|
Material : Bricks
Tang Dynasty
| Dayan Ta
Item 1 on 7
Outdoor Architecture
Outdoor architecture (Building)
Area related
Xi'an (China)
| |  | |
| Description |  |
|
It was built in 652 during the reign of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty (618-907) to collect sutras and figurines of the Buddha that were taken from India by the Buddhist translator and traveler Xuanzang. It had originally five stories. This construction of rammed earth with a stone exterior facade eventually collapsed five decades later.
The ruling Empress Wu Zetian had the pagoda rebuilt and added five new stories by the year 704 AD. A massive earthquake in 1556 heavily damaged the pagoda and reduced it by three stories, to its current height of seven stories. Its related structure, the 8th century Small Wild Goose Pagoda in Xi'an, only suffered minor damage in the 1556 earthquake, still unrepaired to this day.
The Big Wild Goose Pagoda was extensively repaired during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the era which provided the bricks now seen on much of the exterior, and renovated in 1964. The pagoda currently stands at a height of 64 m tall.
Externally the pagoda looks like a square cone, simple but grand and it is a masterpiece of Buddhist construction. Built of brick, its structure is very firm. Inside the pagoda, stairs twist up so that visitors can climb and overlook the panorama of Xian City from the arch-shaped doors on four sides of each storey. On the walls are engraved fine statues of Buddha by the renowned artist Yan Liben of the Tang Dynasty. Steles by noted calligraphers also grace the pagoda.
| More pictures | |
|
