The tallest pair of Song Dynasty stone pagodas in existence in China are the east and west pagodas of Kaiyuan Temple in Quanzhou City, Fujian Province.
A stone tower is a layered tower made of stone. It is a Buddhist building, and its structure is also of different levels. The East-West Pagoda in Quanzhou is such a building.
The East-West Pagoda is the collective name of Zhenguo Pagoda and Renshou Pagoda. The east tower symbolizes the whirling world in the east, and the west tower symbolizes the blissful world in the west. Both pagodas have five floors, with a total of 160 reliefs. From bottom to top, the reliefs on each layer are the first layer of Luxuries, the second layer is called Taoist monk, the third layer is Luohan, the fourth layer is Bodhisattva, and the fifth layer is Buddha. , from the relief name of each layer, it can be seen that the higher the level, the higher the level.
The Song Dynasty was a highly prosperous era of commodity economy, cultural education, and scientific innovation in Chinese history, and its architectural level also reached a new height. The East-West Pagoda in Quanzhou became an outstanding stone Buddhist building in that era.
The characteristics of the east and west twin towers are: magnificent size, scientific design, exquisite carving skills, and rich connotations.
Zhenguo Pagoda (East Tower), built in 1238, has a height of 48.27 meters and a ground floor area of 255 square meters; Renshou Pagoda (West Tower), built in 1228, has a height of 45.06 meters and a ground floor area of 270 square meters. It is not difficult to see from the data that the east tower is slightly higher and the chassis of the west tower is more stable. From the majestic and straight size of the twin towers, it can be seen that the twin towers are beyond the reach of ordinary financial resources.
The structures of the east and west towers are basically the same except for bucket arches and local decorations. The structure of the two towers is of the tower core column type, with a Xumi seat under it, a ladder in the corridor inside the tower to climb up, and there are parallel hook rails on each floor. There are four doors and four niches on each floor of the twin towers, and the positions of the door niches are exchanged layer by layer, which is more conducive to stabilizing the structure of the tower body. Such an ingenious design is a wonderful example of understanding the architectural style of southern Buddhist monasteries during the Southern Song Dynasty.
The carvings of the East-West Pagoda are very exotic, and there are many stories of Quanzhou’s foreign exchanges in history. On the fourth floor of the West Tower, there is an image of Sun Xingzhe, which is derived from ancient Hinduism, and the image of Sun Wukong in “Journey to the West” comes from here. Compared with the west tower, the Indian elements in the east tower are more obvious. There is a stronger Western style in the shape and carving of the tower. The exquisite craftsmanship and profound cultural heritage of these two pagodas contributed a lot in the process of applying for the World Heritage List in Quanzhou.
The East and West Pagodas have survived wind and rain, earthquakes, and still stand tall, showing the high achievements of stone architecture and stone carving art in the Song Dynasty. It is a treasure of ancient Chinese stone architecture.
The East-West Pagoda, as the tallest pair of stone pagodas in the Song Dynasty in China, has become the symbol and symbol of the ancient city of Quanzhou, and it has also become a nostalgia in the memory of many people. It stands there quietly every day, silently telling its legend to tourists here, and it has become a beautiful scenery in Quanzhou.