2024 Cultural Summer Tour (VI): China's First Chinese Pagoda - Xiuding Temple Pagoda

It is only 30 kilometers from Anyang city to Xiuding Temple Pagoda in the western suburbs, but it takes an hour to drive there. When we arrived, looking at the surroundings, we could hardly believe that this was the legendary "No. 1 Hua Pagoda in the World". There is no admission fee, and there is simply a circle of railings. Surrounded by farmland and the daily lives of villagers, this casual and uninhibited atmosphere is surprising. The Xiuding Temple Pagoda is a single-story square Buddhist pagoda decorated with brick carvings. Because the tower is painted red, it is commonly known as the "Red Tower". The tower body is square and the original tower is about 20 meters high. There is a brick base under the tower, and the exterior is inlaid with relief bricks, forming a waisted Sumeru pedestal. The patterns are different on the tower body and there are more than 30 kinds of patterns, including heavenly kings, strong men, musicians, flying apsaras, rolling dragons, flying geese, curtains, flowers and brackets imitating wooden architectural structures. The four walls of the tower are made of molded bricks of various shapes, among which the bricks on the four walls are mainly diamond-shaped. According to historical records, this tower was built as a treasure tent for the future Buddha Maitreya, so the brick carvings on the tower originated from Buddhist scriptures about Maitreya belief during the Northern Qi Dynasty. The theme pattern on the tower wall is the Buddhist instruments "Seven Treasures", which are arranged horizontally in the diamond-shaped wall. The wheel treasure is in the center, and the minister treasure, jade girl treasure, white elephant treasure, blue horse treasure, Mani treasure and general treasure are on both sides. They are mostly used in the religious environment of emperors worshipping Buddhism, symbolizing the unity of the four directions. Arranged after the "Seven Political Treasures" are the Heavenly King, Dragon, Lion and the Snake-Subduing Warrior. The entire wall is based on a horizontal pattern, which is repeated in six layers from top to bottom. It is interspersed with six ribbons of strong men holding rings, flowers, and silver bells hanging from each wall, and is attached with four carved coiled dragon corner columns, forming an elaborate, dense, exquisite and wonderful overall wall image. In the center of the arched gate is a door knocker, with the niche beam at its mouth. On both sides are a pair of side dragon heads facing the center. Below the dragon head, there is a pair of naked snake-holding gods, who obviously serve as the guardian gods of Buddhism. A blue dragon and a white tiger are inlaid on the east and west sides of the upper end of the doorposts respectively. The dragon and the tiger are tumbling and diving in the clouds and mist. A four-walled warrior is inlaid on the upper outer side and parallel to the sides of the dragon and tiger. The existing Xiuding Temple relief brick pagoda is the earliest existing ancient pagoda in my country and has great historical value. The shape and workmanship of the pagoda are extremely exquisite, with a unique style and the style of the early Western Region Cishi Baozhang, and has high artistic value. Now it has been verified that it is the only remaining tower of the twin towers that stood side by side since the Northern Qi, Sui and Tang Dynasties. It is also the earliest and most valuable example of a pair of towers standing side by side in my country known to date. Xiuding Temple Pagoda