Small Wild Goose Pagoda - Xi'an, China
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MeerRescue
N 34° 14.448 E 108° 56.233
49S E 310030 N 3790780
The Small Wild Goose Pagoda, sometimes Little Wild Goose Pagoda is one of two significant pagodas in the city of Xi'an, China, the site of the old Han and Tang capital Chang'an. The other notable pagoda is the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda.
Waymark Code: WME7R6
Location: China
Date Posted: 04/15/2012
Views: 14
The Small Wild Goose Pagoda was built between 707 - 709 A.D. during the Tang
Dynasty (618-907). As it is newer and smaller than the
Big Wild Goose Pagoda, the name was given to distinguish the two. Unlike
the grand Big Wild Goose Pagoda, it is dainty and exquisite in its appearance.
It is an important cultural relic and one of the remaining symbols of ancient
Chang'an (the name of Xian in the Tang
Dynasty).
During
the Tang Dynasty, the Small Wild Goose Pagoda stood across a street from its
mother temple, the Dajianfu Temple. Pilgrims brought sacred Buddhist writings
to the temple and pagoda from India, as the temple was one of the main centres
in Chang'an for translating Buddhist texts.
This multi-eave brick pagoda is thirteen stories tall, reaching 43.38 meters
(142 feet). It is square on plane and rises skyward in an elegant spindle shape.
Above the ground floor, the height of each storey diminishes, rendering a
graceful curve to the contour. Multi-eaves are made by overlapping bricks which
curve inward, a characteristic of the Tang Dynasty construction. The ground
floor has arched doors facing north and south; the other floors have arched
windows instead. The fine drawings on the doors reflect the artistic style
prevailing in the Tang Dynasty. Inside, a narrow wooden stairway winds its way
to the top of the pagoda.
The construction of the pagoda is a wonder. Because Xian is located in an area
where earthquakes sometimes occur, the pagoda base is made from packed earth in
the shape of a hemisphere. In case of an earthquake, the pressure can be evenly
divided, thus the pagoda has remained standing after over seventy earthquakes.
After so many earthquakes, only the pinnacle and the two upper floors (the
original pagoda had fifteen stories) have been damaged. Remarkably, cracks in
the pagoda which occurred during earthquakes have been closed by quakes that
came later.
Visit Instructions:Include in your log one or two complete sentences. Logs containing a few words like "visited it" are subject to deletion.
Photos of the shrine are strongly encouraged when permitted otherwise please refrain from taking pictures inside and in any case, generally have respect for the religious nature of the site.