Sansheng Ruixian Pagoda

　　Sansheng Ruixian Pagoda (Sixth Batch of National Protected Heritage Sites)

　　Era: Jin Dynasty

　　Location: Within Zhaoqing Temple, west of Jishan Village, Xihedi Town, Lingchuan County

　　Commonly known as Jishan Pagoda, it is located 35 kilometers southwest of the county town. According to an inscription embedded on the third floor of the pagoda: “In the sixth year of the Dading era, Monk Skull from Shundu came here to preach. He unearthed a stone turtle from the west side of Zhaoqing Temple, inside which was a pearl with hair-like patterns and inscriptions on the back reading ‘Ancient Chan Temple Sansheng Ruixian Pagoda’ and another reading ‘In the first year of the Renshou era of the Sui Dynasty, Monk Fengyan buried these characters.’ The monk then placed the previously obtained relics together with the stone turtle inside, and built the pagoda over them. The construction was completed in the ninth year of Dading.” From this, we know that the pagoda was originally built to enshrine relics, first established in the Sui Dynasty and rebuilt in the Jin Dynasty.

　　The pagoda has a square floor plan, with thirteen stories and a height of about 30 meters. It is a closely-eaved brick pagoda. Each side is 6 meters long. The first story is built with plain brick walls, and each successive level features corbelled eaves, gradually decreasing in size. The tapering is more pronounced from the fifth floor upward. Looking up from the third floor, the interior resembles an inverted well, with a hollow shaft extending all the way to the top. Each story of the front of the pagoda has ventilation windows, and the interior can be climbed floor by floor to reach the top.