The Ancestral Masters' Pagoda Cluster at Liurong Temple

The Ancestral Masters' Pagoda Cluster at Liurong Temple

The Ancestral Masters' Pagoda Cluster at Liurong Temple is a cultural relic protection unit of Guangzhou City.

The Ancestral Masters' Pagoda Cluster at Liurong Temple is located on Koziling and Shun’gang of Baiyun Mountain, covering an area of over 2,000 square meters. It is currently the largest and most numerous surviving cluster of Buddhist pagodas in Guangzhou. Originally, there were more than 100 pagodas of abbots and other monks from various dynasties, neatly arranged under the shade of pine trees. The pagoda cluster was damaged in the late 1960s, overgrown with weeds and vines. In 1986, after repeated searches and clearing paths through the thicket, the pagodas were rediscovered. Many had bases but no tops, some only retained their upper sections, all in disarray. After recent restoration and organization, there are now five circular ridge tombs, two paired circular tombs, and 46 pagodas.

There are no exact records of when the pagoda cluster was first built. According to the inscription on the stele commemorating the 1623 (the third year of the Tianqi era in the Ming Dynasty) renovation of the pagodas, the site “originally had seven ancestral pagodas, but over time, wind and rain eroded them, and the stone pagodas became buried... Xianju and others commissioned workers to renovate them. A large circular tomb was created, engraving the names of all the ancestors on a single stele, so that they could be worshipped together forever, ensuring their memory would endure.” That is, in the third year of Tianqi, the original seven masters' pagodas were combined into one large tomb. The seven masters included Master Weng Tan Yu Zhi, the founding patriarch of Jinghui Temple, who was ordered by the Liang Dynasty to build the pagoda, as well as former abbots such as Master Che Weng Zheng, Master Jing Yan Ping, Master Li Tian Ji Song, Master Yue Tang Zhao, Master Xun An Qian, and Master Yu Feng Jin. By the seventh year of the Guangxu era in the Qing Dynasty (1881), it was renovated again. The current tomb is a double circular ridge structure, built with irregular bluestone and lime-sand mortar for the double circular walls, with a central bluestone stele carved with auspicious clouds and a moon, inscribed with the names of Master Tan Yu Zhi and the other six. The tomb is 10.4 meters long and 7 meters wide.

In addition to the ancestral masters' pagodas, there are also the pagoda of Master Ze An Mian of Jieyin Hall; the joint burial pagoda of three Ming Dynasty former abbots—Master Yang Zhen Zhu, Master Pei Ran Jie, and Master Shou Su Jie; the pagoda of Master Ju Wu Cheng, the founding abbot who revitalized the Jinghui Temple and established the meditation hall; the pagoda of Master Dao Tong Ci, a former master of Jinghui; the pagoda of Master Song Yi (also known as Monk Jue Shi) of Jinghui; the “Tranquil Eternal Joy” pagoda; and the joint burial pagoda of the founding patriarch of Jinghui’s revitalization, Master Huo Rong Wu, along with Yang Wen Yao and Lady Liang, among others.

The “Tranquil Eternal Joy” pagoda is located in the northwest corner of the cemetery, featuring a single circular ridge structure. At both ends of the front ridge ring stand lime-sand-clad drum-shaped stones. The pagoda walls are built with bluestone and lime-sand mortar, with a central bluestone stele inscribed with “Tranquil Eternal Joy.” In front of the stele, within the tomb pit, stands a small multi-tiered octagonal spire stone pagoda made of sandstone, 1.76 meters tall, with a body diameter of 0.6 meters and a base width of 0.64 meters.

The 46 smaller Buddhist pagodas are scattered throughout the cemetery, crafted from sandstone, red sandstone, and granite. They are approximately 1.6 to 1.8 meters tall, consisting of a base, body, and finial. The bases are mostly square or hexagonal. The bodies are lotus-seed shaped, with a small niche in the middle housing a tomb stele. The finials are mostly octagonal spire tops.

The Liurong Temple Monks' Pagoda Cluster has now been enclosed with protective walls and is guarded year-round by designated personnel.

In 1993, the Guangzhou Municipal People's Government designated it as a cultural relic protection unit.

Further Reading:

· Fourth Batch of Guangzhou Cultural Relic Protection Units