The Tomb of Characters Pagoda

Tomb of Characters Pagoda

The Tomb of Characters Pagoda is a cultural tourism attraction.

A rare "Tomb of Characters Pagoda" has been discovered among the cliff rocks of Wenxing Mountain in Renshou County, Sichuan Province.

The pagoda is located at Wenxing Rock in Qihu Township, about fifty kilometers from Renshou County. It was first built in the 58th year of the Qianlong reign during the Qing Dynasty and completed in the 20th year of the Daoguang reign. The pagoda stands approximately eight meters tall and covers an area of about ten square meters. On the stone wall beside the pagoda are carved the three large characters “Wenxing Rock.” In the central part of the pagoda, the two characters for “Character Repository” (“字库”) are carved and remain clearly visible despite years of weathering. Around the middle section of the pagoda, there is a couplet that reads: “Literature is a matter for all ages; flames endure through endless autumns,” with the horizontal plaque “Heaven Opens Literary Horizons” (天开文远). At the center of the couplet is a window-like stone opening that leads directly into the body of the pagoda. Next to the plaque are the four characters “Daoguang Reign of the Qing” (大清道光). The left side of the pagoda is carved with four dragons and one phoenix. The dragon heads are intricately sculpted, with hollow mouths connected to the interior of the pagoda. Whenever people perform paper-burning rituals inside the pagoda, the sound of the flames can be heard up to a hundred meters away, and the resulting smoke emerges from the mouths of the four dragons. On the right side of the character repository is carved the “Preface to the Construction of the Character Repository at Wenxing Rock” (文星岩建字库序), with legible calligraphy.

Experts from the History Department of Sichuan University stated that this type of tower-like structure has never been seen before, and the phenomenon of smoke billowing from the dragons’ mouths after burning paper is unheard of. In ancient times, it was customary to burn used writing paper in special basins. It is believed that this tower-like structure was used for burning written materials.