The Pagoda of Fogong Temple of Ying
County, Shanxi province, China, is a wooden Chinese pagoda built
in 1056, during the Khitan led Liao Dynasty. The pagoda was built
by Emperor Daozong of Liao at the site of his grandmother's family
home. The pagoda, which has survived several large earthquakes throughout
the centuries, reached a level of such fame within China that it was given the
generic nickname of the Muta.
The pagoda stands on a 4 m (13 ft) tall
stone platform, has a 10 m (33 ft) tall steeple, and reaches a total
height of 67.31 m (220.83 ft) tall; it is the oldest existent fully
wooden pagoda still standing in China. Although it is the oldest fully
wooden pagoda in China, the oldest existent densely eaved pagoda is the 6th
century Songyue Pagoda and many much older stone pagodas exists in
the entire North China Plain the oldest
existent wooden buildings in China are the Buddhist temple halls
found in Wutai County on the westside of the Mount Wutai, which
date back to the mid Tang Dynasty (618–907).
The Pagoda of Fogong Temple and its surroundings are
protected by the SACH branch of the Chinese government, and over
1 million dollars have already been committed to the research on repairing and
renovating the precariously standing millennium old building. Shanxi
provincial authorities stated that the application for the pagoda should be
finished for it to be included on the UNESCO list of protected world
heritage relics.
The pagoda features fifty-four different kinds
of bracket arms in its construction, the greatest amount for any Liao
Dynasty structure. Between each outer story of the pagoda is a mezzanine
layer where the bracket arms are located on the exterior. From the
exterior, the pagoda seems to have only five stories and two sets of rooftop
eaves for the first story, yet the pagoda's interior reveals that it has nine
stories in all. The four hidden stories can be indicated from the exterior
by the pagoda's pingzuo A ring of columns support the lowest
outstretching eaved roof on the base floor, while the pagoda also features
interior support columns. A statue of the Buddha Sakyamuni sits
prominently in the center of the first floor of the pagoda, with an
ornate zaojing above its head. A zaojing is also
carved into the ceiling of every story of the pagoda. The windows on the eight
sides of the pagoda provide views of the countryside, including Mount Heng and
the Songgan River. On a clear day, the pagoda can be seen from a distance of
30 km.
