The Twin Pagodas of Baosheng Temple

The Twin Pagodas of Baosheng Temple

The Twin Pagodas of Baosheng Temple are a cultural relic protection unit of Zhejiang Province.

The Twin Pagodas of Baosheng Temple are located at the foot of Beishan Mountain near Qiancang Town in Pingyang. The temple was built in the first year of the Jingkang era during the Northern Song Dynasty (1126). Originally, there were four pagodas in front of the temple, but only two remain today, standing just 11.8 meters apart. Each pagoda is approximately 15 meters tall, with a hexagonal shape and five stories. The top levels are damaged, and the finials are missing. Restoration work was carried out in the 1980s.

In 1984, when renovating the two pagodas, a stone stele was discovered in the northern niche on the second level of the eastern pagoda, revealing that the pagodas were actually built in the third year of the Qiande era during the reign of Emperor Taizu of the Northern Song Dynasty (965), over 160 years earlier than the previously believed date of the Jingkang era.

The two pagodas are dark and simple in appearance, both made of brick and standing 15.16 meters tall. They have a hexagonal shape with five stories, designed in an overlapping pavilion style, with each level featuring a waist eave and a flat terrace. The corners are reinforced with octagonal brick pillars, between which two hidden pillar bases can be seen supporting the lintel beam, forming a three-bay structure. The central bay features a niche shaped like a pot door, housing a Buddha statue. On the corner pillars sits a single bracket set, parallel to a single bracket set on the lintel beam with a “one-dou, three-sheng” design, supporting the eave beam. Above the beam, the eaves are formed using a scalloped-pattern brickwork technique instead of conventional eave rafters and flying rafters. The eave line is smooth, gently curving and lifting at the corners in the typical Jiangnan style. The base is designed like a Sumeru pedestal, measuring 3.3 meters per side and 1.75 meters in height.

In addition, each level of the pagodas is fitted with wooden pegs, which enhance the overall structural stability. The side lengths of each level gradually taper, giving the pagodas a delicate and graceful appearance. During the Song and Yuan dynasties, Qiancang Town flourished, leading to the construction of additional monastic compounds—both a Vinaya Monastery and a Dharma Monastery—outside the temple. During the Qing Dynasty's Xianfeng era, the Jinqianhui Uprising broke out here. The temple was burned down by Qing troops and landlord militias known as the "White Cloth Society" because rebel peasant forces had been stationed there. Only the two pagodas on the east and west sides of the temple entrance survived intact.

Further reading:

· Second Batch of Cultural Relic Protection Units of Zhejiang Province