Ancient Indian pagodas were introduced into China with Buddhism in the Eastern Han Dynasty, and then quickly combined with pavilions in China to form pavilions in China. Later, because the wood structure is perishable and easy to burn, and according to the form of pavilion tower, the dense eaves tower evolved. In the long history, it has been translated into "Pagoda (Sanskrit)", "Buddha (Sanskrit)" and "Shura (Pali)", and some have been translated into "Square Grave" and "Round Grave". With the widespread spread of Buddhism in China, it was not until the Sui and Tang Dynasties that translators created the word "Ta" as a unified translation name, which is still in use today. In the process of China, later towers were also used by Taoists. On the other hand, it gradually divorced from religion and went secular, resulting in watchtower, water wind tower, Wenchang tower and other towers with different functions and uses.
On the occasion of the Three Kingdoms, the people of Danyang merged "a big floating picture with a golden plate on top and a heavy building on the bottom", which is the earliest record of building a tower in China. The tower built should be a pavilion. During the Three Kingdoms period, Yu Jianye (now Nanjing, Jiangsu), the State of Wu, began to build towers, creating the first tower in the south of the Yangtze River. Towerless buildings in these two periods have been preserved to this day, and there are still some traces of Han Dynasty stone relief images on the towers, which have the shape of "blocking the slope". In addition, there is an earthen pagoda in Hanoy near Kashgar, Xinjiang, which has been severely weathered, but it may be a relic of the late Han Dynasty.
1.3 Southern and Northern Dynasties Tower
Buddhism developed greatly in the Southern and Northern Dynasties. During this period, many grottoes and temple towers were built, and the shape of the towers can be seen in Yungang and Dunhuang grottoes. The earliest physical object of the existing pagoda is the small stone pagoda in the first year of Tianan in the Northern Wei Dynasty (466). It was originally in Chongfu Temple in Shuo County, Shanxi Province, and was stolen to Japan by the Japanese in War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression. In addition, there are many pavilion towers in Yungang Grottoes. Song Yue Temple Tower in Songshan, Henan Province is the earliest preserved brick tower so far. During this period, pavilions and towers with dense eaves were mainly developed, and the building materials were mainly brick, wood and stone.
1.4 Sui and Tang Pagoda
Although the Sui Dynasty was short-lived, Buddhism prevailed. Emperor Wendi of Sui Dynasty, celebrating his mother's birthday, built more than 0/00 towers in three years. Expert research shows that all the pagodas built are wooden pagodas and have been destroyed by fire. The existing Sui Pagoda is only the Simen Pagoda in Licheng, Shandong Province.
The pagodas in the Tang Dynasty developed greatly, with more than 100 pagodas preserved, concentrated in the Central Plains, Guanzhong, Shanxi, Beijing and other places. Due to the imitation of wood structure of early towers, the Tang towers are mostly square and hollow, mostly in the form of pavilions and dense eaves. Unlike the later towers, the Tangta has no pedestal and does not do large-scale carving and painting on the tower. When Nanzhao commanded the southwest territory, Buddhism flourished, and temples and pagodas were all the rage. Since then, the temple has been destroyed for more than a thousand years, leaving only some towers in Kunming and Dali. The tower in Nanzhao era is closely combined with the culture of the Central Plains, which is very close to the shape of the Tang Tower. At the same time, the pagodas in Bohai also have the characteristics of Tang pagodas in the Central Plains and Guanzhong area.
During the Five Dynasties after the Tang Dynasty, wars continued and the number of temple towers was small. During this period, the shape of the tower changed from square to hexagon and then to octagon, and the inside of the tower gradually changed from an empty cylinder to a cloister and folded in the wall.
1.5 Liao and Song Pagoda
During the Song, Liao and Jin Dynasties, the north and south buildings had their own characteristics, and the towers were no exception.
During the Song Dynasty, the economy in southern China was developed and religion flourished, and many pagodas were built. Song pagodas are mostly pavilions or pavilions with dense eaves outside; In addition, about 20% of the towers are statues, pagodas, seamless towers and other towers. The plane of Songta is mostly octagonal or hexagonal, with occasional quadrangles, which is in sharp contrast with the quadrangles of Tangta.
Each floor of the Song Tower is built with hanging corridors, waist eaves, flat seats, railings, hanging eaves and other building components. Therefore, even a tall and majestic person like Pagoda of Six Harmonies in Hangzhou still feels light and agile.
In the plane layout of the tower yard, great changes have taken place between the Song Tower and the Tang Tower. In the Tang Dynasty, the pagoda was the core part of the temple, which was mostly built in the front yard of the temple. In the Song Dynasty, the core position of the temple was replaced by the main hall, and most of the towers were located in the backyard or on both sides of the main hall.
Liao Tower is mostly a solid tower with dense eaves, and the building materials are mostly solid and durable masonry materials. In architecture, masonry is used to imitate wood structure, but doors and windows are not designed with the square structure of Tang Tower and Song Tower, but with more reasonable arch coupons in mechanics, which is also a major breakthrough in the construction of Liao Tower. In addition to the dense eaves tower, there are a few pavilion towers in the Liao Tower that imitate the shape of the Tang Tower. The plane of Liao Tower is mostly octagonal, and the complex base is the unique feature of Liao Tower. All the facades of the pedestal are treated like wood, imitating the interior of wooden palace buildings. Windows and doors are complete, and the surface is engraved with classic or carved Buddhist statues. Common sculpture themes are Buddha, King Kong, Lux, Bodhisattva, jewels, towers, cities, pavilions and so on, which are very beautiful. Some famous Liao pagodas, such as Tianning Temple Pagoda in Beijing, are not only covered with exquisite statues, but also beautifully made eaves and wooden arches. However, in Liao Tower, there are more simple towers. Only the eaves on the first or second floor have a bucket arch, and the other floors above have overlapping eaves. The shape is simple and simple. Compared with the Song Pagoda of the same era, the profile of Liao Pagoda is mostly dignified and has high artistic value. Liao Dynasty is an important period in the history of tower building in China. During this period, not only a large number of towers were built, but also the structure was reasonable and the shape was beautiful, which greatly influenced the tower building style of later generations.
The Jin emperors believed in Buddhism as much as Liao, but many Jin pagodas were built in imitation of Tang pagodas, such as Yun Qi Pagoda of Baima Temple in Luoyang, Henan, or imitation of Liao Pagoda, which did not break through the regulations on tower building since Tang and Liao Dynasties and formed its own unique style. Although there were some grotesque pagodas in this period, most of them could not form a system and were not beautifully made, so there were not many people worth showing off. Among them, the Daguanghui Temple Tower in Zhengding, Hebei Province is particularly worth mentioning. It is the earliest King Kong throne tower in the history of China.
1.6 Yuan Tower
Most emperors in the Yuan Dynasty believed in Buddhism. In the Yuan Dynasty, the pagoda with slope, which was popular in India, was introduced to China, and it was called Gaiwan Pagoda. In addition, with the popularity of tantric Buddhism in the upper Yuan Dynasty, the King Kong Throne Tower was introduced from India and built on a large scale. Except for some bowls-covered pagodas, there were not many famous pagodas built in Yuan Dynasty, and the influence of Yuan Pagodas on later generations was relatively small.
1.7 Ming and Qing pagodas
Since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the unique type of Wenfeng Pagoda has gradually emerged, that is, pagodas built in specific locations in various counties to improve local geomantic omen, with the purpose of deterring evil spirits or supplementing geomantic omen, or as a landmark building in this area. The appearance of Wenfeng Pagoda led to a climax of tower construction in Ming and Qing Dynasties, and many pagodas appeared in the form of Wenfeng Pagoda.
In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, pagodas basically followed the shape of pagodas in Liao and Song Dynasties. There are many kinds of pagodas, including pavilions, dense eaves, bowls and king kong thrones, as well as strange forms such as seamless and precious seals, with pavilions as the mainstream. In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, pagodas were mostly tall brick and wood structures, while stone pagodas were rare. Brick pagodas in Ming and Qing dynasties imitated wood structures very exquisitely, including arches, rafters, eaves and full foreheads, as well as structures such as wild goose wings and hanging lotus columns. The architectural plane of the tower is mostly octagonal, hexagonal and square; Ming and Qing pagodas inherited the practice of building bases for Liao pagodas. As the Buddhist pagodas moved from the religious world to the secular society in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the themes of the reliefs on the pagodas also changed, including religious themes such as the Buddha statue, King Kong, Lux, and the King of Protecting the Buddha, as well as folk traditional themes such as crossing the sea by the Eight Immortals, visiting the plum blossoms by magpies, twenty-four filial piety and fighting the stars. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the Song Dynasty or Liao Dynasty seemed like a tower. Although there are many buildings, there is no big breakthrough in architectural art and technology, and the achievements are far less than those in Liao and Song Dynasties.
As mentioned above, in addition to the well-behaved pagodas, a large number of Wenfeng pagodas were built in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Wenfeng Tower has a variety of buildings, including pens, buildings and short piers. The appearance of these special-shaped pagodas greatly enriches the architectural types of pagodas.