Chongfu Temple Yinggeng Pagoda

Chongfu Temple Yinggeng Pagoda

Chongfu Temple Yinggeng Pagoda is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Chongfu Temple Yinggeng Pagoda is located on the right side of the main gate of Chongfu Temple in Licheng District, Quanzhou City, and to the east of the Mahavira Hall. It was built in the first year of the Xining era during the Northern Song Dynasty. When the Yinggeng Pagoda was first constructed, it leaned slightly. Legend has it that the pagoda possessed a spiritual power of “responding to prosperity through its tilt,” with its inclination in a certain direction believed to foretell bountiful harvests and thriving livestock, hence the name “Yinggeng.”

The Yinggeng Pagoda is a solid stone structure, an octagonal seven-story granite building designed in imitation of wooden pavilion-style architecture. Each side is carved with Buddha statues. It stands 10.9 meters tall and covers an area of 5 square meters. The Yinggeng Pagoda and the numerous ancient coins, bronze mirrors, glassware, gold and silver items, reliquary boxes, and sarira relics discovered within it hold significant historical and archaeological value.

During the Song and Yuan dynasties, Buddhism flourished in Quanzhou. The Yinggeng Pagoda not only symbolized the prevalence of Buddhism at the time but also represented people’s aspirations for favorable weather, national peace, and prosperity.

On October 7, 2019, Chongfu Temple Yinggeng Pagoda was included in the eighth batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units.

Further Reading:

· Eighth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units