Miaoguang Pagoda of Nanchan Temple

Miaoguang Pagoda of Nanchan Temple

Miaoguang Pagoda of Nanchan Temple is a municipal-level cultural heritage site in Wuxi.

Miaoguang Pagoda, also known as the Nanchan Treasure Pagoda, is located on the east bank of the canal just outside the southern gate of Wuxi. It is a municipal-level cultural heritage site.

The pagoda was built during the Yongxi era (984–987) of the Northern Song Dynasty, funded through donations raised by a local resident named Wei Chengfu. In the third year of Emperor Huizong's Chongning reign (1104), the pagoda was officially named "Miaoguang." It experienced multiple cycles of rise and decline over the Yuan and Ming dynasties. In the fourteenth year of the Ming Zhengtong era (1449), it was rebuilt into the structure seen today, and has undergone subsequent renovations since. During the Xianfeng and Guangxu eras of the Qing Dynasty, the pagoda was damaged by fire, leaving only a roofless ruin. In 1926, Wuxi industrialists Rong Zongjing, Rong Desheng, and Tang Shenbo financed a major restoration project, replacing the pagoda’s eaves, platform, and railings with reinforced concrete structures. Another renovation took place in 1980, during which the long-buried base platform was excavated and restored, along with the first-floor ambulatory.

Miaoguang Pagoda is an octagonal, seven-story pavilion-style brick pagoda. The base platform has a diameter of about ten to five meters. The pagoda tapers slightly with each ascending level, with a spire that reaches six meters in height, bringing the total height to around forty to three meters. The ambulatory extends three meters inward, the base platform stands one point three meters high, the main body of the pagoda is thirty-six meters tall and narrows toward the top, while the spire itself is six meters high. The base is a carved bluestone Sumeru pedestal, with the “waist” section featuring relief patterns of Ming Dynasty “top flower and ribbon” motifs. The pedestal’s plinth is adorned with the popular Ming-style “jade foot,” and beneath the Sumeru pedestal lies a layer of fully carved bluestone with continuous cloud designs, exquisitely detailed. The pagoda’s first-floor corners are supported by brick-built pilasters. The interior is hollow, with each level featuring a spiral brick staircase leading upward, as well as platforms, ambulatories, railings, and eaves. During the Republican-era restoration, these elements were reconstructed using reinforced concrete, and the spire was refitted with a porcelain-covered cement gourd. On the outer walls of the first floor, the four doorways are adorned with ten small niches housing seven small iron Buddha statues, with three additional replicas. Within the first-floor ambulatory, there is a stone stele inscribed with the “Record of the Reconstruction of Nanchan Temple Pagoda,” composed by Zhang Sian and calligraphed by Chen Mian in the first year of the Ming Tian Shun era (1457)—though the stele’s head is damaged. There is also a stele from the fourteenth year of the Wanli era (1586) inscribed with the “Record of the Reconstruction of Miaoguang Pagoda,” authored by Qian Jingchun. Upon completion of the 1983 pagoda restoration, another stele titled “Record of the Reconstruction of Miaoguang Pagoda” was erected. In front of the pagoda are two stone incense burners unearthed during the renovation: one from the fourteenth year of the Ming Jiajing era (1535) and another from the eleventh year of the Wanli era (1583).

Starting from the Yongle era of the Ming Dynasty, the “Nanchan Treasure Pagoda” was listed as one of the “Eight Scenic Spots of Xishan.” It was designated as a municipal-level cultural heritage site in both 1957 and 1983.