Huabiao Pagoda

Huabiao Pagoda

Huabiao Pagoda is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Huabiao Pagoda, originally named Huangjing She Pagoda, is located in Dun Tou Village, Pengzhai Town, Heping County, Heyuan City, Guangdong Province. In ancient times, because it was located in Huabiao Natural Village, people renamed it Huabiao Pagoda for convenience. It was first built during the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty (1522–1566), funded by local villagers, and was renovated in the sixth year of the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty, followed by further repairs in the 26th year of the Republic of China. Huabiao Pagoda is one of the oldest structures in Heping County. It was listed as the first cultural relics protection unit of Heping County in 1955, and was designated as a cultural relics protection site by the People’s Government of Guangdong Province in June 1989.

Legend

Huabiao Pagoda has a history of over 300 years. Regarding its construction, there is a local legend. It is said that long, long ago, more than 200 families lived and thrived in Pengzhai. However, misfortune struck as the region suffered from floods year after year, turning the once prosperous town into ruins. The people could only sigh amid the wreckage and prepare to leave their homeland to beg for survival elsewhere. At that time, an old monk who called himself “Huabiao” passed through the area. After surveying the land, he told the villagers, “Do not fear, fellow villagers. The terrain of Pengzhai is shaped like a boat. If we build a pagoda in the village, it will be like placing a mast on the boat, which will stabilize it.” With that, he vanished into thin air. Encouraged, the villagers rolled up their sleeves, tightened their belts, and within two months, they built a pagoda at the location specified by the monk. They then dug irrigation channels and waterways, restored water conservancy facilities, and rebuilt their homes. Since then, the pagoda’s “mast” has held back the floods and stabilized the “great ship.” To commemorate the old monk, the locals later named the pagoda “Huabiao Pagoda.”

Introduction

Huabiao Pagoda is a typical Buddhist pagoda, facing northwest and situated southeast. It has a hexagonal column shape, with five floors designed in the style of a multi-story pavilion. The interior is hollow, and the pagoda door faces north. The height from ground level to the top of the pagoda is 17 meters, the base perimeter is 21.3 meters, each side is 3.5 meters long, the inner diameter is 5 meters, and the thickness of the first floor wall is 0.94 meters. Its main building materials consist of lime-soil mixture, brick, and stone, with much of the stonework sourced from nearby nearby “Yuandongzhai” iron ore. Each level of the pagoda body features interlocking dentil brickwork and eave-bracketing bricks, forming projecting eaves and faux balconies. The pagoda is adorned with various colorful floral designs, patterns, painted sculptures, Buddha images, and prayer flags. Among these are wood carvings, clay sculptures, gold-lacquering, polychrome painting, freehand brushwork, heavy coloring, and mixed fine-detail and wash techniques. The themes span Buddhist scriptures, landscapes and flowers, rare birds and beasts, historical allusions, and auspicious patterns. The top of the pagoda has a six-sided sloped roof, while the spire consists of a sacred pearl and a sacred canopy in the shape of a gourd. The original wooden flooring and staircases inside the pagoda have been damaged. Each floor once housed hundreds of Buddhist statues, some of which are still venerated by devotees.

Inside Huabiao Pagoda, there are no fewer than 20 pairs of antithetical couplets. The front-facing pagoda doors from the first to fifth floors each feature couplets and lintel inscriptions. The lintels are successively inscribed with “Ancestral Master Hall,” “Hall of Literary and Martial Emperors,” “Kuixing Tower,” “Look Up to Your Lofty Self,” and “Reaching the Heavens.” The couplets are respectively inscribed with: “The sage’s virtue spreads widely; the origin of the Dao unites as one; the divine grace showers down; the mighty spirit shines through the ages,” “Ascend the moonlit ladder through clouds; gaze over water and sky as one hue; summon wind and rain; soar across mountains and valleys,” “The literary peak uniquely touches the heavens; the spirit of the brush shoots straight into the water ox,” “Modeled after the three ancient towers; today we erect this five-story pagoda,” and “Climb the purple gate high to peer through the moonlit window; take swift steps on the cloud ladder to reach the Moon Palace.”

Over the dynasties, local officials and gentry made great efforts to renovate Huabiao Pagoda. However, due to campaigns such as the “Campaign to Destroy the Four Olds” and “Great Leap Forward in Steel Production,” most of its centuries-old artistic essence was lost, leaving only faint traces of its former glory. A century-old banyan tree, said to be over a hundred years old, grows on the pagoda and remains evergreen throughout the seasons.

Pengzhai Town: Located in the southeastern part of Heping County, Pengzhai Town covers an area of 188.7 square kilometers. In 2003, An’ao Town was merged into Pengzhai Town. The town administers 35 administrative villages and one neighborhood committee, with a population of 65,211, making it the second-largest central town in Heping County. In 2003, the total agricultural output value reached 90.79 million yuan (current price). The town is 27 kilometers from the county seat and serves as the transportation hub and economic trade center for the lower half of Heping County. The area boasts relatively well-developed public infrastructure, including transportation, energy, communications, education, healthcare, and commercial services. It has the largest central market in the county, covering an area of over 8,000 square meters, and a reservoir with a capacity of 3... More detailed information about Pengzhai Town++