Fuliang Red Pagoda

Fuliang Red Pagoda

The Fuliang Red Pagoda is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The Red Pagoda is situated on a small earthen mound to the west inside the old town of Fuliang County, Jingdezhen City. It is a seven-story hexagonal tower with two bracket sets on each face and corner brackets. With the exception of the second floor, which, like the first, has relatively high doors and windows and no balcony, all upper levels feature balconies. Each level’s balcony has three gates, each occupying one side, while the other three sides have none. Due to the great thickness of the walls, the interior forms a long corridor.

According to the Fuliang County Annals: “The pagoda was initiated by Monk Du in the year [unspecified], standing thirteen zhang tall, built during the Song Dynasty, and renovated in the third year of the Wanli era of the Ming Dynasty.” It earned the name Red Pagoda due to its red exterior walls.

In front of the Red Pagoda, there used to be a temple called Xisi Temple, which was built over a thousand years ago in the sixth year of the Taihe era of the Tang Dynasty (832 AD). In the second year of the Jianlong era of the Song Dynasty (961 AD), Li Wenbiao, a resident of Fuliang County, proposed constructing a Buddhist pagoda behind Xisi Temple. After 79 years of construction, by the first year of the Kangding era of the Song Dynasty (1040 AD), a nine-story pagoda rose from the ground and still stands today. The Red Pagoda has a history of nearly a thousand years. In 1970, when relevant departments conducted on-site measurements of the pagoda, they discovered a lidded bronze cauldron at the top, inscribed with text recording the completion date of the pagoda’s construction. In 1984, the Jingdezhen Municipal People’s Government carried out a comprehensive two-year restoration of the Red Pagoda, which was then reopened to the public.

The pagoda’s Dharma name is “Great Sage Treasure Pagoda.” Because it is located to the west of the ancient county seat of Fuliang, it is also called the West Pagoda. It is one of China’s ancient Seventy-Two Famous Pagodas and the oldest and most completely preserved large-scale ancient pagoda in Jiangxi Province, hence also referred to as the “No. 1 Pagoda of Jiangxi.” In 1959, the Red Pagoda was listed among the first batch of Jiangxi Provincial Key Cultural Relics Protection Units.

In 2019, the Fuliang Red Pagoda was included in the eighth batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units.

Location

Next to the Ancient County Yamen of Fuliang County, Jingdezhen City, Jiangxi Province

Jiucheng Village: Jiucheng Village…… Detailed information about Jiucheng Village++

Further Reading:

· Eighth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units