Xumi Pagoda

The Xumi Pagoda (zh-tspw|t=須彌塔|s=须弥塔|p=Xūmí tǎ|w=Hsümi T'a) or Sumeru Pagoda, also known as Summer Pagoda is a Chinese pagoda of the Buddhist Kaiyuan Monastery west of Zhengding, Hebei province, China. This square-base stone and brick pagoda was built in the year 636 AD during the reign of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty (618-907). It stands at a height of 48 m (157 ft) and has been well preserved since its initial construction. The monastery that once surrounded the pagoda, however, has since been destroyed.

The pagoda has nine tiers of eaves and a crowning spire, along with artwork of stone carvings at the corners of the stone platform that makes up its base. The interior of the pagoda is hollow and lacks a staircase to reach the higher floors. Its style of eaves in gradual tiers resembles that of other Tang pagodas, such as the Small Wild Goose and Giant Wild Goose pagodas. Near the arched doorway leading into the pagoda is a colossal stone body of a "bixi", a Chinese mythical beast in the shape of a tortoise-like dragon.Harper, 169.] The left side of the statue was damaged and is missing, and was found in the year 2000 while an excavation was underway under a city street nearby the pagoda.

Notes

References

*Harper, Damian (2005). "Lonely Planet China: 9th Edition". London: Lonely Planet Books. ISBN 1-74059-687-0.

ee also

*Chinese architecture
*List of Buddhist temples

External links

* [http://www.china.org.cn/english/TR-e/43250.htm The Kaiyuan Temple Pagoda at China.org.cn]