The Yingxian Wooden Pagoda, with its full name as Fogong Sakyamuni Pagoda, is located at Fogong Temple in Yingxian County, Shanxi Province of China. It is the oldest existing and largest complete wooden pavilion in China. It is an ancient architectural gem and a paragon of wooden architecture in the world. 

The pagoda has 955 years of history and was built in 1055, the second year of Da Liao Qingning. The structure is 67.31 meters tall, has a diameter of 30.27 meters at its widest and weighs 7400 tons. Main architectural components are the tower foundation, tower body and tower sōrin (the top). There are two tiers for the foundation - the bottom tier is a square and the top tier is an octagon. The pagoda is octagon-shaped. It actually has a total of nine floors from the interior but gives the exterior impression of five floors. 

The structural design of Yingxian Wooden Pagoda is very special.  The structure was completely mortised and tenoned with only wood without using any nails. The bottom of the upper pillar is built into the top of the lower pillar which shapes it into an inclined beam and is repeated to form a beautiful structure. The radial and longitudinal woods compose a strong and solid structure which strengthens the pagoda to be aseismic. 

The magnificent Yingxian Wooden Pagoda used more than 10,000 cubic of  wood. The majority of the wood used is great in size. Pine is mostly used for the tower body except for some elm used for Dougong (an unique structural element of interlocking wooden brackets). About a thousand years ago, there was a flourishing forest nearby the northwest area of Huanghua Liang. The Yingxian Wooden Pagoda was built in the Liao Dynasty with wood from Huanghua Liang. People still say “The Huanghua Liang forest was cut down to build the Yingxian Wooden Pagoda.”

The tower is composed of 54 different kinds of Dougong and is known as the “The Dougong Museum” because of the variety and rarity of Dougong used. People of ancient times refer to it as “A skyscraper from afar but a tall lotus when near.”

Yingxian Wooden Pagoda has survived through many natural disasters. According to the records, many big earthquakes occurred in Ying County and of those, three earthquakes were a six or above on the Richter scale. Many homes were destroyed, many were injured and deaths but the pagoda withstood it all. 

The Pagoda has had numerous visitors through the ages. Visitors have left behind words on tablets at the Pagoda during their visits. The more notable tablets among the 51 are “God's work” by Yongle Emperor Zhu Di and “Spectacular sight” by Emperor Wuzong of Ming Dynasty. All were done with excellent handwriting and are considered treasures.

Through the trials and hardships, the scientific design and structure of the Yingxian Wooden Pagoda still remains a great example of ancient Chinese architecture. 

Translated by Chen Siting & Diana
Photograph by Li Zhengjun
Posted by Wang Peiwen