Ten Thousand Buddhas Stone Pagoda

Ten Thousand Buddhas Stone Pagoda

The Ten Thousand Buddhas Stone Pagoda is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The Ten Thousand Buddhas Stone Pagoda, originally named Chan Master Pagoda, is located in Xijing Village (also known as Xijing Cun) of Xihua, Zhoushi Town, Wuxian County. It faces Taihu Lake and, across the lake, looks toward Yaoshang Mountain in Guangfu. Due to frequent flooding in the area and the pagoda’s symbolic representation of the all-powerful Buddha, it was first constructed during the Shaoxing era of the Southern Song Dynasty (1131–1162 AD) as a talisman to protect the lake region.

During the Chenghua era of the Ming Dynasty, the eminent monk Xin? renovated and refurbished the pagoda. Since its reconstruction, it has withstood 692 years of wind and rain.

The pagoda is built from limestone blocks and features a single-story structure. The exterior is square while the interior is round, giving it a simple yet well-proportioned and sturdy appearance. It differs both from the traditional multistoried pavilion-style pagodas of the Han Chinese and from the bottle-shaped (stupa-style) pagodas introduced to China from India, which were popular during the Yuan Dynasty. This makes it a unique architectural creation in its own right. Originally situated near the renowned Buddhist temple Xiufeng in the Jiangnan region, the pagoda faces south and stands 11.2 meters tall, consisting of three main parts: the base, the body, and the finial. The southern side of the pagoda features a doorway shaped almost like a flame, measuring 2.1 meters in height and 0.72 meters in width. Above the doorway is inscribed the phrase “Ancient Pagoda Revived,” and on the eastern and western sides are carved the words “Amitabha Buddha.” The doorway is flanked by a pair of couplets: the upper line reads “May the merit of building this pagoda benefit all sentient beings,” and the lower line reads “May all develop bodhicitta and attain Buddhahood together.” The interior of the pagoda resembles a circular well, wider at the bottom and narrower at the top. The base has a diameter of 2.14 meters, narrowing to 1.65 meters at the top, with walls 3.75 meters high. The lower part includes a 0.74-meter-high Sumeru pedestal. At the center of the pedestal’s waist is an inscription reading “Record of Chengjue Monastery,” providing a clue to the pagoda’s construction date. On the left is carved “Stone Masons Qian Qian and Kun of Wumen,” and on the right “Monk Zhiyuan of the Monastery Jointly Sponsored.” The upper cornice is adorned with “decorative vine scroll patterns.”

Around the Sumeru pedestal are ten layers of Wukang stone blocks, covered in rows of small relief Buddha statues. Each Buddha statue is 4.5 cm tall and 3.5 cm wide—about the size of an egg—with clear garments and distinguishable facial features, seated cross-legged on lotus pedestals. There are approximately 180 such small Buddha statues per row, across 60 rows, totaling 10,800 statues—hence the name “Ten Thousand Buddhas Pagoda.” Directly facing the pagoda door is a larger statue about 30 cm tall and 20 cm wide. Though not counted among the 10,000, it is regarded as the leader of the group—this is the Buddha Sakyamuni, symbolizing all the other Buddhas sitting in reverence as he preaches the Dharma. The pagoda finial is a stone-carved gourd-shaped vase crowned with a precious bead. Below this are inverted lotus petals, a finial wheel, and four upward-curving Buddha niches. The niches are surrounded by decorative patterns, and the corner edges are adorned with upturned eaves. The finial is supported by intricately sculpted lotus petals.

Legend has it that Zhao Mengfu, a great calligrapher of the Yuan Dynasty and prefect of Huzhou, was so impressed by these Buddha statues that he gladly inscribed the words “Ten Thousand Buddhas Pagoda.”

Further Reading:

· First and Second Batch of Jiangsu Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units

· Seventh Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units