The Yingxian Wooden Pagoda of Fogong Temple, also called the Sakyamuni Pagoda, was built in 1056 during the Liao Dynasty and is located in the Shanxi Province of China. Standing over 66 meters tall with a base covering over 30 meters in diameter, this pagoda remains one of the oldest and tallest ancient wooden structures in the world. Remarkably, this completely wooden structure has remained intact for almost 1000 years, weathering environmental disasters as well as social upheavals. In 1996 it was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is considered by many to be a masterpiece of ancient Chinese architecture¹.

Similar to earlier built Indian stupas, the Yingxian Pagoda is located in the centre of a religious complex and is composed of three main parts, a raised base, a central body composed of an odd number of levels and on the top, a pinnacle or steeple². However, unlike other ancient pagodas that were built with brick or stone reinforcement, the Sakyamuni Pagoda was constructed entirely out of wood and without the use of any nails. The strength and resilience of the structure is attributed to the type of wood used, the rare Xing’an larch from Northern China. Also notable is the fact that construction followed the Yingzao Fashi official code of building that was principled by Li Jie in 1103 A.D. which outlines the strict construction methods enforced at the time.

The pagoda sits on a large octagonal stone platform and from its exterior, the structure appears to be divided into five levels with encircling balconies and an extended steeple reaching from the top. However on the inside, there are a total of nine floors to the structure, only two of which are accessible to the public³. At the main entrance of the pagoda there is a tall statue of Sakyamuni Buddha and on the walls are murals of warrior deities, various heavenly kings, and Buddhist disciples. An enormous wooden staircase leads up to the second storey of the pagoda where a balcony extends around the entire structure offering a panoramic view of the growing city of Shanxi.

During a repair project in 1974 a number of cultural relics were found in the pagoda, including paintings depicting Chinese medicinal herbs, Buddhist scriptures and carvings. These relics are all believed to belong to the Liao Dynasty and are regarded as significant discoveries for furthering knowledge and study on religion and culture of this period of history⁴.

Today the Yingxian YinPagoda no longer serves primarily as a religious monument, and has instead become a national monument and the main tourist attraction in the area⁵. In recent years, engineers and architects have had an increased interest in the pagoda because of its extraordinary resilience to years of weathering including numerous earthquakes. The pagoda is recorded to have survived at least seven major earthquakes, including one notable earthquake during the Yuan Dynasty (1328 A.D.) that lasted for seven days⁶. Current research measures the compressive strength, the damage conditions as well as the deformation of the pagoda when investigating earthquake resilience and structural endurance⁷.

Sources

1. Oracle Thinkquest Education Foundation. (n.d.). Explore by Province. Retrieved July 30, 2010, from Beauty the Land of China: http://library.thinkquest.org/20443/shanxi.html
2. He, M.; Lam, F., & Yao, C. (2008). Example of Traditional Tall Timber Buildings in China – the Yingxian Pagoda. Structural Engineering International.
3. Cultural China. (2007). Yingxian Wooden Pagoda. Retrieved July 27, 2010, from Arts - Architecture: http://arts.cultural-china.com/en/85Arts381.html
4. China Culture.ORG. (n.d.). Wooden Pagoda in Yingxian County. Retrieved July 30, 2010, from http://www.chinaculture.org/library/2003-09/24/content_36229.htm
5. Messeri, Beatrice. (n.d). The Evolution, Tangible and Intangible Remains of Ancient Spirituality and Spatial Concept in Traditional Oriental Architecture. Retrieved August 5, 2010 http://international.icomos.org/publications/index.html
6. Xu, M.-g., & Qiu, H.-x. (2009). New Method of Aging for Historic Timber Structure Buildings. Earthquake Resistant Engineering and Retrofitting.
7. Min, W. D., & Wen, L. S. (2002, Nov 20). An Investigation into the Damage Characteristics of the Wooden Pagoda in Yingxian County. Journal of South China University of Technology.

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