The Scripture Pillars of Brahma Temple

The Scripture Pillars of Brahma Temple

The Scripture Pillars of Brahma Temple are a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The Scripture Pillars of Brahma Temple are located on Fan Tian Si Road at the eastern foot of Phoenix Mountain in Shangcheng District, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province.

Brahma Temple was a renowned temple during the Wuyue Kingdom of the Five Dynasties period. According to the History of Wuyue, in the second year of the Zhenming era of the Liang Dynasty (916 AD), Qian Liu brought the relics of Sakyamuni from Ashoka Temple in Mowei County (now Yinzhou County) to Hangzhou, and built the South City Pagoda to enshrine them. Later, the South City Pagoda was destroyed by fire. In the third year of the Qiande era (965 AD), Qian Hongchu, King of the Wuyue Kingdom, rebuilt it and later renamed it Brahma Temple. The Scripture Pillars of Brahma Temple were built in 965 AD as remnants from the front of the South Pagoda Temple. There is one pair on each side, each nearly 15 meters high.

The pillars are entirely carved from Taihu Lake stone. Both pillars are similar in form and structure, standing opposite each other with a distance of 13 meters between them. Each pillar is 15.76 meters tall and consists of five parts: the base, the main body, the waist eave, the short column layer, and the pillar top. The top features a sun-and-moon precious bead intricately carved with varied patterns. The base is a three-tiered Sumeru pedestal, decorated with inverted lotus, fluttering dragons, and bodhisattva images. The bottom tier features bas-reliefs of the “Nine Mountains and Eight Seas”; the middle section is carved with coiling dragons, vivid and majestic; the upper short columns are encircled with small niches, each housing carved Buddha statues. The main body of the pillars is engraved with Buddhist scriptures in an octagonal shape. The southern pillar bears the Mahāpratisarā Dhāraṇī Sūtra, while the northern pillar features the Mahābuddhoṣṇīṣa Dhāraṇī Sūtra. Both pillars also have inscriptions recording their construction, with identical text. The main body text is written in regular script, while the construction inscription is in running script, ending with: “Erected on the fifteenth day of the sixth month in the year of Yichou, the third year of Qiande (June 15, 965 AD), by Qian Hongchu, Celestial Grand Marshal and King of the Wuyue Kingdom.” Above the main body is a canopy adorned with cloud motifs at the top and carvings resembling celestial musicians emerging from the clouds at the bottom. The waist eaves are carved in imitation of wooden structures, using bracket sets to support the eaves. Each bracket set has one layer per face, with six tiers of double arms and single lower angling, crafted in an open-heart style. The eaves feature carved tiles, rafters, ridges, mythical beasts, and drip tiles. Each tier of the pillars has short columns with niches housing Buddha and bodhisattva statues—ranging from one, three, to seven figures—each rendered solemnly with balanced proportions and harmonious arrangements.

The Scripture Pillars of Brahma Temple are exquisitely carved masterpieces of Buddhist art from the Five Dynasties period and serve as valuable physical materials for studying Song Dynasty architectural practices. In 2001, they were included by the State Council in the fifth group of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units.

Address: Fan Tian Si Road at the foot of Phoenix Mountain

Further Reading:

· Fifth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units