The History and Construction of Pagodas Reading Answers

The origin of the pagoda can be traced to the stupa of 3rd century BCE. The stupa, a dome shaped monument, was used as a commemorative monument to house sacred relics and writings. In East Asia, the architecture of Chinese towers and Chinese pavilions blended into pagoda architecture, eventually also spreading to Southeast Asia. Their construction was popularized by the efforts of Buddhist missionaries, pilgrims, rulers, and ordinary devotees to honour Buddhist relics. Japan has a total of 22 five-storied timber pagodas constructed before 1850.

The earliest styles of Chinese pagodas were square-base and circular-base, with octagonal-base towers emerging in the 5th-10th centuries. The highest Chinese pagoda from the pre-modern age is the Liaodi Pagoda of Kaiyuan Monastery, Dingxian, Hebei province, completed in the year 1055 AD under Emperor Renzong of Song and standing at a total height of 84 m (275 ft). Although it no longer stands, the tallest pre-modern pagoda in Chinese history was the 100-metre-tall wooden pagoda (330 ft) of Chang'an, built by Emperor Yang of Sui. The tallest pre-modern pagoda still standing is the Liaodi Pagoda. In April 2007, a new wooden pagoda Tianning Temple of Changzhou was opened to the public, the tallest in China, standing 154 m (505 ft). Chinese iconography is noticeable in East Asian pagoda architectures. Also prominent is Buddhist iconography such as the image of the Shakyamuni and Gautama Buddha in the abhaya mudra. In an article on Buddhist elements in Han dynasty art, Wu Hung suggests that in these temples, Buddhist symbolism was fused with native Chinese traditions into a unique system of symbolism.

Some believed reverence at pagodas could bring luck to apprentices taking the Chinese civil service examinations. When a pagoda of Yihuang County in Fuzhou collapsed in 1210, local inhabitants believed the disaster correlated with the recent failure of many exam candidates in the prefectural examinations. The pagoda was rebuilt in 1223 and had a list inscribed on it of the recently successful examination candidates, in hopes that it would reverse the trend and win the county supernatural favour. Pagodas come in many different sizes, with taller ones often attracting lightning strikes, inspiring a tradition that the finial decoration of the top of the structure can keep the demons away. Today many pagodas have been fitted with wires making the finial into a lightning rod.

Wooden pagodas possess certain characteristics thought to resist Earthquake damage. These include the friction damping and sliding effect of the complex wooden dougong joints, the structural isolation of floors, the effects of wide eaves analogous to a balancing toy, and the Shinbashira phenomenon that the centre column is bolted to the rest of the superstructure. Shinbashira is responsible for the floor not moving too far at the time of an Earthquake. Pagodas traditionally have an odd number of levels, a notable exception being the eighteenth- century orientalist pagoda designed by Sir William Chambers at Kew Gardens in London. The pagodas in Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia are derived from Dravidian architecture. very different from Chinese and Jananese stvles.