern foot of Mount Taishi in Dengfeng, Henan. With fifteen closely spaced eaves and a dodecagonal plan, it is the oldest surviving brick pagoda in China. Originally the detached palace of Emperor Xiaoming of the Northern Wei, it was converted into a Buddhist temple in the first year of Zhengguang (520). During the Later Zhou suppression of Buddhism, it was proposed to “turn the temple into a Daoist abbey and the ancient pagoda into an altar,” but the pagoda was ultimately spared because of “the protection of the Eight Divisions.” Li Yong’s stele describes the pagoda as “rising from the ground on four tiers and rounding into the sky in eight aspects.” Northern Wei-Northern and Southern Dynasties Dengfeng, Henan Province Songyue Pagoda · Dengfeng Henan · Northern Wei →
005 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 Chang'an District, Xi'an, Shaanxi Xingjiao Temple Pagodas · Xingjiao Temple · Xuanzang →