Nanjing Bao'en Temple Pagoda

Nanjing Bao'en Temple Pagoda

Nanjing Bao'en Temple Pagoda is a cultural tourism attraction.

Nanjing Bao'en Temple Pagoda

Nanjing Bao'en Temple Pagoda Nanjing Bao'en Temple Pagoda was built in the tenth year of the Yongle era (1412) by the Ming Emperor Chengzu Zhu Di in the name of commemorating the Hongwu Emperor and Empress Ma, but was actually constructed in honor of his birth mother, Lady Gong. The ruins of Bao'en Temple Pagoda are located on the eastern side of the ancient Changganli area, just outside Zhonghua Gate.

The Great Bao'en Temple and its pagoda were constructed on the site of the Yuan Dynasty’s Cien Jingzhong Temple, which was also the location of the Six Dynasties-era ancient Changgan Temple. Its name carries the meaning of “shining with eternal brilliance and repaying boundless gratitude,” and it was honored with the title “The First Tower.” The glazed pagoda of the Great Bao'en Temple towered majestically above the landscape, visible from dozens of miles away. With its magnificent and varied architectural beauty, and illuminated by thousands of lights at night, its grandeur became world-renowned, making it one of the Seven Wonders of the Medieval World.

The temple complex was enormous, spanning an area of nine li and thirteen steps. At the time, over 100,000 laborers were mobilized. The construction of the Great Bao'en Temple Pagoda alone cost 2.485 million taels of silver. Supervised by Huang Ligong, Vice Minister of Works, and the eunuch admiral Zheng He, the project took nineteen years to complete, beginning in the tenth year of the Yongle era (1412).

This architectural wonder was ultimately destroyed in a fire in the sixth year of the Xianfeng era (1856). Only two stone steles remain today as relics: the one to the north is the right stele of the Great Bao'en Temple, commissioned by the emperor in the third year of the Xuande era (1428) on March 16th, though the turtle-shaped pedestal base is now damaged; the one to the south is the left stele of the Great Bao'en Temple, commissioned by the emperor in the twenty-second year of the Yongle era (1424). Although the main body of the stele is lost, its turtle pedestal remains intact.

The stele of the Great Bao'en Temple Pagoda is now a protected cultural relic of Jiangsu Province.