Gaoxian Shousheng Temple Pagoda

Gaoxian Shousheng Temple Pagoda

Gaoxian Shousheng Temple Pagoda is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Known as Gaoxian Pagoda, the Shousheng Temple Pagoda is located on East Street of Gaoxianji in the northwest of the city, 23 kilometers away. It is a Ming Dynasty structure. In November 1986, it was designated as a provincial-level cultural relic protection unit by the People's Government of Henan Province. The pagoda faces south and stands 35 meters tall. It is a hexagonal, solid, gray-mouthed, seven-story pavilion-style brick pagoda. It has an equilateral hexagonal base, with each side of the first level measuring 380 centimeters.

First Level: The front exterior wall features a door, with six stone-carved Buddha statues and three stone steles decorating the wall. The left wall has 17 stone-carved Buddha statues and two stone steles, while the right wall has 19 stone-carved Buddha statues and two stone steles. The back wall has no door but is adorned with 19 stone-carved Buddha statues and two stone steles. The left wall has 15 stone-carved Buddha statues and two stone steles, and the left wall again has 19 stone-carved Buddha statues and two stone steles. The interior wall features six stone-carved Buddha statues, totaling 101 stone-carved Buddha statues and 13 stone steles. According to the inscriptions on the stone steles, the pagoda was built in the 13th year of the Zhengde era of the Ming Dynasty (1518 AD).

Second Level: The front exterior wall has a door and is decorated with four stone-carved Buddha statues, with six on each of the left and right walls. The back wall also has no door, mirroring the front, with the same number of stone carvings on the left and right walls as the front. The interior wall has four stone-carved Buddha statues, totaling 36 stone-carved Buddha statues.

Third Level: The front exterior wall has no door but is decorated with two stone-carved Buddha statues and one stone stele, with a total of 19 Buddha statues and one stone stele around the perimeter.

Fourth Level: The front exterior wall has no door, with a total of 26 stone-carved Buddha statues around the perimeter.

Fifth Level: The front exterior wall has no door, with a total of 19 stone-carved Buddha statues around the perimeter.

Sixth Level: The front exterior wall has no door and no decorations. The back wall also has no door, mirroring the front, with no decorations. There are six stone-carved Buddha statues in total.

Seventh Level: The front exterior wall has no door but is decorated with one stone-carved Buddha statue, with one on each of the left and right walls. The back wall has neither a door nor statues. The left wall features a false window made of four vertical bricks arranged as mullions, and the right wall has one stone-carved Buddha statue, totaling four stone-carved Buddha statues. The pagoda top consists of a brick-built circular base, on which originally sat a precious vase (now missing).

The entire pagoda has a total of 211 stone-carved Buddha statues, with clear lines and dignified, solemn designs that are quite spiritual. Such a collection of Ming Dynasty stone carvings is quite rare and holds certain artistic value. There are also 14 stone steles, inscribed with records of the pagoda’s construction process and the time period. One of them details how the devout official Zheng Jun from Chenliu dreamed one night during the 10th year of the Hongzhi era about commissioning the construction of this pagoda. Regarding the completion date of the pagoda, the stone steles offer inconsistent records—some state the 8th month of the 13th year of Zhengde, others the 7th month—but overall, it can be determined that the pagoda was completed in the 13th year of the Zhengde era of the Ming Dynasty (1518 AD). The pagoda underwent repairs and foundation reinforcement funded by the provincial government in 2000. It holds certain value for the study of Ming Dynasty painting and sculpture.

Further Reading:

· Second Batch of Henan Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units

· Seventh Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units