Pagoda of Master Dadian

Pagoda of Master Dadian

The Pagoda of Master Dadian is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The Pagoda of Master Dadian is located at Lingshan Temple in Longshanwan, Tongyu Town, Chaoyang District. It has a cylindrical shape with an inverted bell form on the outside, and an octagonal waisted base adorned with carvings of flowers, flying dragons, and mythical beasts. The body of the pagoda is built from hollow granite. On the front is a square shrine supported by a lotus, inside which are carved the six characters "Pagoda of Master Dadian of the Tang Dynasty." The pagoda stands 2.8 meters tall and has a maximum diameter of 1.8 meters. In the fourth year of the Changqing era of the Tang Dynasty (824), Master Dadian, who presided over Lingshan Temple, passed away and was buried in the pagoda. According to the Chaoyang County Annals from the Longqing era of the Ming Dynasty, the pagoda was called the "Tongue Burial Pagoda" during the late Tang period; it was renamed the "Tongue Mirror Pagoda" during the ZhiDao era of the Song Dynasty, and the name has been used ever since.

Dadian (732–827), lay surname Chen (some say Yang), courtesy name Baotong, was originally from Yingchuan, Henan, but was born in Chaoyang. During the Dali era of the Tang Dynasty (766–779), he became a disciple of Master Huizhao at Haichao Ancient Temple (Xiyang Rock, Chaoyang). In the fifth year of the Zhenyuan era, he moved to Chaoyang and established Lingshan Chan Monastery in the seventh year of Zhenyuan. In the fourteenth year of the Yuanhe era (819), when Han Yu, the Prefect of Chaozhou, was transferred to become Prefect of Yanzhou, he specifically went to Lingshan Temple to bid farewell to Master Dadian and gifted him official robes. Later generations built the Retained Robe Pavilion at the site to commemorate the event. Master Dadian passed away at the age of 93. He authored Interpretations of the Heart Sutra and Interpretations of the Diamond Sutra, and hand-copied 1,500 volumes of the Diamond Sutra, as well as 30 volumes each of the Lotus Sutra and the Vimalakirti Sutra.

In July 1962, the People's Government of Guangdong Province designated it as a Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

On October 7, 2019, the Pagoda of Master Dadian was included in the eighth batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units.

Further Reading:

· First Batch of Guangdong Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units

· Eighth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units