Home Culture

Xiuding Temple

Xiuding Temple

Write: Meinwen [2011-05-23]

Admission: 5 yuan
Contact: 0372-2930244 Anyang City, Henan Province, the west side of cool Village
Best time: spring and autumn
Complaint Phone: 0372-3688002
Transportation: City traffic: You can take bus No 5 to direct.
The pagoda is at the foot of the southeastern part of Qingliang Mountain thirty-five kilometers north of Anyang County.

The arrangement of the whole temple faces south, with three-ply courtyards. Main palace halls are: Tianwang Palace, Dafo Palace, Erfo Palace and Tiewa Temple. The four palaces are arranged orderly.
There are no historical records about the pagoda's construction, but there are inscriptions above the door on its southern side that date back to the Tang, Song and Kin dynasties.

We know from these inscriptions that the pagoda was already there in 870 in the Tang Dynasty. Analysis of the structure and style of the carvings shows that the pagoda is a relic of the early Tang Dynasty, namely, it was }milt between 627 and 649.
The outside walls of the pagoda's main body are full of carvings of various kinds, formed by bricks carved in the shape of a square, a rhombus, a pentagon or a triangle or simply lines and curves. Altogether, there are 3,442 such bricks, most of them diamond-shaped. The entire tableau is in the form of a curtain and on each corner of the main body is a sculptured pillar whose cross section is hoof-shaped. The pillars are covered with elegant flower designs. The sculptures on the bricks of the pagoda's main body range from heavenly kings, celestial guards, flying apsarases, lions and elephants to Taoist figures and traditional Chinese designs, such as green dragons, white tigers and various kinds of plants, flowers and grasses. Such a combination is rare in early Buddhist sculptures. The sculptures are vigorous and powerful -- the cream of Tang Dynasty relief sculptures. Worth noting are the images of non-Han dancers in the sculptures, demonstrating China's national unity in the Tang Dynasty. The Xiuding Temple Pagoda is very significant for historical studies in architecture, art, nationality and religions, and for the study of the earthquake resistance of buildings.