Suzhou Riguang Pagoda

Suzhou Riguang Pagoda

Suzhou Riguang Pagoda is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Riguang Pagoda is an ancient pagoda from the Song Dynasty located within Panmen in Suzhou. Originally built in 247 AD (the 10th year of Chiwu during the Eastern Wu Dynasty under Sun Quan), it had 13 stories. During its reconstruction during the Dazhong Xiangfu era of the Song Dynasty (1008–1016), it was changed to seven stories and eight sides, standing approximately 43 meters tall.

Commonly known as Riguang Pagoda, it is located within Panmen in the southwestern part of the city. It was listed as a Jiangsu Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Unit in 1956 and as a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit in 1988.

The original Riguang Temple was first named Pujie Chan Yuan. Historical records indicate it was built in the fourth year of Chiwu during the Three Kingdoms’ Wu Dynasty (241 AD) by Sun Quan to welcome the monk Xingkang from the Western Region kingdom of Kangju. Ten years later, in honor of his mother, Sun Quan also built a 13-story reliquary pagoda within the temple. Based on inscriptions found on cultural relics such as a precious dharma banner wooden case, Buddhist scriptures, stone Buddha statues, stone bases, and pagoda bricks, as well as an overall analysis of the pagoda’s floor plan, structure, and appearance, the current pagoda is believed to have been constructed between the first year of Jingde (1004 AD) and the eighth year of Tiansheng (1030 AD) during the Northern Song Dynasty, when the temple was called Riguang Chan Yuan. The temple has undergone numerous cycles of destruction and restoration over the years. The pagoda was repaired during the Chunxi era of the Southern Song Dynasty, the Hongwu, Yongle, Tianshun, and Jiajing eras of the Ming Dynasty, the Chongzhen era, as well as the Kangxi, Qianlong, and Daoguang eras of the Qing Dynasty. In the 10th year of Xianfeng during the Qing Dynasty (1860 AD), it suffered damage in war, leaving only the pagoda standing amid the ruined temple. It was subsequently repaired in the 11th year of Tongzhi (1872 AD).

Riguang Temple Pagoda is a seven-story, eight-sided brick-and-wood structure in the pavilion style. The brick body of the pagoda consists of three parts: the outer wall, the corridor, and the inner core. The outer wall features brick-and-wood bracket sets that support wooden eaves and balconies. Each side is divided into three bays by columns, with the central bay featuring either a arched doorway or hidden lattice windows. The ground floor has doorways on all four sides, the second and third floors have doorways on all eight sides, while the fourth to seventh floors feature staggered doorways on four sides. Circular columns with carved rings are used at both interior and exterior corners, supporting architraves topped with bracket sets. The outer wall’s corner bracket sets feature three tiers of projecting brackets, with two brackets per bay on the lower three floors and one bracket per bay on the upper floors. In total, the pagoda has over 380 wooden and brick bracket sets across its eaves, balconies, outer corridors, inner walls, inner core columns, caisson ceilings, doorways, and niches. After restoration, the pagoda stands approximately 53.6 meters tall, with the opposite sides of the ground floor’s outer wall measuring 11.2 meters. The height of each level gradually decreases, as does the floor area, giving the outer contour a slightly curved, graceful and soft appearance. Entering through the pagoda door, one passes through a corridor that is connected by wooden beams lining the walls, forming the floor structure. On the second and fourth floors, moon beams connect the inner and outer columns above the corner bracket sets, and wooden stairs for climbing the pagoda are housed within the corridor. From the first to fifth floors, an octagonal brick inner core column is built within the corridor, with the ground floor designed like a Sumeru pedestal. The sixth and seventh floors use a clustered wooden frame structure composed of columns, architraves, and horizontal diagonal beams. The center of the diagonal beams and the main beam supports a vertical pole that holds up the roof framework and finial of the pagoda. The ground floor perimeter of the pagoda features an outer corridor with 24 pillars, resting on an octagonal base platform surrounded by a bluestone Sumeru pedestal, which measures 23 meters on its opposite sides. It is carved with lions, figures, ruyi motifs, and flowing clouds — simple yet fluid, vivid and natural, representing fine examples of Song Dynasty stone carving. A rectangular terrace extends from the eastern side of the base platform, with steps built into its facade.

The brick body of the pagoda is largely original from the Song Dynasty, while the wooden structures of the sixth and seventh floors and the rooftop, though reconstructed in later periods, feature a clustered column-frame structure that is rare among existing ancient pagodas. The third floor is the core of the entire pagoda, featuring a beam-and-frame base for the inner core, as well as remnants of polychrome Song Dynasty wall sculptures in red and white, including the “Seven Red and Eight White” patterns and floral motifs, on the chamfered and melon-shaped columns, architraves, niches, and doorways. In 1978, a hidden chamber known as the “Heavenly Palace,” which contained precious cultural relics, was discovered within the inner core of the third floor. The “Yongding Column” technique used in the ground floor’s inner core is rare among surviving ancient architecture, providing valuable physical evidence for the study of the Song Dynasty’s Yingzao Fashi (Treatise on Architectural Methods). Riguang Temple Pagoda is exquisitely built, elegantly shaped, made with refined materials, and houses a rich collection of treasures. It stands as a mature representative of the brick-and-wood hybrid pavilion-style timber-like pagodas in southern China during the Song Dynasty, and serves as an important example for studying the evolution and architectural technology of such pagodas.

Riguang Pagoda is located within Panmen in the southwestern part of Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province.

Riguang Pagoda is also known as “Riguang Temple Pagoda” or “Riguang Temple Pagoda.” Riguang Temple, originally named “Pujie Chan Yuan,” was established in the fourth year of Chiwu during the Three Kingdoms’ Eastern Wu Dynasty (241 AD), according to historical records, when the monk Xingkang from the Kangju Kingdom came to Suzhou, and the ruler Sun Quan built this Buddhist temple for him, making it one of Suzhou’s renowned temples. In the tenth year of Chiwu (247 AD), Sun Quan built a 13-story reliquary pagoda in the temple to repay his mother’s kindness. In the second year of Tianfu during the Later Jin Dynasty of the Five Dynasties (937 AD), the temple was renovated, and a bronze plaque was placed atop the pagoda by imperial decree. During the Xuanhe era of the Song Dynasty (1119–1125 AD), it was rebuilt with seven stories and renamed “Riguang Chan Temple.” Legend says the pagoda often emitted colorful auspicious lights, hence its name change to “Riguang Pagoda.” It underwent multiple renovations during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, but today the temple halls have long been abandoned, with only the pagoda remaining. It has been designated as one of the “Three Scenic Spots of Panmen” in Suzhou’s southern scenic area.

Riguang Pagoda is a brick-and-wood hybrid pavilion-style structure with an octagonal floor plan, consisting of seven levels. Its body is built of brick and comprises three parts: the outer wall, the corridor, and the inner core. The base of the pagoda is a stone Sumeru pedestal, decorated with carvings of lions, flowers, and cloud patterns along its waist. Each level of the pagoda is surrounded by wooden eaves and balconies, with each side divided into three bays by columns, featuring either a central arched doorway or lattice windows. The ground floor has doorways on the north, south, east, and west sides, the second and third floors have doorways on all eight sides, and from the fourth floor upward, the doorways are staggered between levels. Circular columns are built at each corner, connected by architraves and topped with double-layered bracket sets. The current pagoda stands 42.44 meters tall, with each successive level decreasing in height and diameter, giving the outer profile a gently curved, simple, elegant, and graceful appearance, preserving the architectural style of Tang and Song Dynasty pagodas.

In April 1978, a batch of precious cultural relics from the Five Dynasties and early Northern Song Dynasty were discovered in a brick niche within the third floor’s inner core. These included two gold-plated copper pagodas, nine Buddha statues including those of Ksitigarbha, Guanyin, and Tathagata, handwritten sutras from the Five Dynasties, a woodblock-printed copy of the Lotus Sutra from the Northern Song Dynasty, and a mother-of-pearl inlaid scripture box. Among them, a “Pearl Reliquary Treasure Pole” was the most exquisite artifact — standing 1.22 meters tall and woven from pearls, it integrated jade carving, gold and silver craftsmanship, wood carving, gilding, and lacquer carving techniques, making it a rare treasure. These relics are of great value for studying the social conditions and artistic achievements of the Song Dynasty, and they also confirm that the existing brick body of the pagoda dates back to the second year of Dazhong Xiangfu (1009 AD) during the Northern Song Dynasty. (National Cultural Heritage Administration)

Jiangsu, Suzhou

Further Reading:

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

· Third Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units