ABCs of Longmen: How much do you know about pagodas in Longmen?

Updated: 2016-01-27

What is a pagoda?

Pagoda, also known as thupa transliterated from the word "stupa" in Sanskrit, is originated in the ancient India.

A pagoda is the religious building of Buddhism in the form of a tall tower with several levels.

It was originally used to hold relics of Sakyamuni, the founder of Buddhism. Later it was entitled to build pagodas to commemorate eminent monks after their Parinirvana, or say, death. Then its function extended to enshrine statues of Buddha, Buddhist scripture rolls and other variety of possessions.

A pagoda in Longmen Grottoes

With the introduction of Buddhism, pagoda came into China as a significant form of building, contributing a lot to ancient Chinese architecture. Particularly, Chinese pagodas boast a rich variety. There are different methods of classification. By the planeform, there are square, octagonal, hexagonal, twelve-sided and circular pagodas; by the number of storeys, there are single-, three-, five-, seven- and nine-storeyed ones; by the building materials, there are those made of wood, those made of gold, silver, bronze, iron and other metals, those made of brick and stone and those made of glazed ware also.

A pagoda in Longmen Grottoes

The Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang, Henan province is the treasure house of ancient Buddhist cave art in China. There are currently 80 pagodas in existence in the grottoes, enjoying a long history from the Northern Wei Dynasty (AD 386-534) to the Song Dynasty (AD 960-1279). Various unique forms of building mark these pagodas. Most of the pagodas have odd number of storeys. But the one (see the picture below) in the south side of Qianxi Temple is an exception, for it has four storeys.

The pagoda has four storeys in which each niche holds a statue of the Buddha.