Tiangong Temple Pagoda

Tiangong Temple Pagoda

Tiangong Temple Pagoda is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Tiangong Temple Pagoda is located at the former site of Tiangong Temple, about 1.5 kilometers southwest of Fengrun District. It is a cultural relic protection unit of Hebei Province and was damaged by an earthquake in 1976. During the 1987 restoration, two tower core chambers were discovered between the 7th and 13th floors of the remaining pagoda structure, along with a batch of precious relics preserved inside, including several wooden sutra carvings, five gilded bronze Buddha statues, stone statues of Manjushri and Samantabhadra, as well as pottery and porcelain items. The current management authority is the Cultural Relics Management Office of Fengrun District, Tangshan City, Hebei Province.

According to records, Tiangong Temple was built in the first year of the Qingning era of the Liao Dynasty (1055), established by salt supervisor Zhang Cheng after he purchased the land. In the eighth year of Qingning, Zhang Cheng’s son built the pagoda on a high platform in the northwest corner of the temple. Tiangong Temple Pagoda was the main structure of the original Tiangong Temple. The temple was initially called “Nan Ta Yuan” (South Pagoda Courtyard).

In the third year of Shouchang during the Liao Dynasty in Tangshan, it was called “Jile Yuan” (Paradise Courtyard), and was renamed “Tiangong Temple” in the fifth year of Qian Tong, the name it retains to this day. In the eighth month of the fifth year of Tianhui, it was decreed to be elevated to “Da Tiangong Temple” (Great Tiangong Temple). Tiangong Temple was a three-courtyard temple facing east and situated west, consisting of an upper temple and a lower temple. Aside from the Tiangong Temple Pagoda, other structures were mainly destroyed in 1928, 1954, and 1958. The pagoda is the main structure of the upper temple. Built in the eighth year of the Liao Qingning era, it has an octagonal floor plan, covering an area of 50.9 square meters. It faces south and is a thirteen-tiered, solid brick pagoda with overlapping eaves, standing 24.2 meters tall. The base is a Sumeru pedestal, with two niches carved on the waist eave of each side. Above the waist eave is a terrace supported by bracket sets, holding railings and panels adorned with geometric and floral patterns. At the very top, three tiers of carved brick lotus petals encircle the first level of the pagoda body. The first level is the tallest, featuring false doors on the southern, eastern, western, and northern sides, while the other sides are plain. At the eight corners are carved brick dragon pillars. Above the beam plate are imitation wood, five-bay carved brick bracket sets, with diagonal brackets at the corners resembling those of the Yingxian Wooden Pagoda. The upper eaves are all constructed with overlapping bricks. The finial is also made of stacked bricks. The spire is gilded red copper, recast in the 16th year of the Kangxi reign of the Qing Dynasty. There are two inner chambers in the eaves, and during the 1987 renovation, a large number of precious relics were unearthed, including 12 first-grade relics, 26 second-grade relics, and 33 third-grade relics.

Having stood for a thousand years, though repaired in various dynasties, Tiangong Temple Pagoda still exhibits the architectural style of Liao Dynasty tightly-layered brick pagodas in its overall form and detailing, making it an important example for the study of ancient Chinese Buddhist pagodas. The precious relics unearthed from the inner chambers, such as Liao Dynasty Buddhist scriptures, hold significant value for the research of Liao history, religion, paper production, woodblock printing, and the historical culture of Yanjing at that time.

On May 25, 2006, Tiangong Temple Pagoda, as an ancient Liao Dynasty structure, was approved by the State Council to be included in the sixth batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units.

Attraction Location

Cao Xueqin Avenue (approximately 200 meters south of the intersection with Rongguo South Avenue, west side of the road)

Further Reading:

· Third Batch of Cultural Relic Protection Units of Hebei Province

· Sixth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units