The three pagodas of Chongsheng Temple are a group of three-legged pagodas with front (east) and back (west). The main tower is Ming Dow Tower, also known as Chihiro Tower, which was built in the Tang Dynasty and is 69 meters high. 13m,16th floor, is a square hollow brick tower with dense eaves, which is one of the highest existing towers in China. In front of its tower base, there are four characters of Yong Zhen Shan He, which are vigorous and vigorous, and were written by Mitsuo Murayama in Ming Dynasty. Except for overlapping, the tower body is all painted white. A white marble Buddha statue is placed in the center of the front and back sides of each floor, and windows are opened on the opposite sides, which makes the tower full of light and convenient for air circulation. The bottom of the tower is about 13 meters high, and there is a tower door in the west. You can reach the top of the tower by going up the stairs.
The distance between Chihiro Tower and the two small towers is 70 meters. Chongsheng Temple belongs to the typical architectural style of Tang Dynasty. The inner wall of the tower is vertical, with wooden stairs. You can climb to the top of the tower and enjoy the panoramic view of Dali ancient city from the small hole.
The South Tower and the North Tower, two small towers separated from the main tower, were built in the Song Dynasty and are octagonal hollow brick towers with dense eaves.
The tenth grade of Chongsheng Temple is forty-two. 19 meters, decorated as a pavilion. Both towers were coated with white mud. Except for the stone Buddha statues on the second and eighth floors, all the other floors are made of Ruiyun, Lotus and Aquarius. There are three copper gourd at the top of each tower for decoration.
Over the past 1000 years, the three pagodas have survived wind and rain erosion and many strong earthquakes, and still stand tall. In the Ming Dynasty, a great earthquake occurred in Dali on May 6th, 1056. Historical records show that the city wall is broken, and the middle tower (big tower) is cracked like a bamboo pole, which is safe and bright. Unfortunately, the two small towers behind were distorted by the earthquake, and they have been tilted to this day, which is a spectacle, while Chongsheng Temple was destroyed by the earthquake.
Chongsheng Temple was founded in the 11th year of Xian Tong in Tang Dynasty (870), located at the southern foot of Xuefeng Phoenix Mountain. Its founder was a village monk in the Tang Dynasty. The wind of worshipping Buddha rose in the middle of Nanzhao, and reached a great victory when he persuaded Feng You to surrender. There are 3000 small temples and 800 big temples in Yunnan. In Dali after Nanzhao, Buddhism is more developed than Nanzhao. Therefore, Dali is known as "the country of Buddhism" and "the country of Miao nationality". After the completion of Chongsheng Temple, it became the center of Buddhist activities in Nanzhao and Dali periods. The "sage" worshipped by Chongsheng Temple is Guanyin. At that time, Guanyin worship in Dali was extremely successful. According to relevant documents, when Chongsheng Temple and main tower were built at that time, the temple base was 7 miles, there were more than 800 houses and more than 0/0000 Buddha statues, which consumed more than 40,000 Jin of copper and more than 700,000 people.
After the completion of Chongsheng Temple and Three Pagodas, the incense in the temple once flourished. When Yuan Wuzong "issued an order", he was awarded the title of abbot to protect the temple property and exempt from grain tax. In the Yuan Dynasty, it was renovated again, which made "the temple pavilion rejuvenated, the three pagodas stood upright, resplendent and magnificent, and the mountains and beams were equal". Li Yuanyang was rebuilt in the Ming Dynasty, and there were also "three pavilions, seven floors, nine halls and a hundred houses". At that time, there were five treasures in the temple: Three Pagodas, Giant Bell, Yutong Guanyin, Zhengbei and Fodu Tablet.
When Xu Xiake arrived in Dali, he still saw the "Three Pagodas" in front of Chongsheng Temple, and Nuo Nuo was surrounded by towering clouds. Its Chongsheng Temple enters from the west gate, and there is a bell tower opposite the three towers, which is extremely magnificent. Behind the building is the Daxiong Hall, and behind it is the "Jade Pillar Guanyin Hall, made of copper, three feet high" ("Xu Xiake's Travel Notes in Yunnan Diary 8"). It is said that the bell in the temple was built in the 12th year of Jianji (AD 87 1), "the diameter can reach more than ten feet, but it is one foot thick" and "its reputation can reach 80 miles". "There are three towers on the clouds through the ages, and the clock on the first floor is full of wind and rain all day long" has always been popular. The rain bronze Guanyin, solemn and slim in waist, is a relic of Nanzhao. However, with the vicissitudes of life, the giant bell was destroyed in the Qing Dynasty, the Yutong Guanyin was destroyed in the ten-year turmoil, and the Taoist plaque and Buddha brand, together with the temple, have now disappeared.
After thousands of years of vicissitudes and wind and rain erosion, Chongsheng Temple was destroyed in Xianfeng period of Qing Dynasty, but the West Three Pagodas stood tall. After the founding of New China, the government attached great importance to the protection of the Three Towers and carried out large-scale maintenance on 1978. During this maintenance, more than 600 Buddhist cultural relics were found in the pedestal of Chihiro Pagoda, including a large number of Buddha statues and Buddhist scriptures, among which a golden Guanyin statue, weighing1135g and 24cm high, is extremely precious. This is the richest batch of cultural relics discovered so far in Nanzhao and Dali periods, which is of great value and has attracted much attention at home and abroad. These discoveries have uncovered the mystery of ancient Dali, a "Buddhist country".