Five Pagoda Rock Pagodas

Five Pagoda Rock Pagodas

The Five Pagoda Rock Pagodas are a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Era: Song Dynasty

Location: In front of Wutapu Rock Temple, Longshui Mountain, Zhukou Village, Guanqiao Town, Nan'an City, Quanzhou, Fujian Province.

The Five Pagoda Rock Pagodas are located on Longshui Mountain in Zhukou Village, Guanqiao Town, Nan'an City, Quanzhou, Fujian Province. Built during the Song Dynasty, the main structure is Wutapu Rock Temple, but the most historically valuable features are the five exquisitely crafted and beautifully shaped stone pagodas. The pagodas are built along the mountain terrain, with cliffs in front and high mountains behind. From a distance, they resemble a pavilion in the sky. In March this year, they were designated as a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The five stone pagodas are lined up in a row, flanked by peaks on both sides and situated above a deep ravine, creating a rather spectacular and open view. “All five pagodas were built during the Song Dynasty,” said Chen Xigu, the abbot of Wutapu Rock Temple. The distance between each pagoda is 2 meters. The central one is 5.5 meters tall, while the ones on either side are both 5.3 meters tall.

All five pagodas are built on square bases constructed from strip stones. On top of the base sits a hexagonal Sumeru pedestal, which consists of five layers: fillet, lower band, lower lip, waist, and upper lip, standing 1 meter high. The body of the pagoda is built from roughly cylindrical stones, with a hexagonal eave-like top. Above the top is the finial, with a gourd-shaped spire at the very peak. The entire pagoda has a simple yet elegant design, with carvings that are also rustic in style. Chen Xigu said that the five pagodas are largely similar, with only the postures of the Buddha statues in the niches on the pagoda bodies differing. Some have their hands placed in front of their abdomens; some wear solemn expressions with ears hanging to their shoulders; others sit with knees bent, hands resting on their knees.

About 20 meters directly in front of the five pagodas is Wutapu Rock Temple, built during the Song Dynasty. The inner walls of the temple are embedded with stone-carved Buddha statues, which wear Buddhist crowns, have delicate features, and plump faces. The temple is built along the mountain terrain, utilizing two natural caves, one above and one below, to create two spaces: “Longshui Zen Tower” and “Dingguang Dojo,” resembling a pavilion in the sky, towering and majestic.

The tidal well beneath the rock never dries up throughout the seasons

At the summit of Wutapu Rock Temple lies “Three Dukes Stone.” To the west is Dingguang Rock, where massive rocks are connected; in the middle is Zhongzhou Rock, which resembles a natural stone Buddha; to the east is Lingshui Rock, beneath which lies a small well called the “Tidal Well,” which never dries up throughout the seasons. Legend has it that the well contains dragon essence. During the Song Dynasty, when Yang Wenguang of the Yang Family Generals led troops to conquer the 18 Caves of Fujian, he set up camp at Guandao Fort to the left of the temple and rock. Both generals and soldiers drank from this spring, which was inexhaustible and never ran out. The words “Zheng Gong Quan” (Zheng’s Spring) are carved beside the well. It is also said that Zheng Chenggong once visited this place, drank from the spring, and had the inscription engraved. Whether the legend is true or not, the Tidal Well today remains full of water.

There are many cliff inscriptions around the temple, documenting historical facts from the Song and Yuan dynasties.

Witness to the Prosperity of Buddhism in the Song Dynasty

“The five stone pagodas lined up in a row are relatively rare among similar structures in Fujian. They are a product of the period when maritime transport and religious architecture flourished in Nan'an,” said Yang Xiaochuan, director of the Office of the Nan'an Cultural Relics Management Committee. Looking at the stone pagodas of the Song Dynasty across southern Fujian, these five pagodas form a group structure, showing refinement within simplicity. The elegant shapes and exquisite carvings of the pagodas fully demonstrate the exceptional craftsmanship of Fujian’s stone carving, serving as one of the important symbols of the economic prosperity and flourishing of Buddhism in the Quanzhou area during the Song Dynasty. They hold significant reference value for the study of Buddhism and carving art in the Song Dynasty.

According to accounts, Buddhism has been flourishing in Nan'an since ancient times. In the ninth year of the Taikang era of the Western Jin Dynasty (288 AD), Yanfu Temple, built on Jiuri Mountain in Fengzhou, Nan'an, was one of the earliest two temples in Fujian. During the Liang Dynasty’s Putong era (520–527 AD), the Indian monk Gunabhadra came to China by sea, landed at Jinxi, and stayed at Yanfu Temple on Jiuri Mountain to translate the “Diamond Sutra.” By the Song Dynasty, when Zhu Xi lectured in the Quanzhou area, he referred to the region as “an ancient land of Buddhism.” The Five Pagoda Rock Pagodas, built during the Song Dynasty, bear witness to the prosperity of religious architecture in that era.

Zhukou Village: Zhukou Village is located 12 kilometers north of the government seat of Guanqiao Town. The village committee is stationed in Zhukou, with settlements spread across the hilly valleys south of Wutapu Rock in a rectangular distribution. There are two natural villages, seven villager groups, 415 households, and 1,536 residents. Zhukou Village gets its name from its location. During the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, it belonged to the Thirty-third District; in the Republican era, it was called “Zhukou Bao.” In the early years after liberation in 1949, it merged with Hepu to form Zhuhe Township. In 1956, it was incorporated into Xiayang Township. In 1961, the Zhukou Brigade was established, renamed Zhuiqing Brigade in 1965, and split from Xili Brigade in 1979 to become an independent Zhukou Village. In 1984... Detailed information about Zhukou Village++

Further Reading:

· Seventh Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units