Great White Pagoda
The Great White Pagoda (Chinese: 大白塔; pinyin: Dàbáitǎ), or Sarira Stupa of Tayuan Temple, is a brick stupa located at Mount Wutai of Wutai County, Shanxi province, China.
History[]
The stupa was constructed during the Wanli reign of the Ming dynasty (1368–1644 AD), as recorded on a stone tablet there composed by the high minister Zhang Juzheng (1525–1582).[1]
Architectural features[]
The Sarira Stupa, named after the Sanskrit word sarira meaning 'Buddhist relic', sits on a square base with an archetypal sumeru pedestal. It is roughly 50 m (164 ft) tall, constructed of brick with a lime coating on the outside that gives its white color. The main upper frame of the stupa is shaped as an inverted bowl. The canopy of the stupa sits atop a steeple with thirteen tiers. The canopy and bead crowning the top are all made of gilded copper. The canopy also supports 252 small bells.
Notes[]
- ^ China.org.cn. Sarira Dagoba at Tayuan Temple in Wutai of Shanxi Province. Retrieved on 2008-06-21.
External links[]
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Coordinates: 39°00′29″N 113°35′22″E / 39.0080°N 113.5894°E
- Buildings and structures in Shanxi
- Stupas in China
- Ming dynasty
- Ming dynasty architecture
- People's Republic of China building and structure stubs