The Rangfo Pagoda (Pagoda of the Buddha of Light’s Sarira)

The Rangfo Pagoda (Pagoda of the Buddha of Light’s Sarira)

The Rangfo Pagoda is a cultural relic protection unit of Beijing Municipality.

Located in Tongzhou at the northern end of the Grand Canal in Beijing, stands a renowned pagoda across China — the Rangfo Pagoda. Rangfo, the Buddha of Light, was the teacher of Shakyamuni Buddha, the historical and current Buddha. Legend has it that when he was born, everything around him shone as brightly as a lamp, hence his name. It is said that after his death, during cremation, pearl-like substances called sarira were formed. The Rangfo Pagoda is the pagoda that enshrines the sarira of the Buddha of Light. This pagoda was originally built in the late Northern Zhou Dynasty (577–581), rebuilt in the seventh year of the Zhenguan era during the Tang Dynasty (633), and reconstructed during the Chongxi period of the Liao Dynasty (1032–1054). Further renovations were carried out in the seventh year of the Yuandade era (1303), the seventh year of the Zhiyuan era (1347), the twentieth year of the Ming Dynasty’s Chenghua era (1484), and the ninth year of the Qing Dynasty’s Kangxi era (1670). After being toppled by an earthquake in the eighteenth year of Kangxi (1679), only the base remained. Starting from the thirtieth year (1691), Monk Zhaogan raised funds through donations to rebuild the pagoda, constructing one level per year. In the thirty-fifth year (1696), Magistrate Wu Cunli, finding the progress too slow, took the lead in donating money and initiated a public fundraising campaign to accelerate the reconstruction. Finally, in the thirty-seventh year (1698), the pagoda was successfully rebuilt. In August 1900, during the invasion of Beijing by the Eight-Nation Alliance (Britain, France, the United States, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, and Austria), they rampaged through Tongzhou. Gunfire shattered the precious mirror atop the spire, and bullets knocked off the copper bells along the body of the pagoda, resulting in brutal destruction and rampant looting. The "Cultural Revolution" that began in the summer of 1966 saw all the exquisite brick carvings of buddhas and mythical beasts embedded in the base completely chiseled away. In the early hours of July 18, 1976, a massive earthquake struck Tangshan. The pagoda was affected, swaying 30 degrees left and right but did not collapse. However, many bricks from the lotus base of the spire fell off, and the body of the pagoda developed slight cracks, leaving it in a precarious state. From September 1985 to November 1987, the Beijing Municipal Cultural Relics Bureau and the Tongzhou County Government raised 290,000 yuan for emergency restoration. The spire was rebuilt, the copper bells were replaced, the foundation was restored, and the original appearance of the Rangfo Pagoda was revived.

The pagoda is a solid brick-and-wood structure with a dense-eave, octagonal, thirteen-story design, consisting of three main parts: the base, the body, and the top, standing 56 meters tall with a base perimeter of 38.4 meters, making it the tallest and largest pagoda in the Beijing area. The base is shaped like a sumeru pedestal, symbolizing the radiance of enlightenment — after attaining Buddhahood, one can reside on Mount Sumeru, reaching the highest realm. While most sumeru pedestals have a single waist, this one has a double waist. On the lower waist, on the southern side, is embedded a large brick relief of a single dragon, a relic from the Liao Dynasty. Though weathered over time, it still retains its ancient beauty. The upper waist is adorned with small niches carved like doors, each containing brick carvings depicting Buddhist stories, such as the eighteen arhats battling a giant roc. Each corner also features a round sculpture of a muscular deity wearing armor and helmet, vividly crafted and reflective of the style of the time. Above these are brick-carved wooden-style brackets, followed by brick-carved wooden-style railings, and at the very top, a massive brick-carved lotus platform with diverse relief patterns, including twin dragons chasing a pearl, two lions in pursuit, immortals dueling, and the vermilion bird holding a sprig of lingzhi — all competing in splendor and elegance.

The pagoda has thirteen stories. The first to fourth stories each have 22 flying rafters per face, the fifth to seventh have 21, the eighth to tenth have 20, the eleventh and twelfth have 19, and the thirteenth has 18, showing minimal tapering, almost like vertical pillars, making it exceptionally upright and steep. This gives the pagoda a majestic and imposing presence, one of its most distinctive features. The first story is the tallest. On its southern face is an arched door that extends deep into the core of the pagoda, where a shrine is built, housing the stone statue of the Buddha of Light. Aside from the wooden angle beams and flying rafters, the rest of the structure is entirely brick-carved to resemble wood. The designs on the drip tiles and tile ends are varied, including a seated dragon motif, indicating imperial orders for renovation. The other seven faces are similar to the southern side, aside from embedded brick-carved doors and windows. The remaining twelve stories share the same structure as the first, minus the doors and windows. Each rafter head on the pagoda is adorned with an exquisitely crafted copper bell, and under each corner’s main beam hangs two larger ones. In total, there are 2,248 copper bells on the pagoda. The bells come in various shapes — some with flat mouths, others with linked arcs; some with round shoulders, others with folded shoulders; some long-bodied, others broad-bodied; some producing clear tones, others deep and resonant. Some were donated by locals, others by people from afar, presenting a colorful variety. The outer walls of each bell are inscribed with the names and hometowns of the donors. Some were offered by widows kneeling with their children, some by three generations of a family, and some by widowers praying alone — each with a unique story. The inscriptions vary in script, mostly regular script, with fewer semi-cursive or clerical styles, and a few featuring double-line engraving, all beautifully rendered. At the intersection where the old angle beams are embedded into the pagoda, a small deity statue is placed diagonally upward, held by a flat iron strip. These statues, about the size of a brick, mostly originated from molds fired in kilns, with a few being solid brick carvings. Their forms vary — some standing, some sitting; some clad in armor and wielding swords, others in kasayas with palms pressed together; some with kind expressions, others fierce-looking — all remarkably lifelike. One particularly beloved statue is of Zhu Bajie (Pigsy), with fat ears, a huge mouth, and a bulging belly, extremely realistic, providing significant value for researching the origins of the novel Journey to the West.

On the southern face of the thirteenth story, at the center, is placed a brick-carved poetry stele, carved from a single brick, with a square top and base. Vertically inscribed on it is a regulated verse titled “Poem of the Rangfo Pagoda”: "Majestic tower guards Lu Ling, Layer upon layer touching the blue clouds. Radiant reflections shimmer on the river, Clear chimes echo through the empty air. Built back then by Zhou — Later restored by Qing with renewed grace. Forever protecting borders through ancient times, Blessing all people with peace and grace." On the back, in the center, is inscribed: “Made by Monk Jiyu who erected this stele.” This poem vividly depicts the construction and renovation history of the Rangfo Pagoda, its location, unique scenery, and the hopes it embodies. Even more peculiar is a elm tree growing on the northwest side of the roof of this story. It has been there for over two hundred years. Its trunk is only 17 cm in diameter, 3.7 meters tall, with a crown of 4.2 meters. It has no taproot, but a cluster of fibrous roots densely spread beneath the roof tiles, shaped like a fan, with the longest fine root measuring 2.5 meters. Because the bricks were laid with thick mortar — even mixed with glutinous rice paste — the roots couldn’t penetrate downward or outward on this side. It survives on the thin layer of soil retained on these tiles, sprouting late in spring and shedding leaves by mid-autumn, enduring a harsh environment. For years, it has endured scorching sun and drought, as well as freezing winds and cold, struggling tenaciously and never giving up — a symbol of the spirit of the people of Tongzhou. To protect the structural integrity of the pagoda, during the 1986 restoration of the spire, it was transplanted to the shores of Huluhu Lake beneath the pagoda, where living conditions greatly improved, and now it thrives vigorously. The pagoda top is divided into two parts: the lower part consists of two stacked octagonal sumeru pedestal lotus platforms made of brick, with offset corners, and the originally embedded carvings have all become blurred. At the center of the two brick platforms, a massive wrought-iron core pillar is tightly inserted, measuring 9.5 meters in length. The part embedded in the brick platform is square, 9 cm per side, extremely stable. The exposed part above the brick platform is conical, gradually tapering to a diameter of 6 cm. This iron pillar was forged by blacksmiths using small furnaces and hammers — the difficulty and craftsmanship involved can only be imagined. Connected to this core pillar are all bronze ritual instruments, arranged from bottom to top: a large hollow treasure bead 2.25 meters in diameter, decorated with ancient coin and scrolling vine patterns, with upper and lower halves forming a mortise-and-tenon joint, reinforced internally by four flat iron bars to prevent rotation or damage, and bearing three inscriptions. The southern inscription reads: “Erected in the summer of the Kangxi year of Wuyin” — indicating the reconstruction was completed in the fifth month of the lunar calendar in 1698. The northeast-facing inscription reads: “Constructed by monk Zhao Sheng, who vowed to build the pagoda,” identifying the engineer behind the reconstruction. The northwest-facing one reads: “Made by Xie Jinzhong,” recording the name of the craftsman who cast the bronze instruments. Next are imitation silk tassels, a five-ring finial, a disk of light, a crescent moon, and a precious bead. Additionally, at the finial section, eight large iron chains connect to the eight corresponding hip rafters on the thirteenth-story roof, serving both to stabilize the core pillar and enhance decorative appeal — achieving two goals with one action. The entire pagoda top structure is complex yet harmoniously unified, representing a masterpiece in ancient pagoda architecture.

Address: Dacheng Street, Tongzhou District, Beijing

Type: Historical Site / Ancient Pagoda

Ticket: 10 RMB

Further Reading:

· Second Batch of Beijing Municipal Cultural Relics Protection Units

· Four Famous Pagodas of the Grand Canal