Huangbo Mountain Tomb Pagoda Cluster

Huangbo Mountain Tomb Pagoda Cluster

The Huangbo Mountain Tomb Pagoda Cluster is a cultural relic protection unit of Jiangxi Province.

Huangbo Mountain was a renowned Zen Buddhist site that flourished during the Tang and Song dynasties, and is also the birthplace of the Linji School—one of the five major schools of Chinese Chan (Zen) Buddhism.

Master Xiyun had profound attainments in Buddhist studies and was a great synthesizer of Buddhist teachings. In his youth, he traveled widely to study under many eminent masters and received the orthodox transmission from Master Huaihai at Baizhang Mountain in Fengxin. Later, seeing that Huangbo Mountain is surrounded by mountains on three sides and is the source of the mountain range with excellent feng shui, he chose to take up residence there. Master Xiyun passed away in the 11th year of the Dazhong era (857) during the Tang Dynasty. Emperor Xuanzong of Tang posthumously conferred upon him the honorific title “Duanji Chan Master.” He is buried here. The pagoda is inscribed with the words “Duanji Chan Master Pagoda,” and the stone stele behind the stupa enclosure is also engraved with the text “Pagoda of the Founding Patriarch, the Venerable Master Xiyun, Posthumous Title Duanji Chan Master.”

The Pagoda of Master Yiwei’an is shaped like a Mongolian yurt, and locals call it “a big bell covering a small bell” or “a pagoda within a pagoda.” The inner pagoda stands 2.47 meters tall and is 1.2 meters wide. There is only one such style of Buddhist pagoda in China, making it truly unique. The pagoda was built in the 25th year of the Kangxi reign of the Qing Dynasty (1686), and the front of the pagoda body is inscribed with “Pagoda of Master Yiwei’an.” On the rear stone wall of the outer pagoda, there is an embedded stone stele inscribed with: “Born on the sixth day of the sixth month at noon in the year Yimao of the Tianqi era, passed away on the fifth day of the first month at midnight in the year Yichou of the Kangxi era. Successor of the 34th generation, Master Yiwei’an. Pagoda erected on a propitious day in the winter month of the 25th year of Kangxi.” There is enough space between the inner and outer pagodas to accommodate over ten people.

Further Reading:

· Third Batch of Jiangxi Provincial Cultural Relic Protection Units