Wild geese building in Xi'an crossword clue. Big and Small Wild Goose Pagodas - history, maps, photographs. Tourism and maps of the Big and Small Wild Goose Pagoda

Pagodas and stupas are not built just like that. They are installed specifically to store Buddhist relics. In our case, the Wild Goose Pagoda was built as a repository for texts and artifacts brought from India by the traveler Xuanzang.

He traveled for 17 years, visited 100 countries and studied with the best masters in India. From there he brought back many Buddha statues, more than 600 sacred texts (sutras) and several relics.

The pagoda became not only an important place of pilgrimage, but also scientific center, where the texts were translated from Sanskrit into Chinese. The Wild Goose Pagoda made an invaluable contribution and gave a gigantic impetus to the development of the philosophy of Buddhism in China.

A little history

This tower was built under the first emperor of the Tang Dynasty. We understand that the names of Chinese dynasties mean nothing to most readers, so we will tell you a little about this era.

The first unification of China by the ruler Qin Shi Huang took place in 220 BC. It was Xian that was the capital of the empire, and the mausoleum with the body of the first emperor is located here. After his reign, the Han dynasty reigned in China, which ruled for another 420 years. In the next 400 years, there was little good in the history of China - the period of the Three Kingdoms and the invasion of nomads. And only in 581 a new unification of all of China took place under the central authority of the Sui dynasty, which, however, ruled for only 37 years, and was already replaced by the Tang dynasty.

The most interesting thing is that the emperor who built Big Pagoda wild geese, was not Chinese himself. He came from the Toba steppe people, who were assimilated by the Chinese. It was the origin of the Tang emperors that gave China a powerful impetus for development, because now they had excellent relations with the steppe peoples.

The Tang era is the century of the peak of power of the emperors of China, when their decrees were carried out in the space from Yellow Sea to the Caspian Sea. The zone of their cultural, economic and political influence included the territory of modern Kazakhstan in the west, Thailand and Vietnam in the south, and Primorsky Krai and Korea in the north.

This period is poorly known to representatives Western civilization. Perhaps the only reference to it is the animated film Mulan (the poster in the picture on the right). The action of this cartoon takes place on the eve of the Tang Dynasty.

It was during this period in 652 that the traveler and philosopher Xuanzan asked the emperor to build this pagoda to store the texts and relics he brought from India. The ruler gave his consent, and the first version of the Wild Goose Pagoda, 54 meters high and 5 floors, was built.

The pagoda stood for 50 years and fell apart. This happened already during the reign of Empress Wu Zetian. She was very supportive of Buddhism and rebuilt the Wild Goose Pagoda, but in the form of a 10-story building.

So the pagoda stood until 1556, when a serious earthquake occurred in this area of ​​China, severely damaging the structure. The top three floors had to be removed. This is how the Great Wild Goose Pagoda, 7 stories high, which we see now in Xi’an, appeared. Since then it has only been renovated, and the last repair was made in 1964.

The city of Xi'an is one of the main strongholds of culture in China; in addition, it served as the capital of the state for more than 13 dynasties. At the moment, the history of the city goes back about 3 thousand years, and for some period of time it was the most big city peace. As you already understand, this is one of the most interesting in terms of tourism city ​​of China, and in this article we will talk about one of its attractions - the large wild goose pagoda

This pagoda was built in Xi'an during its capital period during the Tang Dynasty. The main material used in construction is brick. Indian architecture had a strong influence on the plan of the pagoda.

The exact date of construction of the Big Goose Pagoda is 652; the original building included 5 tiers, each of which contained Buddhist statues. A few decades later, the Empress issued an order to complete the construction of 5 more tiers. Over the centuries, many wars and battles took place here, from which the upper tiers were partially damaged. They were subsequently demolished

Nowadays, the Pagoda consists of 7 tiers and its height is 64 meters. From the top of the pagoda there is a magnificent view of the whole old City Xi'an is also rich in many other attractions, such as the Temple of Motherly Love, many monasteries, the Terracotta Army of Emperor Qin Shi Huang and many others.

Detailed information about the city and its attractions is available on the Xianinfo website. Xi'an is a plexus of amazing centuries-old history and the most beautiful monuments architecture

The Great Wild Goose Pagoda was built in 652 during the Tang Dynasty. The brick pagoda is located on the territory of Dayanfu Temple, 4 km from the center of Xi'an. The height of the building is 64.7 meters. Due to the destruction, the original number of tiers was reduced by half, but after that it was possible to reconstruct a third. Now the pagoda has seven tiers.

Construction work was carried out by order of Emperor Gao Zong of the Tang Dynasty, who thus wanted to perpetuate the memory of his mother. The name is associated with a legend: Buddha, passing by these places, had a great desire to taste the meat of wild geese, but overcame the temptation. The main purpose of building the large pagoda was to store sacred Buddhist texts and relics that the monk Xuan Zhang brought with him from India.

The Great Wild Goose Pagoda is a building that is amazing in its architectural design; it is a structure entirely made of bricks, without any mortar. The same method was used as during the construction of wooden structures by Chinese architects, the so-called “fork” method.

The sanctuary with three statues - incarnations of Shakyamuni Buddha - is located on the lower tier. One of the structures adjacent to the tier houses a bell from the Ming Dynasty. The weight of the bell is 15 tons.

Each subsequent tier is smaller than the previous one. Each floor has arched doors covered with beautiful carvings. In 1958, a staircase was built, climbing which you can admire panoramic view to the surrounding area.

Interesting custom developed during the Tang Dynasty. Each candidate for office wrote poems on the walls of the pagoda. Some even produced entire poems. The work of several generations of Chinese officials has survived to this day.

The temple contains two rare steles with signatures of emperors of the Tang Dynasty. They have been here for 1200 years. There is also a forest of stupas on the temple grounds.

The Great Wild Goose Pagoda is located within the Da Chen Temple complex, which was founded in 589. The temple experienced its heyday during the Tang Dynasty. After temple complex gradually collapsed. Today, on the territory of the temple there are thirteen courtyards and 1879 rooms.

One of the most ancient cities in the world - it is already more than 3 thousand years old. At one time he was largest city world by area and population. For many centuries, Xi'an was the capital - as many as 13 dynasties ruled the vast country from here! The Great Silk Road began from here. And here one of the most famous pagodas in China was built - the Great Wild Goose Pagoda.

It was built on the territory Buddhist monastery Da Qien (translated as “temple of compassion and kindness”) in 652, during the Tang era, and was intended to store sacred Buddhist texts and relics brought by the monk Xuanzang from a 17-year wandering in India. By the way, it was he who first translated the sacred texts into Chinese.

First, five tiers of the religious structure were built, and almost 50 years later - five more. During construction, a unique technique was used: without mortar, but using the “fork” method, as in wooden architecture. Unfortunately, the three upper tiers suffered from countless wars and earthquakes, so that only seven have survived to this day.

The strictly proportioned brick building of the Great Pagoda reaches 64 meters in height (the equivalent of a 20-story modern building). The lower tier is reserved for a sanctuary with three Buddha statues. Each subsequent tier is smaller than the previous one, so the shape of the Great Pagoda resembles a pyramid. On each tier there are arched doors decorated with amazing carvings. In 1958, a staircase leading up to observation deck, from where you can admire the picturesque surroundings.

The walls of the pagoda are covered with hieroglyphs - these are poems created by people who entered government service during the Tang Dynasty. Such an amazing custom existed in those distant times.

The monastery in which the attraction is located is active. Some rooms contain magnificent frescoes depicting the life of Xuanzang. Under open air You can see an ancient cast iron bell weighing 15 tons, which in ancient times rang morning and evening. On the territory of the monastery there is a beautiful well-kept park with fountains and sculptures, tables and benches for relaxation. There are many sculptures of lions and elephants everywhere, but not a single goose... So where did wild geese come from in the name of the pagoda?

According to one legend, the monk Xuanzang, traveling around, found himself in the desert without a drop of water. Feeling thirsty, he began to pray that the Buddha would send him life-giving moisture, and suddenly he saw a flock of wild geese in the sky. This was a sign from above in which direction to go to get to the source.

According to another legend, a flock of wild geese flew over the monastery, one of them died in flight and fell right under the feet of the monks. They decided that it was Buddha, buried the bird and erected the Great Wild Geese Pagoda in this place.

According to another legend, when Buddha was passing through these places, he suddenly wanted to taste the meat of wild geese. But God resisted the temptation... As if as an edification to other followers of this religion.

Helpful information

Where is

The address of the Big Wild Goose Pagoda (original name - 大雁塔) is as follows: Enci Temple The southern part of Yata Road, Yanta District, Xi'an, China.

How to get to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda

The attraction is located in the southern part of Xi'an, 4 kilometers from the city center. You can get here by bus number 41, which departs from the train station.

Opening hours of the Big Wild Goose Pagoda

From March 16 to November 14, the pagoda is open from 8:00 to 17:30. From November 15 to March 15 - from 8:00 to 10:00.

Entrance fee

You need to pay 50 yuan to enter the monastery territory and separately 40 yuan to enter the Big Wild Goose Pagoda.

The Big Wild Goose Pagoda is located in the Da Ci En (Great Kindness and Courtesy) Temple, which is located 4 km from the urban area of ​​Xi'an. Big Wild Goose Pagoda is one of the most famous Buddhist pagodas in China. This pagoda was built during the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907) specifically for the study of Buddhist scriptures. Over the centuries, this pagoda has suffered from unfavorable weather conditions, earthquakes and even wars. Much of the original pagoda building was destroyed, yet today we can see the same pagoda, in the same place and under the same name.

The pagoda was built in 589 during the Sui Dynasty. It was called Wu Lou Temple (U Lou translates as “five floors”). In 648, Prince Li Zhi financed a restoration project for this temple in memory of his mother, who was very kind. The prince's mother died very early. Then the temple was called what it is called now - the Temple of Kindness and Courtesy. It is said that when Li Zhi became Emperor of the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907), he remembered his mother twice a day, directing his gaze towards the temple from his Hanyuan Palace, which was built in 663.

The temple once had 13 separate courtyards and 1,879 magnificently decorated rooms. It was a very important place during the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907). After the fall of the dynasty, the temple and pagoda also began to fall into disrepair. The halls and rooms we see today were built during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). The Tang Dynasty government ordered the construction of a special room for the translation of Buddhist scriptures. It wanted the then well-known master Xuan Zang to agree to become the head of this temple. Xuan Zang was a Buddhist monk who traveled to India. There he translated Buddhist scriptures from Sanskrit and studied theories concerning consciousness, karma and rebirth. These theories were later used by some popular schools of Buddhism.

The Great Wild Goose Pagoda was built in 652. The five-story building was 60 meters high. Since the old pagoda was already in poor condition, it was decided to build a new pagoda with 10 floors. This was done between 701 and 704. However, numerous wars in subsequent years, as well as devastating earthquake 1556, the pagoda was almost completely destroyed. In its place, a building with 7 floors and a height of 64 meters was built. This is exactly the building we see today. It was built during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).

This pagoda is an architectural marvel. It was built of brick, but no cement was used at all. The construction of this pagoda also used the "bracket" style characteristic of traditional Chinese architecture. The seams between the layers of bricks and the “prisms” on each side of the pagoda are very visible. The tall, majestic pagoda building, with its solemn appearance and simple style, is indeed a good example of traditional Chinese architecture.

 

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